Building for Production

Build Overview

Building MarkView for production involves two stages: compiling the Next.js frontend into a static bundle, then packaging it with the Rust backend into a native executable.

Next.js Static Export

The frontend is built into static HTML/CSS/JS filesOutput: out/ directory

Tauri Bundle

The Tauri CLI packages the static frontend with the Rust backend into a native binaryOutput: src-tauri/target/release/ directory

Production Build Process

Quick Build

The simplest way to build for production:

bun run tauri build

This single command:

Runs bun run build to create the Next.js static export
Compiles the Rust backend in release mode with optimizations
Creates platform-specific installers and binaries

The first production build may take 5-10 minutes as Rust compiles with full optimizations.

Step-by-Step Build

For more control, build each layer separately:

Build the Next.js frontend

bun run build

Configuration: next.config.ts

const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
  output: "export",  // Static HTML export
};

Output location: out/Contents:

index.html - Main page
_next/static/ - JS/CSS bundles
_next/static/chunks/ - Code-split chunks

Build the Tauri application

cd src-tauri
cargo build --release

Or use Tauri CLI directly:

bun run tauri build

Build configuration: src-tauri/tauri.conf.json

{
  "build": {
    "frontendDist": "../out",
    "beforeBuildCommand": "bun run build"
  }
}

Locate the binaries

After building, find your executable at:macOS:

src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/MarkView.app

Linux:

src-tauri/target/release/markview
src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/markview_0.1.0_amd64.AppImage
src-tauri/target/release/bundle/deb/markview_0.1.0_amd64.deb

Windows:

src-tauri/target/release/markview.exe
src-tauri/target/release/bundle/msi/markview_0.1.0_x64_en-US.msi

Build Configuration

Tauri Configuration

File: src-tauri/tauri.conf.json

Key Configuration

{
  "productName": "MarkView",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "identifier": "com.markview.desktop",
  "build": {
    "frontendDist": "../out",
    "devUrl": "http://localhost:3000",
    "beforeDevCommand": "bun run dev",
    "beforeBuildCommand": "bun run build"
  },
  "bundle": {
    "active": true,
    "targets": "all",
    "icon": [
      "icons/32x32.png",
      "icons/128x128.png",
      "icons/128x128@2x.png",
      "icons/icon.icns",
      "icons/icon.ico"
    ]
  }
}

Configuration Fields

productName

string

Display name shown in OS (window title, app menu)

version

string

Semantic version used for installers and updates

identifier

string

Unique bundle identifier (reverse domain notation)

build.frontendDist

string

Path to Next.js static export output (../out)

build.beforeBuildCommand

string

Command run before Tauri build (bun run build)

bundle.targets

string

Target installers: all, app, dmg, deb, appimage, msi

Cargo Configuration

File: src-tauri/Cargo.toml

[package]
name = "markview"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2021"
rust-version = "1.77.2"

[dependencies]
tauri = { version = "2", features = [] }
tauri-plugin-dialog = "2"
tauri-plugin-fs = "2"
tauri-plugin-shell = "2"
tauri-plugin-log = "2"
serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
serde_json = "1.0"
log = "0.4"

Optimization Options

Rust Release Optimizations

Add to src-tauri/Cargo.toml for smaller binaries:

Additional Optimizations

[profile.release]
opt-level = "z"     # Optimize for size
lto = true          # Link-time optimization
codegen-units = 1   # Better optimization
panic = "abort"     # Smaller binary
strip = true        # Remove debug symbols

Trade-offs:

Smaller binary size (20-30% reduction)
Longer compilation time (2-3x slower)
No debug symbols (harder to debug crashes)

Next.js Build Optimizations

Next.js automatically optimizes production builds:

Minification of JS/CSS
Tree-shaking unused code
Image optimization (if using next/image)
Code splitting for faster loads

Platform-Specific Builds

macOS

Build for macOS

bun run tauri build

Outputs:

MarkView.app - macOS application bundle
MarkView.app.tar.gz - Compressed app
MarkView_0.1.0_x64.dmg - DMG installer

Code signing (optional)

For distribution outside the App Store:

# Add to tauri.conf.json
{
  "bundle": {
    "macOS": {
      "signingIdentity": "Developer ID Application: Your Name",
      "entitlements": "path/to/entitlements.plist"
    }
  }
}

Notarization (for Gatekeeper)

Required for distribution via download:

xcrun notarytool submit MarkView.app.zip \
  --apple-id your@email.com \
  --team-id TEAM_ID \
  --password APP_PASSWORD

Linux

AppImage
Debian Package
RPM Package

Universal Linux binary:

bun run tauri build -- --bundles appimage

Output: markview_0.1.0_amd64.AppImageUsage:

chmod +x markview_0.1.0_amd64.AppImage
./markview_0.1.0_amd64.AppImage

For Debian/Ubuntu distributions:

bun run tauri build -- --bundles deb

Output: markview_0.1.0_amd64.debInstallation:

sudo dpkg -i markview_0.1.0_amd64.deb

For Fedora/RHEL distributions:

bun run tauri build -- --bundles rpm

Output: markview-0.1.0-1.x86_64.rpmInstallation:

sudo rpm -i markview-0.1.0-1.x86_64.rpm

Windows

Build for Windows

bun run tauri build

Outputs:

markview.exe - Portable executable
markview_0.1.0_x64_en-US.msi - Windows installer

Code signing (optional)

Sign the executable with a certificate:

# Add to tauri.conf.json
{
  "bundle": {
    "windows": {
      "certificateThumbprint": "YOUR_THUMBPRINT",
      "digestAlgorithm": "sha256"
    }
  }
}

Build Targets

Specify Bundle Types

Control which installers to generate:

bun run tauri build -- --bundles app

Cross-Platform Builds

Tauri does not support cross-compilation. You must build on the target platform:

Build macOS binaries on macOS
Build Windows binaries on Windows
Build Linux binaries on Linux

Recommended: Use CI/CD with platform-specific runners (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI).

