Build, debug, package, and review Tauri desktop GUI applications. Use when Codex needs to scaffold or modify a Tauri app, wire Rust commands and frontend calls, add Tauri plugins or capabilities, handle local persistence, platform integrations, signing, packaging, updater work, or release-readiness validation for a Tauri desktop app.
Build, debug, package, and review Tauri desktop GUI applications. Use when Codex needs to scaffold or modify a Tauri app, wire Rust commands and frontend calls, add Tauri plugins or capabilities, handle local persistence, platform integrations, signing, packaging, updater work, or release-readiness validation for a Tauri desktop app.
Desktop GUI Dev
Overview
Use this skill only for Tauri desktop applications.
Treat the app as a Tauri shell with an unprivileged frontend, a Rust native layer, local data or persistence, and platform integration.
Keep frontend contracts, Rust commands, capabilities, packaging metadata, and runtime behavior aligned across every surface you touch.
Do not add guidance for other desktop frameworks to this skill.
Start Here
Determine whether the user wants a new Tauri app, a feature addition, a bug fix, or packaging and release work.
Read the actual build files and app manifests before editing. Prefer source over stale docs.
If the user does not specify implementation choices and the repo does not already constrain them, default to Tauri 2.x, React 19 + TypeScript, Tailwind CSS 4, Zustand, SQLite via Rust rusqlite, and Recharts.
Use rg for search and keep changes scoped to the smallest set of files that preserves frontend, Rust, capability, and packaging consistency.
For scaffold commands, prerequisites, plugin setup, permissions, packaging, signing, updater work, and security-sensitive defaults, prefer the official Tauri docs when they differ from memory or repo notes.
Read references/tauri.md for Tauri project creation, command boundaries, capabilities, plugins, packaging, and validation.
Default Stack When Unspecified
Desktop framework: Tauri 2.x with Rust for native commands, persistence, and platform integration.
Frontend: React 19 with TypeScript.
Styling: Tailwind CSS 4.
State management: Zustand.
Database: SQLite accessed from Rust via rusqlite.
Charts: Recharts.
Treat this as the greenfield baseline. Only diverge when the user, repo, or target platform requirements clearly justify it.
Implementation Path
Use a bridge-first architecture: frontend code stays unprivileged and talks to typed Rust-backed adapters.
Define request, response, and error shapes before wiring UI behavior.
Prefer typed frontend wrapper functions around Tauri commands so components do not scatter raw invoke calls.
Keep command names, payload shapes, serialization rules, and error handling stable across Rust handlers and frontend callers.
When adding privileged behavior, update implementation, capabilities, command exposure, tests, and UI consumers in the same pass.
For the default stack, start from the React + TypeScript starter and add Tailwind CSS 4, Zustand, Recharts, and Rust-side SQLite access via rusqlite unless the repo already chose alternatives.
If the frontend already exists, use Tauri's manual setup flow and preserve the repo's existing package manager, scripts, and build layout.
Trigger Examples
"Build a Tauri desktop app with a system tray and auto-start."
"Scaffold a Tauri app with React and local SQLite storage."
"Turn this existing web app into a Tauri desktop app."
"Add global shortcuts, notifications, and deep links to this Tauri app."
"Package and sign the Windows installer and macOS build for this Tauri app."
"Review this Tauri app architecture before we add updater support."
"Audit this Tauri release plan before we ship."
When Not To Use
Do not use this skill for browser-only web apps with no Tauri runtime.
Do not use this skill for mobile-only apps, backend services, or CLI-only tools.
Do not use this skill for desktop apps built with a non-Tauri runtime.
Do not use this skill for website design or frontend work unless the request explicitly includes Tauri packaging, native integrations, or desktop runtime behavior.
Plan Before Coding
Define the smallest vertical slice that proves the app shape: one window, one navigation path, one state flow, and one persistence or native command action.
Decide the boundary between UI code and privileged Rust operations before wiring features.
List required Tauri integrations up front: tray, global shortcuts, file dialogs, notifications, deep links, auto-start, background workers, updater, signing, and installer targets.
Keep project structure obvious. Separate UI, typed command wrappers, Rust commands, domain logic, persistence, capabilities, and packaging assets.
