Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#1

Post by dhruv3006 » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 1:14 PM UTC

I see companies having codebase in Tauri going back to electron - is this a common thing?

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#2

Post by onion2k » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC

Tauri, electrobun, React Native for Desktop, Flutter, actually building a proper native app... there's loads of alternatives.

I maintain a Tauri app. It's fine. I've not seen any reason to go back to Electron.

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#3

Post by torutofu » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 1:28 PM UTC

tauri if you still want a web ui, otherwise iced/egui and skip the browser stack

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#4

Post by antoineMoPa » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 1:42 PM UTC

torutofu wrote: post #3

tauri if you still want a web ui, otherwise iced/egui and skip the browser stack

egui is very neat indeed. With agentic coding, Rust UI dev is as easy as electron dev without the bloat. Electron was relevant when we had to manually code stuff.

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#5

Post by Ikryanov » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 1:48 PM UTC

I don't think that it's a common thing. There are many alternatives like MoBrowser, Electrobun, Wails. The choice depends on the project requirements.

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#6

Post by satvikpendem » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 3:01 PM UTC

So many, Flutter being one, as well as Rust GUIs like egui, iced, Dioxus Native etc.

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#7

Post by carloslfu » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC

Tauri is solid, but after 10 years of navigating the space and shipping desktop apps. My best advice is JUST USE ELECTRON. I know! it hurts to ship a bloated shell, but it works like charm

Re: Ask HN: Any true alternatives to electron JavaScript?

#8

Post by owentbrown » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 5:04 PM UTC

Yesterday was kicking the tires on https://helixnotes.com/, a Tauri app. It's really slick and performance is really good. Loads fast, opens quick, etc.

So, I see that as evidence that Tauri is really solid.