Tauri Tutorial: Build Your First Desktop App with Rust & JavaScript (2026)

Tauri Tutorial: Build Your First Desktop App with Rust & JavaScript

Tauri enables you to create lightweight, fast, and secure desktop applications using Rust for the backend and JavaScript for the frontend. This guide walks you through verifying prerequisites, scaffolding a new Tauri project, and running your first desktop app with hot reload.

Code

# Check Rust and Node.js versions in your terminal
rustc --version
node --version

# Create a new Tauri project using npm (choose vanilla template for simplicity)
npx create-tauri-app my-tauri-app

# Navigate into your project directory
cd my-tauri-app

# Install dependencies (JavaScript and Rust)
npm install

# Run the Tauri app in development mode with hot reload
npm run tauri dev

# Example Rust backend command in src-tauri/src/lib.rs
#[tauri::command]
fn greet(name: &str) -> String {
  format!("Hello, {}!", name)
}

# Example call from frontend JavaScript to Rust command
import { invoke } from '@tauri-apps/api/tauri';

async function greetUser() {
  const response = await invoke('greet', { name: 'World' });
  console.log(response); // Outputs: Hello, World!
}

Key Points

• Tauri apps combine web frontend frameworks with a Rust backend for native performance and security.
• Prerequisites include Rust (rustc) and Node.js with npm; verify versions before starting.
• Use npx create-tauri-app to scaffold a new project with your preferred frontend template.
• The src-tauri folder contains Rust backend code and configuration like Cargo.toml.
• Run npm run tauri dev to build and launch your app with hot reload for rapid development.