Unlock the Power of Tauri: Building a Pomodoro Timer with Vite and React
Are you tired of using Electron for your desktop applications? Look no further than Tauri, a set of tools that allows you to build cross-platform desktop apps using frontend frameworks. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of using Tauri and build a simple Pomodoro timer using Vite and React.
What is Tauri?
Tauri is a game-changer for desktop app development. It uses Rust as its backend, producing smaller binaries and providing a more secure environment than Node.js. Tauri also leverages the WebView provided by the underlying OS to render the application’s UI, resulting in smaller application sizes.
Prerequisites
Before we dive into building our Pomodoro timer, make sure you have the following installed:
- Rust
- npm (comes bundled with Node.js)
Scaffolding a Tauri App
To get started, run the following command:
npx create-tauri-app
Follow the prompts to enter your project details, and choose the “create-vite” UI recipe and “react-ts” template.
Building the Frontend
We’ll use ChakraUI for our UI components and styling. To set up ChakraUI, follow their getting started guide.
Our Pomodoro timer will have the following features:
- Start and pause buttons
- Interval length options (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes)
- Reset button
- Notification trigger when the timer hits 0
Triggering a Notification and Adding a Reset Button
To trigger a notification, we’ll use Tauri’s JS/TS API package. Import the sendNotification function from the notification module and call it in your frontend code.
For the reset button, we’ll use Tauri’s ask function from the dialog module. Call the function in your frontend code, passing in the text to display in the dialog box.
Building the App
To build the application for distribution, run the following command:
npm run tauri build
This will create a binary under src-tauri/target/release.
That’s it! You now have a fully functional Pomodoro timer built using Tauri, Vite, and React.
Get Started with Tauri Today
Tauri offers a unique combination of security, performance, and ease of use. With its growing community and extensive documentation, Tauri is an excellent choice for your next desktop app project.
Give Tauri a try today and experience the power of Rust and WebView for yourself.