Distribution

Package and distribute your Local.ts app with native bundles, code signing, automatic updates, and CI/CD.

Once your app is ready, you will package and distribute it so users can install and run it.

Tauri supports producing platform-native bundles and installers; this document gives a concise overview of the concepts and pointers to the official Tauri documentation for platform-specific details.

Building for Production

Use the Tauri build command to produce production bundles for one or more targets:

# Build all configured bundles
turbo tauri -- build

Build artifacts are produced under src-tauri/target/release/bundle/ and typically include platform-appropriate formats. Configure what gets produced in your tauri.conf.json bundle section.

macOS: .dmg, .app
Windows: .msi, .exe
Linux: .deb, .rpm, .AppImage

A minimal bundle configuration may look like:

{
  "bundle": {
    "active": true,
    "targets": "all",
    "identifier": "com.yourcompany.yourapp"
  }
}

For full configuration options, see the Tauri distribution configuration docs.

Code Signing

Code signing is the process of cryptographically signing your app binaries and installers so platforms and users can verify the publisher and integrity of the software.

The goal is to establish publisher identity, enable notarization on macOS, and reduce warnings (e.g., Windows SmartScreen).

macOS: typically requires an Apple Developer account and notarization for broad distribution.
Windows: uses a code signing certificate from a trusted CA (or platform-specific signing services).
Linux: signing is less centralized; some package formats or distribution channels support signatures for verification.

For platform-specific signing steps, certificates, and notarization details, follow the Tauri signing guides.

Automatic Updates

Automatic updates let your app check for, download, and apply new versions without users manually reinstalling.

An update manifest or endpoint advertises the latest version, the updater checks that endpoint and verifies update integrity (signatures), then downloads and installs updates.

Tauri provides an updater plugin and patterns for hosting update metadata and artifacts.

App Stores

If you plan to publish to platform app stores, be aware of their extra requirements:

macOS App Store: App Sandbox, entitlements, and App Store-specific packaging.
Microsoft Store: MSIX packaging and Partner Center submission.
Linux stores (Flathub, Snap Store, etc.): packaging formats and store submission processes differ.

Check the Tauri app stores documentation and the target store's guidelines for the precise steps and policies.

We provide a GitHub Action workflow that automates the build and release process across all supported platforms. The workflow builds native bundles for macOS (both Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux, then creates a draft GitHub release with the artifacts.

Overview

The publish workflow is triggered either manually via workflow_dispatch or automatically when pushing to the release branch. It uses a matrix strategy to build in parallel across different platforms:

macOS (both aarch64-apple-darwin for M1+ and x86_64-apple-darwin for Intel)
Ubuntu 22.04 for Linux bundles
Windows for Windows installers

Key Features

Parallel builds — All platform targets build simultaneously using GitHub's matrix strategy
Caching — Both pnpm and Rust dependencies are cached to speed up builds
Draft releases — Creates a draft GitHub release tagged as app-v__VERSION__ with all platform artifacts
Platform dependencies — Automatically installs required system dependencies (e.g., WebKit libraries on Ubuntu)

Using the Workflow

Push to the release branch or manually trigger the workflow
The workflow builds all platform bundles
A draft release is created with all artifacts attached
Review the draft release and publish when ready

For more details on customizing this workflow or setting up your own CI/CD pipeline, see the Tauri GitHub Pipelines guide.

Learn More

For full, authoritative, and up-to-date instructions — including commands, certificates, keys, and security guidance — see the Tauri documentation:

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