SQUAD | AI Agent Collaboration Platform

When we started building Squad's desktop app, we faced a critical architecture decision. We needed a shell that could securely access local resources—file system, keychain, shell execution—while maintaining strict isolation from the cloud backend.

The obvious choice was Electron. It's battle-tested, has a massive ecosystem, and every developer knows it. But we chose Tauri instead. Here's why.

The Requirements

Squad's desktop app has unique security requirements:

Local file system access for reading project files and configs
Keychain integration for storing API tokens securely
Shell execution for running git commands and build tools
Complete isolation between local access and cloud communication

The frontend should never have direct access to the file system. All local operations must go through a controlled, auditable layer.

Why Not Electron?

Electron is the obvious choice for cross-platform desktop apps. But it comes with serious baggage:

Bundle size: 150MB+ just for the runtime
Memory usage: Each window spawns a new V8 process (300MB+ idle)
Security model: Node.js in the renderer is a footgun

"We needed the frontend to be completely sandboxed from local OS access. Electron's architecture makes this difficult to enforce."

Electron's "contextBridge" helps, but it's opt-in security. One mistake and your renderer has full Node.js access. We wanted security by default.

Enter Tauri

Tauri inverts the Electron model. The Rust backend handles all system access, while the frontend is a standard WebView with no special privileges.

        // Rust command - only this layer touches the file system

        #[tauri::command]

        async fn read_file(path: String) -> Result<String, String> {

          std::fs::read_to_string(&path)

            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())

        }

        // Frontend invokes via IPC - no direct fs access

        const content = await invoke('read_file', { path: '/etc/hosts' });

The frontend literally cannot access the file system. It can only call pre-defined Rust commands. This is security by architecture, not by convention.

The 3-Layer Architecture

This led us to our current architecture:

Layer 1 (Tauri/Rust): Local OS access, keychain, file system, shell execution
Layer 2 (Vue Frontend): UI rendering, state management, user interactions
Layer 3 (Fastify Backend): Business logic, AI orchestration, database

TAURI
RUST

Local OS

VUE
FRONTEND

WebView

FASTIFY
BACKEND

Cloud

Fig 1. The 3-Layer Separation of Concerns

Layer 1 never talks to Layer 3 directly. All cloud communication goes through the Vue frontend, which acts as a bridge. This creates clear audit boundaries.

Results

After shipping with Tauri, the numbers speak for themselves:

~15MB binary size (vs 150MB+ Electron)
~50MB RAM at idle (vs 300MB+ Electron)
Zero CVEs from Node.js in renderer
10x faster cold start time

More importantly, we sleep better knowing that a compromised frontend can't exfiltrate local files or credentials. The architecture makes it impossible.

The Tradeoffs

Tauri isn't perfect. Here's what we gave up:

Smaller ecosystem of plugins compared to Electron
Rust learning curve for the team
WebView rendering inconsistencies across platforms

For Squad, the security and performance benefits outweighed these costs. Your mileage may vary.