Use The Right Entry Point
For greenfield work, scaffold the app shell first, then wire one end-to-end feature before expanding the surface area.
For UI work, start in the window layout, routes or screens, shared components, and state containers.
For command or plugin work, update the Rust implementation, the typed frontend wrapper layer, capabilities, and every consumer in the same pass.
For data work, trace the full path from schema or storage change through migrations, Rust repository access, typed models, and the UI that reads the data.
For platform integration, update window config, Tauri plugins, capabilities, app manifest, menu or tray code, icons, and packaging metadata together.
Keep These Surfaces In Sync
Shared payloads must stay aligned across Rust structs, generated or hand-written TypeScript types, Tauri command wrappers, and UI consumers.
Keep naming and casing conventions stable. Do not let transport formats drift between layers.
Add backward-aware migrations for persisted data. Existing user profiles and databases must remain readable unless the user explicitly accepts a break.
When adding a privileged capability, update both implementation and permission or capability declarations in the same change.
Treat Tauri capability files and custom command exposure as separate security controls.
Keep user-visible copy, keyboard shortcuts, and menu labels consistent across the window UI and native surfaces.
When introducing platform-specific code paths, leave a clear fallback or explicit unsupported-path behavior for other operating systems.
Protect User Data And System State
Assume the app may point at real user data, config directories, cache paths, or system services.
Prefer temporary profiles, fixture data, or disposable databases while developing destructive flows.
Do not delete real data, overwrite user settings, or modify auto-start, tray, or background behavior unless the task clearly requires it.
Guard long-running Rust work with cancellation, timeout, or progress reporting when the UI could otherwise freeze or appear hung.
Apply Task-Specific Workflow
New app or large feature work
Confirm platform targets, distribution channel, frontend choices, persistence needs, and required Tauri integrations.
If the user leaves the stack open for a new app, use the default stack above instead of spending time re-deciding the baseline.
Create the shell, establish folder boundaries, and implement one end-to-end feature before broadening the design.
Add typed command helpers early so Tauri calls do not spread as raw stringly typed invocations through the UI.
UI and interaction work
Validate resize behavior, focus order, keyboard navigation, high-DPI rendering, and error states.
Check that window chrome, modal flow, and shortcut handling feel correct on the target OS.
Native command, plugin, or background work
Define the request and response contract first, including failure states.
Validate serialization, capability coverage, cancellation behavior, and recovery after app reload or relaunch.
Keep long-running work off the UI path and report progress when operations can take noticeable time.
Persistence work
Choose the lightest store that matches the data shape: config files, SQLite, or another repo-established local store.
Prefer Rust-side SQLite access via rusqlite for the default stack.
Add migrations, import and export paths, and corruption-aware recovery behavior when persistent state matters.
Platform integration work
Verify menus, tray icons, notifications, file dialogs, drag and drop, deep links, global shortcuts, and auto-start on the operating systems the user actually targets.
Keep platform-specific behavior isolated so the rest of the app can remain portable.
Packaging and release work
Validate bundle identifiers, app icons, version metadata, installer configuration, signing inputs, updater configuration, and update feed wiring.
Smoke test the packaged app, not just the development runner.
On macOS, check entitlements, hardened runtime, notarization, stapling, and first-launch behavior when release scope includes them.
On Windows, check signing inputs, installer upgrade path, and unsigned or SmartScreen-sensitive failure modes when release scope includes them.
On Linux, check package targets, desktop-file metadata, icon integration, and runtime dependency expectations when release scope includes them.
Validate Before Finishing
Run the frontend lint, typecheck, build, and test commands that match the repo.
Run Rust validation such as cargo fmt, cargo clippy, and cargo test when the change touches Rust code.
Launch the app in the Tauri runtime when the change crosses the native boundary.
Exercise the main user path plus any touched platform feature such as tray, menu, dialog, persistence, updater, or file access.
For new scaffolds, verify a clean install, first launch, and a packaged build path before calling the app ready.
State explicitly which validation steps were not run and why.
Use References Selectively
Load references/tauri.md when working on Tauri scaffolding, capabilities, Rust command boundaries, plugins, persistence, platform integration, packaging, updater setup, or release validation.
