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Tauri v2 Cheatsheet — The Commands I Use on Every Project

#tauri #rust #programming #webdev

All tests run on an 8-year-old MacBook Air. All results from shipping 7 Mac apps as a solo developer. No sponsored opinion.

After 7 Tauri apps, I type the same commands constantly. Here's the reference I wish existed when I started.

Project setup 

# New project
npm create tauri-app@latest

# Add to existing project
npm install --save-dev @tauri-apps/cli
npx tauri init
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Development 

# Dev mode (hot reload)
npm run tauri dev

# Dev with specific log level
RUST_LOG=debug npm run tauri dev

# Dev with backend logs visible
npm run tauri dev 2>&1 | grep -v "^$"
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Building 

# Standard build
npm run tauri build

# Universal binary (Intel + Apple Silicon)
npm run tauri build -- --target universal-apple-darwin

# Debug build (faster, no optimization)
npm run tauri build -- --debug
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Plugins 

npm run tauri add global-shortcut
npm run tauri add fs
npm run tauri add shell
npm run tauri add notification
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This updates both Cargo.toml and the plugin registration. Faster than doing it manually.

Permissions (tauri.conf.json) 

{
  "app": {
    "security": {
      "capabilities": [
        {
          "identifier": "main-capability",
          "description": "Main window capabilities",
          "windows": ["main"],
          "permissions": [
            "fs:read-all",
            "fs:write-all",
            "shell:execute",
            "global-shortcut:allow-register"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
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Tauri v2 requires explicit permission declarations. If a command silently does nothing, check permissions first.

Common Rust patterns 

// Get app data directory
let data_dir = app.path().app_data_dir().unwrap();

// Emit event to frontend
app_handle.emit("event-name", payload).ok();

// Get window
let window = app.get_webview_window("main").unwrap();

// App state
app.manage(MyState::new());
let state = app.state::<MyState>();
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Notarization (macOS) 

# Submit for notarization
xcrun notarytool submit app.dmg \
  --apple-id YOUR_APPLE_ID \
  --team-id YOUR_TEAM_ID \
  --password YOUR_APP_PASSWORD \
  --wait

# Staple after notarization
xcrun stapler staple app.dmg
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Debugging 

# Check what's in the bundle
unzip -l target/release/bundle/macos/App.app/Contents/MacOS/App

# Verify notarization
spctl -a -v App.app

# Check entitlements
codesign -d --entitlements - App.app
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The most useful thing I learned

When a Tauri command silently fails: check the browser console first (Cmd+Option+I in dev mode), then check RUST_LOG output, then check permissions.

Silent failures in Tauri are almost always a permissions issue or a missing #[tauri::command] registration.

TL;DR: Quick Tauri v2 command reference: npm run tauri dev / tauri build -- --target universal-apple-darwin / tauri add <plugin>. Silent command failures? Check DevTools console → RUST_LOG → permissions in that order. Almost always a missing permission or unregistered command.

If this was useful, a ❤️ helps more than you'd think — thanks!

HiyokoAutoSync | X → @hiyoyok

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