/desktop-mobile-tauri

name: desktop-mobile-tauri
description: Tauri 2.x mobile development - iOS via WKWebView, Android via Android WebView, mobile plugins, Swift/Kotlin native code, permissions, debugging

Tauri 2.x Mobile Development

> **Quick Guide:** Tauri 2.x supports iOS (WKWebView) and Android (Android WebView) from the same codebase as desktop. Initialize with `tauri android init` / `tauri ios init`, run with `tauri android dev` / `tauri ios dev`. Mobile-only plugins (biometric, barcode-scanner, NFC, haptics, geolocation) use `#[cfg(mobile)]` for conditional registration. Custom native code uses Swift classes extending `Plugin` on iOS and Kotlin classes annotated with `@TauriPlugin` on Android. Every mobile plugin needs platform permissions (Info.plist keys on iOS, AndroidManifest.xml permissions on Android) in addition to Tauri capability grants. > > **Current version:** Tauri 2.x (stable). Mobile support is production-ready since Tauri 2.0 (2024).

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<critical_requirements>

CRITICAL: Before Using This Skill

**(You MUST use `#[cfg(mobile)]` when registering mobile-only plugins -- registering them unconditionally breaks desktop builds)**

**(You MUST add platform permissions (Info.plist on iOS, AndroidManifest.xml on Android) in ADDITION to Tauri capability file permissions -- missing platform permissions cause silent failures or runtime crashes)**

**(You MUST use `#[cfg_attr(mobile, tauri::mobile_entry_point)]` on `pub fn run()` -- without it, the app cannot launch on mobile)**

**(You MUST run mobile dev commands (`tauri ios dev`, `tauri android dev`) instead of `tauri dev` for mobile targets -- `tauri dev` only targets desktop)**

</critical_requirements>

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**Auto-detection:** tauri android init, tauri ios init, tauri android dev, tauri ios dev, tauri-plugin-biometric, tauri-plugin-barcode-scanner, tauri-plugin-nfc, tauri-plugin-haptics, tauri-plugin-geolocation, #[cfg(mobile)], #[cfg(target_os = "android")], #[cfg(target_os = "ios")], mobile_entry_point, Info.plist, Info.ios.plist, AndroidManifest.xml, NSCameraUsageDescription, NSFaceIDUsageDescription, NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription, @TauriPlugin, Plugin Swift class, WKWebView, Invoke, InvokeArg, run_mobile_plugin, develop-mobile

**When to use:**

• Adding iOS or Android targets to a Tauri 2.x project
• Using mobile-specific plugins (biometric auth, barcode scanner, NFC, haptics, geolocation)
• Writing custom native plugin code in Swift (iOS) or Kotlin (Android)
• Configuring mobile platform permissions and capabilities
• Debugging on mobile simulators/emulators or physical devices
• Writing platform-conditional Rust code for mobile vs desktop

**When NOT to use:**

• Desktop-only Tauri development (use the desktop-framework-tauri skill)
• General Tauri concepts (commands, IPC, events, permissions, window management -- desktop skill covers these)
• Frontend framework patterns (component architecture, state management -- use respective framework skills)
• General Rust programming not related to Tauri mobile APIs

**Key patterns covered:**

• Mobile project initialization and prerequisites ([examples/core.md](examples/core.md))
• Mobile-specific plugin registration with `#[cfg(mobile)]` ([examples/core.md](examples/core.md))
• Mobile plugin gallery: biometric, barcode-scanner, NFC, haptics, geolocation ([examples/plugins.md](examples/plugins.md))
• Custom Swift plugin development for iOS ([examples/native-plugins.md](examples/native-plugins.md))
• Custom Kotlin plugin development for Android ([examples/native-plugins.md](examples/native-plugins.md))
• Platform permissions: Info.plist, AndroidManifest.xml ([examples/core.md](examples/core.md))
• Mobile debugging: Safari Web Inspector, Chrome DevTools, logcat ([examples/core.md](examples/core.md))

**Detailed resources:**

• [examples/core.md](examples/core.md) - Project setup, mobile plugin registration, permissions, platform-conditional code, debugging
• [examples/plugins.md](examples/plugins.md) - Mobile-specific plugins (biometric, barcode, NFC, haptics, geolocation)
• [examples/native-plugins.md](examples/native-plugins.md) - Custom Swift and Kotlin plugin development, calling Rust from mobile
• [reference.md](reference.md) - CLI commands, prerequisites checklist, mobile plugin registry, permission reference

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<philosophy>

Philosophy

Tauri mobile extends the same Rust backend + webview frontend architecture to iOS and Android. The key difference: mobile apps run in the OS native webview (WKWebView on iOS, Android WebView on Android) and can access device hardware through mobile-specific plugins. Your existing Tauri desktop code (commands, state, events) works on mobile without changes -- you add mobile support incrementally.

**When Tauri mobile is the right choice:**

• You already have a Tauri desktop app and want to share the codebase with mobile
• You want a single codebase for desktop + mobile with web frontend skills
• You need native device features (camera, biometrics, NFC) accessible via plugins
• You want small app sizes compared to alternatives that bundle their own webview

**When Tauri mobile may NOT be the right choice:**

• You need pixel-perfect native UI (Tauri renders web content, not native widgets)
• You need features that require a consistent browser engine (Tauri uses the OS webview, which varies)
• Your app is mobile-only with no desktop plans (native mobile frameworks may be more appropriate)
• You need advanced mobile-specific APIs not yet covered by Tauri plugins

</philosophy>

---

<patterns>

Core Patterns

Pattern 1: Mobile Project Initialization

Initialize mobile targets in an existing Tauri project. Each platform requires its own init step.

# Initialize Android target (generates gen/android/ project)
npx tauri android init

# Initialize iOS target (generates gen/apple/ project) -- macOS only
npx tauri ios init

After init, add the mobile entry point attribute to your `run()` function:

// src-tauri/