create-tauri-ui

CLI to scaffold Tauri desktop apps with shadcn/ui. Drives the upstream shadcn and create-tauri-app CLIs — no local template tree to maintain.

Install & run

# bun
bun create tauri-ui my-app
bunx create-tauri-ui@latest my-app

# npm
npm create tauri-ui@latest my-app
npx create-tauri-ui@latest my-app

After generation

cd my-app
bun install
bun run tauri dev

To regenerate the Tauri icon set from the included source image:

bunx tauri icon app-icon.png

Bun is required in generated projects.

CLI reference

Usage:
  create-tauri-ui [target-dir] [options]              scaffold a new project
  create-tauri-ui <add|update|remove> <battery>       manage batteries in an existing project
  create-tauri-ui list                                list batteries + install status

Scaffold options:
  -t, --template <name>     vite | next | start | react-router | astro
      --identifier <value>  Tauri app identifier (e.g. com.example.myapp)
      --preset <value>      shadcn preset (default: b0)
      --size-optimize       optimize release binaries for size
      --no-size-optimize    skip size optimization
      --starter             include the starter dashboard
      --no-starter          skip the starter dashboard
      --invoke-example      include the Rust invoke example
      --no-invoke-example   skip the Rust invoke example
      --workflow            include the GitHub release workflow
      --no-workflow         skip the GitHub release workflow

Manage options:
      --dir <path>          project directory (default: current working dir)
      --target-os <list>    comma-separated platforms for workflow
                            (windows-latest,macos-latest,ubuntu-latest)
  -f, --force               overwrite an existing target directory / battery
  -y, --yes                 accept defaults / skip confirmations
  -v, --version             display version
  -h, --help                display help

Batteries: debug-panel, workflow

Managing batteries in an existing project

Run inside a scaffolded project to install, update, or remove a battery after the fact.

# see which batteries are installed
bunx create-tauri-ui@latest list

# upgrade the debug panel to the latest template
bunx create-tauri-ui@latest update debug-panel

# add the release workflow later
bunx create-tauri-ui@latest add workflow --target-os macos-latest,ubuntu-latest

# remove it
bunx create-tauri-ui@latest remove workflow

update re-applies the battery using the latest CLI templates. Patches are idempotent — existing mounts, imports, and plugin registrations are preserved. Commit first, then run update and inspect the diff.

remove deletes the battery's owned files and best-effort reverts any wiring. For batteries with external dependencies (like the debug panel's tauri-plugin-log + @tauri-apps/plugin-log), the CLI prints a manual cleanup checklist.

The template is auto-detected from package.json and project structure — no manifest file is written to your repo.

Examples

Vite app with all defaults:

npm create tauri-ui@latest my-app -- --template vite --yes

Next.js app, no dashboard, no workflow:

npm create tauri-ui@latest my-app -- --template next --yes --no-starter --no-workflow

Astro app with a custom bundle identifier:

bun create tauri-ui my-app --template astro --identifier com.example.astroapp --yes

Vite app with size-optimized release binary:

bun create tauri-ui my-app --template vite --size-optimize --yes

Batteries included

Every generated project gets:

• src-tauri native layer (from create-tauri-app)
• shadcn frontend scaffold (from the upstream shadcn CLI)
• framework adapters for vite, next, start, react-router, astro
• Tauri config patches for desktop dev and build output
• centered 1400×918 main window
• startup flash prevention (window hidden until first paint)
• external link guard — internal links stay in-app, external links open in the system browser
• overscroll / rubber-band scroll disabled
• desktop selection defaults — global select-none, intrinsic selectable allowlist, .ui-selectable utility class
• dev-only debug panel with runtime info, tracked invokes, runtime events, and log stream
• app-icon.png source asset

Optional (prompted during scaffolding, or passed as flags):

| Battery | Flag | Notes | | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------- | | Starter dashboard | --starter / --no-starter | based on dashboard-01 | | Rust invoke example | --invoke-example / --no-invoke-example | | | Size optimization | --size-optimize / --no-size-optimize | ~65% smaller release binary (9 MB → 3.1 MB) | | GitHub release workflow | --workflow / --no-workflow | |

Template status

| Template | Status | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | | vite | smoke-tested end to end | | next | stable | | react-router | stable | | astro | stable | | start (TanStack) | experimental — validate carefully after changes |

Scaffolding into . (current directory) is not supported yet.

How it works

prompts → shadcn init → create-tauri-app (temp dir) → merge src-tauri → apply framework patches → add batteries

Local asset surface is intentionally small:

assets/app-icon.png
assets/release.yml.tmpl

No full frontend templates are shipped. The upstream CLIs do the heavy lifting; this package handles the merge, patching, and battery injection.

Development

Run from the monorepo root:

bun run --cwd packages/create-tauri-ui check-types
bun run --cwd packages/create-tauri-ui build

Run the local build directly:

bun run --cwd packages/create-tauri-ui start -- --help

Testing

Type check + build:

bun run --cwd packages/create-tauri-ui check-types
bun run --cwd packages/create-tauri-ui build

Single template smoke test:

rm -rf /tmp/ctui-vite
node packages/create-tauri-ui/index.js /tmp/ctui-vite --template vite --yes --no-workflow
cd /tmp/ctui-vite && bun install && bun run build

All templates:

for template in vite next start react-router astro; do
  dir="/tmp/create-tauri-ui-$template"
  rm -rf "$dir"
  node packages/create-tauri-ui/index.js "$dir" --template "$template" --yes --no-workflow
  (cd "$dir" && bun install && bun run build) || exit 1
done

License

MIT