Binary Output Structure

Output Directory

src-tauri/target/release/
├── markview                    # Executable (Linux/macOS)
├── markview.exe                # Executable (Windows)
└── bundle/
    ├── macos/
    │   ├── MarkView.app        # macOS app bundle
    │   └── MarkView.app.tar.gz # Compressed bundle
    ├── dmg/
    │   └── MarkView_0.1.0_x64.dmg
    ├── deb/
    │   └── markview_0.1.0_amd64.deb
    ├── appimage/
    │   └── markview_0.1.0_amd64.AppImage
    └── msi/
        └── markview_0.1.0_x64_en-US.msi

Testing the Production Build

Manual Testing

Run the executable

Navigate to the binary location and execute:

# macOS
open src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/MarkView.app

# Linux
./src-tauri/target/release/markview

# Windows
.\src-tauri\target\release\markview.exe

Test file loading

Open a markdown file via CLI: ./markview README.md
Open a directory: ./markview /path/to/docs
Drag and drop files into the window
Use the file picker buttons

Verify themes

Press Alt+T to open theme selector
Switch between all 7 themes
Close and reopen - theme should persist

Test markdown features

Verify rendering of:

Code blocks with syntax highlighting
Tables
Task lists
Mermaid diagrams
Internal/external links

Distribution

File Size Reference

Expected binary sizes (may vary by platform):

Platform	Binary Size	Installer Size
macOS (app)	~3-5 MB	~4-6 MB (DMG)
Linux (AppImage)	~5-7 MB	-
Windows (exe)	~4-6 MB	~5-7 MB (MSI)

Distribution Methods

Direct Download

Host binaries on:

GitHub Releases
Your own website
Cloud storage (S3, etc.)

Package Managers

Submit to:

Homebrew (macOS)
AUR (Arch Linux)
Chocolatey (Windows)
Snapcraft (Linux)

App Stores

Publish to:

Mac App Store
Microsoft Store
Flathub

Auto-Updates

Use Tauri’s updater:

Configure update endpoint
Sign releases
Push update manifests

Troubleshooting Build Issues

Build fails with 'out directory not found'

Ensure Next.js build completed successfully:

bun run build
ls -la out/  # Verify files exist

Binary is too large

Apply Rust release optimizations in Cargo.toml:

[profile.release]
opt-level = "z"
lto = true
strip = true

macOS: 'App is damaged' error

This is a Gatekeeper issue. Options:

Code sign the app
Remove quarantine attribute:
```
xattr -cr MarkView.app
```

Windows: SmartScreen warning

Windows SmartScreen flags unsigned executables:

Code sign with a valid certificate
Users can click “More info” → “Run anyway”

Linux: Missing shared libraries

AppImage should include all dependencies. If not:

# Check missing libraries
ldd markview

# Install missing dependencies
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0

CI/CD Automation

Example GitHub Actions workflow for multi-platform builds:

.github/workflows/build.yml

name: Build

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
    
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Setup Bun
        uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@v1
      
      - name: Install Rust
        uses: actions-rs/toolchain@v1
        with:
          toolchain: stable
      
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: bun install
      
      - name: Build
        run: bun run tauri build
      
      - name: Upload artifacts
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ${{ matrix.os }}-binaries
          path: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/

Building for Production

Build Overview

Production Build Process

Quick Build

Step-by-Step Build

Build Configuration

Tauri Configuration

Configuration Fields

Cargo Configuration

Optimization Options

Rust Release Optimizations

Next.js Build Optimizations

Platform-Specific Builds

macOS

Linux

Windows

Build Targets

Specify Bundle Types

Cross-Platform Builds

Binary Output Structure

Testing the Production Build

Manual Testing

Distribution

File Size Reference

Distribution Methods

Direct Download

Package Managers

App Stores

Auto-Updates

Troubleshooting Build Issues

CI/CD Automation

Next Steps

Development Setup

Architecture

Documentation Index

​Build Overview

​Production Build Process

​Quick Build

​Step-by-Step Build

​Build Configuration

​Tauri Configuration

​Configuration Fields

​Cargo Configuration

​Optimization Options

​Rust Release Optimizations

​Next.js Build Optimizations

​Platform-Specific Builds

​macOS

​Linux

​Windows

​Build Targets

​Specify Bundle Types

​Cross-Platform Builds

​Binary Output Structure

​Testing the Production Build

​Manual Testing

​Distribution

​File Size Reference

​Distribution Methods

Direct Download

Package Managers

App Stores

Auto-Updates

​Troubleshooting Build Issues

​CI/CD Automation

​Next Steps

Development Setup

Architecture

Build Overview

Production Build Process

Quick Build

Step-by-Step Build

Build Configuration

Tauri Configuration

Configuration Fields

Cargo Configuration

Optimization Options

Rust Release Optimizations

Next.js Build Optimizations

Platform-Specific Builds

macOS

Linux

Windows

Build Targets

Specify Bundle Types

Cross-Platform Builds

Binary Output Structure

Testing the Production Build

Manual Testing

Distribution

File Size Reference

Distribution Methods

Troubleshooting Build Issues

CI/CD Automation

Next Steps