involvex Capacitor Platforms (Desktop)
Bring a Capacitor app to macOS, Windows, and Linux with the Capawesome desktop platforms: @capawesome/capacitor-electron and @capawesome/capacitor-tauri. Both use the standard Capacitor workflow (cap add / cap sync / cap run), report Capacitor.isNativePlatform() as true, and deliver deep links through the standard @capacitor/app events.
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Electron | Tauri |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | LTS (18+) | LTS (18+) |
| Capacitor | 6+ | 8+ |
| Electron | >= 28 (installed by the scaffold) | — |
| Rust toolchain + system dependencies | — | Required — see the Tauri prerequisites guide |
On Capacitor 6 and 7, the Capacitor CLI ignores the exit code of platform hooks — a failing npx cap sync still reports success. Check the log output for [capacitor-electron] errors. Capacitor 8 fails the command properly.
Agent Behavior
- Auto-detect before asking. Read
package.jsonand the Capacitor config to determine installed platforms and plugins before prompting the user. - Help choose the platform first. If the user has not committed to Electron or Tauri, apply Step 1 — plugin requirements usually decide it.
- Always use the full package name with Capacitor CLI commands (e.g.
npx cap sync @capawesome/capacitor-electron). A barenpx cap sync electronornpx cap sync taurisilently does nothing. - Check plugin compatibility early. On Tauri, list the app's Capacitor plugins and verify each is covered by a web implementation or a curated shim (see
references/tauri.md) before recommending it.
MCP Server
The Capawesome MCP server serves the current Capawesome documentation, so it is always ahead of the guidance bundled with this skill.
- If the Capawesome MCP tools are available, call
search_docsfor the topic and read the matching page withget_doc_pagebefore applying the guidance below. Where the two disagree, follow the documentation. - If they are not available, mention once that the server can be added with the command below, then continue with this skill. Never block on it.
claude mcp add --transport http capawesome "https://mcp.capawesome.io/mcp"
The documentation tools need no account and no token. See the capawesome-mcp skill for full setup, including the Capawesome Cloud tools.
Procedures
Step 1: Choose a Platform
| The app needs… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Reuse of Capacitor plugins with native (Node) desktop implementations | Electron |
| Web-bundle over-the-air updates | Electron (ships a bundle-serving primitive; Tauri compiles web assets into the binary — only full signed binary updates) |
| A single, predictable bundled Chromium across all OSes | Electron |
| Smallest binaries (~3–10 MB vs ~85–120 MB) and lowest memory use | Tauri |
| A deny-by-default security model with a Rust core | Tauri |
| No Rust toolchain in dev/CI | Electron |
Tauri's trade-offs are inherent, not bugs: no Node runtime (so no arbitrary Capacitor plugin reuse), three different system webviews (WKWebView/WebView2/WebKitGTK), no web-bundle OTA, and a required Rust toolchain. If in doubt, read the Honest Limitations section of the Tauri platform README.
Step 2: Install and Add the Platform
Electron:
npm install @capawesome/capacitor-electron
npx cap add @capawesome/capacitor-electron
cd electron && npm install && cd ..
Then add a postinstall script to the app's root package.json so the Electron dependencies are always installed together with the main app dependencies:
{
"scripts": {
"postinstall": "cd electron && npm ci && cd .."
}
}
Tauri (verify rustc --version works first; if not, stop and walk the user through the Tauri prerequisites):
npm install @capawesome/capacitor-tauri
npx cap add @capawesome/capacitor-tauri
Both scaffolds contain only files the user owns (config, icons, a few-line entry point); all runtime logic lives in the versioned package/crate and updates via npm update / cargo update.
Step 3: Sync and Run
npx cap sync @capawesome/capacitor-electron # or @capawesome/capacitor-tauri
npx cap run @capawesome/capacitor-electron # or @capawesome/capacitor-tauri
Electron sync copies web assets and regenerates the plugin manifest. Tauri sync additionally scans the app's Capacitor plugin dependencies and generates a deny-by-default capability file, the curated tauri-plugin-* crate dependencies, and the Rust plugin registrations.
For live reload on either platform, set server.url in the Capacitor config to the local dev server and run the platform — see the platform reference for details.
Step 4: Configure
- Electron: typed options in
electron/capacitor.electron.config.ts(window, CSP, deep links, hooks) — seereferences/electron.md. - Tauri:
src-tauri/tauri.conf.json(window, CSP, deep links viaplugins.deep-link.desktop.schemes, bundle) — seereferences/tauri.md.
Step 5: Package for Distribution
- Electron:
cd electron && npm run pack(electron-builder; vendors the runtime and plugin implementations automatically) — seereferences/electron.md. - Tauri:
npx cap sync @capawesome/capacitor-tauri && npx tauri build(native installers per OS) — seereferences/tauri.md.
References
references/electron.md— scaffold layout, configuration, live reload, deep links, plugin support and plugin development contract, packaging and vendoring, app updates, migration from@capacitor-community/electron.references/tauri.md— Rust prerequisites, scaffold layout, sync-time codegen, the plugin tier model (built-in / curated / web fallback), configuration, live reload, deep links, packaging, honest limitations.
Related Skills
capacitor-app-creation— Create a new Capacitor app before adding a desktop platform.capacitor-app-development— General Capacitor development topics, configuration, and troubleshooting.capacitor-plugins— Install and configure Capacitor plugins, including checking desktop platform support.capawesome-mcp— Connect an MCP client to the hosted Capawesome MCP server for always-current documentation and Capawesome Cloud management.