We ship cross-platform desktop applications that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux from a single codebase. Electron when ecosystem maturity and web team velocity matter. Tauri when bundle size and memory footprint are non-negotiable. The framework debate matters less than the architecture, auto-update strategy, and code-signing pipeline most teams skip.
Why Entalogics for desktop
The desktop apps we inherit usually share the same problems — 300MB Electron bundles nobody optimised, auto-update that silently breaks, no code-signing pipeline, and a main process that blocks the UI thread. Desktop development has real operational complexity that web teams don't expect.
An idle Electron app uses 150–300MB. Tauri uses 30–50MB. We pick the framework based on your user's machine constraints — and then optimise within it. Lazy window loading, IPC batching, off-main-thread processing.
Business logic in the main/backend process. UI in the renderer. IPC typed end-to-end. No database calls from the renderer. No UI work in the main process. The boundary is strict or it becomes a debugging nightmare.
SQLite via better-sqlite3 or Tauri's SQL plugin for structured local data. Conflict-free sync when the server is reachable. Desktop users expect their app to work offline by default — not as a progressive enhancement.
Every IPC message typed. Every file system call typed. Every auto-update payload validated. When the backend changes a command signature, the frontend fails to compile — not at runtime when a user triggers it.
When desktop, when not
Not every product needs a desktop app. We'll tell you on the first call if a desktop application genuinely solves your problem — or if a PWA or web app gets you there at a fraction of the cost.
BUILD A DESKTOP APP WHEN
PICK ELECTRON WHEN
PICK TAURI WHEN
WE SAY NO WHEN
What we build on desktop
The shapes of desktop app development services we deliver most. Each ships signed, auto-updating, and production-ready on all three platforms.
Your web dashboard as a native desktop app. System tray presence, native notifications, offline access, keyboard shortcuts. Dock-worthy, not tab-worthy.
Code editors, database GUIs, API clients, CLI wrappers. Desktop apps that developers install once and use daily — where memory footprint and startup time matter.
Local model inference, on-device processing, privacy-first AI tools. Tauri + Rust for ONNX Runtime inference or Electron + Ollama sidecar for LLM integration. Data never leaves the machine.
Replace the VPN-accessed internal web portal with a signed, auto-updating desktop app. SSO, certificate pinning, local data cache, MDM-compatible.
Image editors, audio tools, video processors. Desktop-native file handling, GPU acceleration, drag-and-drop that feels native because it is.
Shrink your bundle from 150MB to 10MB. Replace Node.js backend with Rust. Migrate IPC layer and native modules. The app keeps shipping during migration.
The playbook
Desktop patterns from production apps — not Electron quick-start demos.
P01
Every message between main/backend and renderer is typed. Zod validation on both sides. No untyped `ipcRenderer.send` calls surviving past code review.
P02
electron-updater or Tauri's built-in updater. Signed releases, delta updates where possible, rollback on failure. The update pipeline is tested in CI — not discovered broken in production.
P03
macOS notarization, Windows Authenticode, Linux AppImage signing. CI handles it end-to-end. No manual signing steps in the release process.
P04
better-sqlite3 for Electron, Tauri SQL plugin for Tauri. The app works fully offline. Sync when available. Conflict resolution strategy defined before the first sync — not after the first data loss.
P05
Context Bridge in Electron. Tauri's command allowlist. No Node.js access from the renderer. No arbitrary shell execution from the frontend. The attack surface stays small.
P06
Main window, settings, detachable panels — each window lifecycle managed properly. Memory released on close. State synced via IPC, not global variables.
Signature case
A B2B database GUI on Electron — 180MB bundle, 340MB memory at idle, 6-second cold start on Windows, and auto-update that failed silently for 20% of users. Migrated to Tauri 2 with Rust backend in 9 weeks. Bundle dropped to 12MB. Memory to 45MB. Auto-update now works for everyone.
Before
Electron · 180MB bundle · 340MB idle memory · 6s cold start · auto-update 80% success
After
Tauri 2 · 12MB bundle · 45MB idle memory · 1.2s cold start · auto-update 100% success
Engagement shape
A typical desktop app development engagement. We build feature by feature — signed releases shipping to testers from week two.
Two senior desktop engineers. Bundle analysis, memory profiling, IPC architecture review, auto-update audit. A ranked, dollarized RFC.
Electron or Tauri baseline, typed IPC, auto-update wired, code-signing configured, one production window end-to-end. Signed test build on all three platforms.
Window by window under feature flags. Signed beta releases weekly. Your roadmap keeps moving.
Signed production release on Windows, macOS, Linux. Auto-update verified. Runbook handed to your team — or we stay on retainer.
Stack
Our default desktop development stack — picked for production, not quick-start templates.
Engagement
No hourly retainer that bills for "thinking time." Pick a lane that matches your stage; everything is fixed-quote or transparently rated.
A defined product, a fixed price, a senior-only team. From RFC to signed release on all three platforms in 8–14 weeks.
$15k–$30k
FIXED SCOPE
Embedded engineers in your Slack, your Linear, your standups. Senior Electron or Tauri engineers. Pause, resize, end with 30 days' notice.
$5k / eng / mo
PER ENGINEER
A long-term partner for product orgs shipping desktop software — architecture, auto-update infrastructure, Electron-to-Tauri migration, hiring help.
custom
PROCUREMENT-FRIENDLY
Founder-direct
Thirty minutes with the founder. We'll bring a senior desktop engineer, the relevant playbook, and a candid read on whether a desktop app is the right call — or whether a PWA or web app solves your problem at lower cost.
