Tauri v2 Development

Comprehensive development guide for Tauri v2 desktop and mobile applications. Contains 24 rules across 8 categories prioritized by impact, plus 9 deep-dive reference guides. Tauri apps use Rust backends with web frontends rendered in OS-native webviews. Binary sizes 2.5-6 MB.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Creating new Tauri v2 projects or adding features
• Implementing Rust commands and frontend IPC
• Configuring permissions, capabilities, or CSP
• Installing or creating Tauri plugins
• Customizing windows, system tray, or menus
• Building for mobile (Android/iOS)
• Distributing apps (bundling, signing, updating)
• Optimizing binary size, build speed, or runtime performance
• Debugging or testing Tauri applications

Rule Categories by Priority

Quick Reference

1. Commands & IPC (CRITICAL)

• ipc-async-commands – Use async commands with owned types (String not &str)
• ipc-invoke-error-handling – Always handle invoke() rejections on frontend
• ipc-batch-operations – Batch IPC calls to reduce round-trips
• ipc-binary-response – Use tauri::ipc::Response for large binary data
• ipc-channels-streaming – Use Channel for streaming/progress updates

2. State Management (CRITICAL)

• state-mutex-not-arc – Use Mutex without Arc (Tauri wraps in Arc internally)
• state-lock-scope – Minimize lock scope, never hold across .await
• state-rwlock-reads – Use RwLock for read-heavy state

3. Error Handling (HIGH)

• error-typed-errors – Use thiserror with manual Serialize for structured errors
• error-frontend-handling – Propagate error context with kind/message to frontend

4. Security (HIGH)

• security-deny-by-default – Configure capabilities before production deployment
• security-scope-filesystem – Scope filesystem access to app directories
• security-platform-capabilities – Use platform-specific capability files
• security-csp-config – Configure Content Security Policy properly

5. Window Management (MEDIUM)

• window-async-creation – Create windows asynchronously to avoid deadlocks
• window-custom-titlebar – Implement custom title bars with drag regions
• window-hide-to-tray – Hide window to system tray on close

6. Plugin Usage (MEDIUM)

• plugin-four-step-install – Complete all 4 plugin installation steps
• plugin-clipboard-permissions – Clipboard has no default permissions
• plugin-sql-execute – SQL default excludes write operations

7. Performance (MEDIUM)

• perf-release-profile – Optimize Cargo release profile for small binaries
• perf-dev-build-speed – Separate rust-analyzer target directory
• perf-unused-commands – Remove unused commands from binary (Tauri 2.4+)

8. Distribution (LOW-MEDIUM)

• dist-code-signing – Configure code signing for all target platforms

How to Use

Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and code examples:

rules/ipc-async-commands.md
rules/security-deny-by-default.md
rules/perf-release-profile.md

Each rule file contains:

• Brief explanation of why it matters
• Incorrect code example with explanation
• Correct code example with explanation
• Impact rating and tags

Deep-Dive References

For comprehensive documentation beyond rules, load these as needed:

Essential Patterns

Project Structure

my-app/
├── src-tauri/
│   ├── Cargo.toml              # Rust dependencies
│   ├── tauri.conf.json         # Main config
│   ├── capabilities/           # ACL capability files (JSON)
│   │   └── default.json
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── lib.rs              # Builder, plugins, commands
│   │   └── main.rs             # Entry point
│   └── icons/
├── src/                        # Frontend (React/Vue/Svelte)
├── package.json
└── vite.config.ts

Minimal Command + Invoke

#[tauri::command]
async fn greet(name: String) -> Result<String, String> {
    Ok(format!("Hello, {}!", name))
}

// lib.rs
tauri::Builder::default()
    .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![greet])
    .run(tauri::generate_context!())

import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/core';
const greeting = await invoke<string>('greet', { name: 'World' });

Plugin Installation (4 Steps)

cargo add tauri-plugin-fs --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
bun add @tauri-apps/plugin-fs

// lib.rs
tauri::Builder::default().plugin(tauri_plugin_fs::init())

// capabilities/default.json → permissions array
"fs:default", "fs:allow-read-text-file"

Capability File

{
  "$schema": "../gen/schemas/desktop-schema.json",
  "identifier": "default",
  "windows": ["main"],
  "permissions": [
    "core:default",
    "fs:default",
    { "identifier": "fs:scope", "allow": [{ "path": "$APPDATA/**" }] }
  ]
}

Decision Tables

IPC Method

State Wrapper

Full Compiled Document

For the complete guide with all rules expanded: AGENTS.md