Building a Desktop Application with NodeJS and Tauri: A Complete Guide for Beginners

NodeJS is a highly popular JavaScript-based platform widely used for building web applications and server-side applications. It provides immense flexibility and power in web-based application development. On the other hand, Tauri emerges as a new framework specifically enabling you to harness the power of NodeJS in desktop application development. Tauri is not just a tool, but also a solution that offers a revolutionary way to build modern, responsive, and cross-platform desktop applications. With Tauri, you can create applications that run smoothly across various operating systems, ensuring your application can be accessed by users from various platforms.

What is Tauri?

Tauri is an open-source framework created to facilitate the creation of desktop applications. This framework allows users to build and develop desktop applications using programming languages such as NodeJS, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. One of the main advantages of Tauri is its ability to leverage the Chromium web engine, which is the core part of many popular web browsers, to display your application’s user interface. As a result, users get a consistent and smooth experience when using applications built with this framework.

Benefits of Using Tauri in Desktop Application Development:

Using Tauri in desktop application creation has a variety of significant benefits, including:

• Cross-platform: One of the major advantages of Tauri is its ability to build desktop applications that can operate seamlessly on various platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. With this, you can reach a wider audience without the need to write different codes for each operating system.
• Modern and responsive: Tauri gives you the freedom to create modern and responsive desktop applications. You can leverage web technologies, allowing you to design an interactive and intuitive user interface that enhances the user experience.
• Easy to use: Tauri is designed with the aim to make the desktop application creation process easier and more accessible. It is a tool that is easy to learn and use, even by those who have no prior experience in desktop application creation.
• Open source: As an open-source framework, Tauri is not only free to use but also offers the advantage of an active and supportive developer community. You can contribute to the code, learn from others, and leverage available resources to help you build a strong and reliable desktop application.

How Tauri Works:

Tauri is a tool that works by integrating NodeJS and the Chromium web engine, converting your source code into a desktop application. NodeJS is a software platform that enables server-side execution of JavaScript scripts. In the context of Tauri, NodeJS is used to run your application logic, providing a powerful and flexible backend.

Meanwhile, the Chromium web engine is used to display your application’s user interface or UI. Chromium is an open-source project behind Google Chrome that provides technology for displaying web pages and running web applications. With Chromium, your application can have a modern and attractive look and feel, as well as support for the latest web features.

In other words, Tauri acts as a bridge between NodeJS and Chromium, allowing you to develop desktop applications with web technologies you already know and love, while providing great performance and a small file size.

Getting Started with Tauri:

One of the best ways to start web application development is by using Tauri. Tauri is a powerful and flexible tool that allows you to build fast and secure web applications.

To get started with Tauri, the first step you need to take is to install the Tauri CLI. CLI, or Command Line Interface, is a tool that allows you to interact with Tauri using textual commands.

Here are the steps you need to follow to install the Tauri CLI:

1. Open your terminal. The terminal is an application that allows you to interact with your operating system using text commands. On Windows, you can use Command Prompt or PowerShell. On macOS and Linux, you can use Terminal.
2. Once your terminal is open, you need to run the following command: npm install --global tauri. This command will install the Tauri CLI on your computer.

By installing the Tauri CLI, you have now taken the first step in your journey to building a web application with Tauri. Happy starting!

Building Your First Desktop Application with Tauri:

Creating your first desktop application with Tauri can be an exciting experience. By following the steps below, you can build and run your first desktop application:

1. The first step is to create a new directory for your application. This directory will be where you store all files and folders related to your application.
2. After the directory has been created, open your application directory and run the following command in the terminal or command line: tauri init my-app This command will create a new Tauri project named “my-app”. This is the initial stage of your application creation process.
3. After the new project has been created, open the “my-app” directory and run the following command: tauri dev This command will start the Tauri development server. This development server will assist you in the application development process.
4. The next step is to open your web browser and visit the following URL: https://localhost:8080 By opening this URL, you will see your first desktop application running. This is proof that you have successfully created your first desktop application with Tauri.

Complete Guide: Tips and Tricks for Building Desktop Applications with Tauri:

Here is a collection of useful tips and tricks to help you in building a desktop application using Tauri:

• First, use the web technologies you like and are familiar with. These technologies can be used to build your application’s User Interface (UI). By choosing technologies you like, the application development process will be more enjoyable and efficient.
• Second, you can utilize NodeJS in running your application logic. NodeJS is a very popular platform and has many libraries that can assist you in building applications.
• Third, use the Tauri Command Line Interface (CLI) in the process of building and running your application. The Tauri CLI is a very useful tool and can assist you in various aspects of the application development process.
• Finally, always refer to the Tauri documentation to learn more about Tauri and its features. The Tauri documentation is a valuable resource and can provide you with a lot of information and knowledge needed in the application development process.

Conclusion:

Tauri is a very powerful and easy-to-use framework, especially for developers who want to build desktop applications with NodeJS. The main advantage of Tauri lies in its ability to produce modern, responsive, and cross-platform desktop applications. With Tauri, you can create applications that not only function well across various platforms, but also have a consistent look and user experience. This is very important in today’s digital era, where users expect quality and consistency across platforms. Therefore, if you are a developer striving to create top-quality desktop applications, Tauri could be a very good choice.