Creating a Cross-Platform Notes Manager with Tauri: A Step-by-Step Guide

by Paul Schaub
man

Tauri is a framework for creating cross-platform desktop applications using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Unlike Electron, Tauri utilizes native operating system components, making applications lighter and faster. In this article, we’ll walk through step-by-step how to create a cross-platform note manager using Tauri.

Step 1: Preparing the environment

First of all, you need to prepare your working environment. Make sure you have the following tools installed:

  • Node.js and npm – to work with JavaScript and npm packages.
  • Rust – a programming language that is used to build the native part of Tauri applications.
  • Tauri CLI – a tool for creating and managing projects in Tauri.

Install Rust from the official website rust-lang.org and Tauri CLI using the command:

cargo install tauri-cli

Step 2: Create a new project

Next, create a new project using create-react-app or any other frontend framework. For example, you can create a project in React:

npx create-react-app notes-app
cd notes-app

Then initialize Tauri in the project:

tauri init

This step will set up all the necessary files for the Tauri app, integrating it with your React project.

Step 3: Interface Development

Develop the interface for your notes manager. Create pages for:

  • Adding new notes.
  • View a list of notes.
  • Editing existing notes.

Use React to create components and state management to interact with the data.

Step 4: Working with data

You can use a local database to store your notes. One popular option is SQLite, which integrates easily with Tauri.

Tauri allows you to work with the database through the Rust API. You can use Tauri to create functions to add, delete, and edit notes. For example, through creating a “system” API to work with SQLite or use other native solutions.

Step 5: Build the application

Once the application is ready, you can build it for different operating systems. Tauri allows you to build apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux with minimal effort. Use the following command to build the application:

npm run tauri build

This command will package your application into installation files for the selected operating systems.

Step 6: Test and Publish

After building your application, it is important to test it on different operating systems to make sure that the application is stable and functions correctly. Test the database operation, user interface, and file system interaction.

When the testing is complete, you can publish the application on different platforms or distribute the installation files through sites such as GitHub or through specialized services for application distribution.

Conclusion

Creating a cross-platform note manager with Tauri is a great way to create a lightweight and efficient web-based desktop application. With its integration with Rust and native operating system interaction capabilities, Tauri allows you to create applications with high performance and minimal requirements.

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