Desktop Apps with Electron, Tauri & .NET MAUI — Complete Build Guide

// main.js
const { app, BrowserWindow, ipcMain, dialog } = require("electron");
const path = require("path");
const fs = require("fs");

function createWindow() {
  const win = new BrowserWindow({
    width: 1024,
    height: 768,
    webPreferences: {
      preload: path.join(__dirname, "preload.js"),
      contextIsolation: true,
      nodeIntegration: false,
    },
  });
  win.loadFile("index.html");
}

app.whenReady().then(createWindow);

app.on("window-all-closed", () => {
  if (process.platform !== "darwin") app.quit();
});

// IPC handler: open file dialog and read a file
ipcMain.handle("open-file", async () => {
  const result = await dialog.showOpenDialog({
    properties: ["openFile"],
    filters: [{ name: "Text Files", extensions: ["txt", "md"] }],
  });
  if (result.canceled) return null;
  const content = fs.readFileSync(result.filePaths[0], "utf-8");
  return { path: result.filePaths[0], content };
});

// preload.js
const { contextBridge, ipcRenderer } = require("electron");

contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld("electronAPI", {
  openFile: () => ipcRenderer.invoke("open-file"),
});

{
  "name": "dodatext",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "main": "main.js",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "electron .",
    "build": "electron-builder --win --mac --linux"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "electron": "^33.0.0",
    "electron-builder": "^25.0.0"
  },
  "build": {
    "appId": "com.dodatech.dodatext",
    "productName": "DodaText",
    "directories": { "output": "dist" },
    "win": { "target": "nsis" },
    "mac": { "target": "dmg" },
    "linux": { "target": "AppImage" }
  }
}

// src-tauri/src/main.rs
#![cfg_attr(not(debug_assertions), windows_subsystem = "windows")]

use std::fs;

#[tauri::command]
fn list_directory(path: String) -> Result<Vec<String>, String> {
    let entries = fs::read_dir(&path).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
    let mut files = Vec::new();
    for entry in entries {
        let entry = entry.map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
        files.push(entry.file_name().to_string_lossy().to_string());
    }
    Ok(files)
}

#[tauri::command]
fn compress_file(source: String, dest: String) -> Result<(), String> {
    use std::process::Command;
    let output = Command::new("zip")
        .args(["-j", "&dest", &source])
        .output()
        .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
    if output.status.success() {
        Ok(())
    } else {
        Err(String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr).to_string())
    }
}

fn main() {
    tauri::Builder::default()
        .invoke_handler(tauri::generate_handler![list_directory, compress_file])
        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
        .expect("error running tauri app");
}

// src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
{
  "productName": "DodaZipQuick",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "identifier": "com.dodatech.dodazipquick",
  "build": {
    "frontendDist": "../dist",
    "devUrl": "http://localhost:5173",
    "beforeDevCommand": "npm run dev",
    "beforeBuildCommand": "npm run build"
  },
  "app": {
    "windows": [
      {
        "title": "DodaZipQuick",
        "width": 900,
        "height": 600,
        "resizable": true
      }
    ],
    "security": {
      "csp": "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
    }
  }
}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ContentPage xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dotnet/2021/maui"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
             x:Class="DodaFileOps.MainPage"
             Title="DodaFileOps">
    <Grid Padding="20" RowDefinitions="Auto,Auto,*">
        <Label Text="File Operations"
               FontSize="24"
               FontAttributes="Bold"
               Grid.Row="0"
               Margin="0,0,0,16"/>
        <HorizontalStackLayout Grid.Row="1" Spacing="8">
            <Button x:Name="PickFileBtn"
                    Text="Pick File"
                    Clicked="OnPickFile"
                    BackgroundColor="#006B5E"
                    TextColor="White"/>
            <Button x:Name="CompressBtn"
                    Text="Compress"
                    Clicked="OnCompress"
                    BackgroundColor="#4A635C"
                    TextColor="White"/>
        </HorizontalStackLayout>
        <ListView x:Name="FileList" Grid.Row="2" Margin="0,16,0,0"/>
    </Grid>
</ContentPage>

using Microsoft.Maui.Storage;
using System.IO.Compression;
using System.IO;

namespace DodaFileOps;

public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
{
    private string _selectedFilePath;

    public MainPage()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
    }

    private async void OnPickFile(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        var result = await FilePicker.PickAsync(new PickOptions
        {
            FileTypes = new FilePickerFileType(new Dictionary<DevicePlatform, IEnumerable<string>>
            {
                { DevicePlatform.WinUI, new[] { ".txt", ".md", ".pdf" } },
                { DevicePlatform.macOS, new[] { "public.plain-text", "public.pdf" } },
            })
        });

        if (result != null)
        {
            _selectedFilePath = result.FullPath;
            FileList.ItemsSource = new[] {
                $"Name: {result.FileName}",
                $"Size: {FormatSize(result.FileSize)}",
                $"Path: {result.FullPath}"
            };
        }
    }

    private async void OnCompress(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(_selectedFilePath)) return;

        var savePath = await FileSaver.SaveAsync("compressed.zip",
            new MemoryStream());

        if (savePath != null)
        {
            using var archive = ZipFile.Open(savePath, ZipArchiveMode.Create);
            archive.CreateEntryFromFile(_selectedFilePath,
                Path.GetFileName(_selectedFilePath));
            await DisplayAlert("Done", $"Compressed to {savePath}", "OK");
        }
    }

    private static string FormatSize(long bytes) => bytes switch
    {
        < 1024 => $"{bytes} B",
        < 1048576 => $"{bytes / 1024.0:F1} KB",
        _ => $"{bytes / 1048576.0:F1} MB"
    };
}