Tauri App Unpacker
Purpose
Tauri apps embed a web frontend (HTML/JS/CSS) inside a native Rust binary. The frontend often contains the license UI, API calls, and business logic accessible without disassembly. This skill extracts those embedded assets and analyses the Tauri-specific IPC layer.
Workflow
┌────────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐
│ tauri-app.exe │────▶│ unpack_tauri │────▶│ tauri-unpacked/ │
└────────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │ ├─ assets/ │
│ │ ├─ index.html │
│ │ ├─ main.js │
│ │ └─ style.css │
│ └─ tauri_config.json│
└─────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐
│ analyze_tauri │────▶│ tauri_analysis.json│
└───────────────┘ └───────────────────┘
Usage
# Extract assets
python tauri-unpacker/scripts/unpack_tauri.py app.exe --out output/tauri-unpacked
# Analyze extracted frontend
python tauri-unpacker/scripts/analyze_tauri.py output/tauri-unpacked --out output/tauri-analysis
# Full pipeline
python tauri-unpacker/scripts/unpack_tauri.py app.exe --out output/tauri-unpacked && \
python tauri-unpacker/scripts/analyze_tauri.py output/tauri-unpacked --out output/tauri-analysis
Outputs
| File | Content |
|---|---|
assets/ |
Extracted HTML, JS, CSS, images |
tauri_config.json |
Embedded Tauri configuration |
tauri_analysis.json |
IPC commands, event listeners, API endpoints, license logic |
When to use
binary-identifierorrust-binary-analyzerreports Tauri framework- Target directory contains a Tauri app bundle
.exewith embedded web assets (HTML/JS/CSS in binary data)
Chain targets
After extraction, chain:
javascript-deobfuscator→ deobfuscate extracted JSelectron-app-analyzer→ reuse secret/endpoint scanning (works on any JS)
Anti-patterns
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Only analysing the Rust backend | Frontend JS often has license UI, API keys, validation |
| Skipping brotli decompression | Tauri compresses assets with brotli — must decompress |
| Ignoring IPC commands | invoke() calls reveal backend API surface |
| Missing Tauri config | Config has CSP, allowed APIs, window settings — security-relevant |