How to Build Applications Using React Native Expo With Tauri

Quick Summary

Table of Contents

Introduction

Did you know there are more than 7.1 billion smartphone users worldwide, with 50% of desktop usage? Hence, the need for cross-platform solutions is evident.

React Native Expo and Tauri are two powerful frameworks developers can use to build excellent mobile and desktop applications. React Native Expo simplifies mobile app development by using JavaScript and React. Tauri, on the other side, transforms desktop app development, allowing your developer to create secure desktop applications for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

In this blog, we will cover the versatile React Native Expo with Tauri and discuss the steps to integrate them to build dynamic cross-platform applications efficiently.

Understanding React Native with Expo and Tauri

Before learning how to build an application using React Native, Expo, and Tauri, let’s better understand the framework and tools.

What is React Native?

React Native is an open-source framework powered by Facebook for developing mobile applications utilizing React and JavaScript. It lets developers write a single codebase once on Android and iOS platforms. It also provides native-feature, enhances user experience, and saves time.

Key Features of React Native:

• Cross-Platform development: A single codebase for both iOS and Android.
• Native components: Utilizes native components for a native-like experience.
• Hot reloading: It allows developers to see real-time changes without rebuilding the app.
• Rich ecosystem: A vast library of third-party plugins and components.

What is an Expo?

Expo is a set of tools and services that help developers simplify the development process. It provides a managed workflow with a pre-configuration environment, allowing developers to focus on the core functionality of the React Native application. Like React Native, Expo lets developers write code once and use it on multiple platforms.

Key Features of Expo:

• Managed workflow: Pre-configured APIs and elements.
• Expo CLI: Command-line tools to build and deploy apps.
• Expo SDK: Libraries and APIs for accessing device features like cameras, location, and notifications
• Easy deployment: Simplifies app deployment to the App Store and Google Play Store.

What is Tauri?

Tauri is a framework for developing desktop applications using web technologies like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript for the UI. It enables your developers to create native-like desktop apps, allowing you to run on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It also develops cross-platform applications using JS on the front end and Rust programming language on the back end.

Key Features of Tauri:

• Small bundle size: Develop smaller applications compared to other frameworks.<
• Performance: Utilizes the system’s web view to render the application.
• Customization: It can create custom menus, tray-type interfaces, and window customization options
• Security: Enhance app security with features like a scoped filesystem that improves file interaction security.

Pros and Cons of React Native Expo and Tauri

The following advantages and disadvantages will help you to streamline the development of the cross-platform process:

Pros and Cons of React Native:
Advantages

• Single codebase for multiple platforms
• Accelerates development with reusable code
• Active development and support from Facebook and a large community
• High performance for a wide range of applications

Disadvantages

• Complex debugging due to abstraction over native components
• Compatibility issues with iOS and Android updates
• Limited native module support
• Performance bottlenecks in highly complex applications

Pros and Cons of Expo:

Advantages

• Simplifies development with minimal configuration
• Quick prototyping with pre-configured APIs and components
• Convenient testing through the Expo Go app
• Over-the-air updates simplify maintenance

Disadvantages

• Restrictive managed workflow
• Performance overhead from the abstraction layer and additional features
• Dependency on Expo services
• App size bloat due to bundled features

Pros and Cons of Tauri:

Advantages

• Uses less RAM and CPU
• Strong security focus with minimal attack surface
• Smaller size application
• Cross-platform consistency across Windows, macOS, and Linux

Disadvantages

• Requires Rust knowledge for complex integrations
• Immature ecosystem compared to Electron
• Restrict documentation and community support
• Limited advanced desktop-specific feature support

Building Application Using React Native Expo and Tauri

Here are the following steps to build an application utilizing React Native Expo with Tauri. We have generated a small demo project in which you can see how one single line of code written in React Native can be used for multiple platforms, including desktops, with the help of the Tauri framework.

Step 1: First, you need to ensure Tauri is set up in your system. Also, you need to install Rust to run this command-

Note: Installing Rust varies on Mac/Windows/ Linux platform.

Next, restart the terminal and check the version.

Step 2: Later, you are required to create a React Native project using Expo

Step 3: Next, install dependencies. However, you must ensure your Expo is configured to generate for the web.

Step 4: Start metro with the following command-

Step 5: Later, you are required to install Tauri-cli

Step 6: Change package.json file

Step 7: Init Tauri into the project (Add)

However, certain questions will appear when you add Tauri into the React-Native Expo project-

It will walk you through a series of questions like this-

1. What is your app name?
You can use any name for your project; however, you must ensure that the name will be the final bundle and it will label the same in your OS.

2.What should the window title be?
Likewise, you can put any title you want and this will be the title of the default main window.

3. Where are your web assets (HTML/CSS/JS) located relative to the /src-tauri/tauri.conf.json file that will be created?
These are the steps that Tauri will take to load your frontend assets while creating for production. For instance, this is ../build.
Note it may vary like../dist if you are employing a different framework.

4. What is the URL of your dev server?
It can be either a URL or a file path that Tauri will load during development.
For instance, the URL is http://localhost:8081. Also, it can be different if you are using a different framework to build React Native-Expo with Tauri.

5. What is your frontend dev command?
This is the command used to start your frontend dev server. Like npm run start (make sure to adapt this to use the package manager of your choice).

6. What is your frontend build command?
It indicates the command to build your frontend files. The project example in this guide is an npm run build (choose package manager as per your project)

You can use the following answers:

Step 8: Now, you need to run the Tauri app using this command (Run)

And lastly, this is how the final look of your React Native Expo with Tauri app will look like this-

The final outcome in desktop

Web app

Below images are final outcome of mobile app looks-

IOS:

Android:

Conclusion

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why use React Native Expo with Tauri?

You must opt for React Native Expo with Tauri to deliver robust cross-platform solutions. It will also allow developers to improve code reusability, decrease development time, and simplify maintenance.

How do I set up a React Native Expo project with Tauri?

Following are steps to set up a React Native Expo project with Tauri:

• Create a new React Native Expo project utilizing expo init.
• Install Tauri and set up a Tauri project within your existing Expo project.
• Configure Tauri to employ your Expo build output as the webview content.

What are the advantages of using Tauri over Electron?

Tauri offers numerous advantages over Electron, like-

• Smaller application size and memory footprint.
• Better performance.
• Enhanced security with less attack surface.

Can I use existing React Native libraries with Tauri?

Yes, you can use most existing React Native libraries with Tauri, especially those that are merely JavaScript-based. However, for libraries that rely on native mobile code, you may need to create desktop-specific alternatives.