Debugging Tauri Applications
This skill covers debugging Tauri v2 applications including console debugging, WebView inspection, IDE configurations, and CrabNebula DevTools.
Development-Only Code
Use conditional compilation to exclude debug code from production builds:
// Only runs during tauri dev
[cfg(dev)]
{ // Development-only code }
// Runtime check if cfg!(dev) { // tauri dev code } else { // tauri build code }
// Programmatic check let is_dev: bool = tauri::is_dev();
// Debug builds and tauri build --debug
[cfg(debug_assertions)]
{ // Debug-only code }
Console Debugging Rust Print Macros
Print messages to the terminal where tauri dev runs:
println!("Message from Rust: {}", msg); dbg!(&variable); // Prints variable with file:line info
Enable Backtraces
For detailed error information:
Linux/macOS
RUST_BACKTRACE=1 tauri dev
Windows PowerShell
$env:RUST_BACKTRACE=1 tauri dev
WebView DevTools Opening DevTools Right-click and select "Inspect Element" Ctrl + Shift + i (Linux/Windows) Cmd + Option + i (macOS)
Platform-specific inspectors: WebKit (Linux), Safari (macOS), Edge DevTools (Windows).
Programmatic Control tauri::Builder::default() .setup(|app| { #[cfg(debug_assertions)] { let window = app.get_webview_window("main").unwrap(); window.open_devtools(); // window.close_devtools(); } Ok(()) })
Production DevTools
Create a debug build for testing:
tauri build --debug
To permanently enable devtools in production, add to src-tauri/Cargo.toml:
[ dependencies ] tauri = { version = "...", features = ["...", "devtools"] }
WARNING: Using the devtools feature enables private macOS APIs that prevent App Store acceptance.
VS Code Setup Required Extensions Extension Platform Purpose vscode-lldb All LLDB debugger C/C++ Windows Visual Studio debugger launch.json Configuration
Create .vscode/launch.json:
{ "version": "0.2.0", "configurations": [ { "type": "lldb", "request": "launch", "name": "Tauri Development Debug", "cargo": { "args": [ "build", "--manifest-path=./src-tauri/Cargo.toml", "--no-default-features" ] }, "preLaunchTask": "ui:dev" }, { "type": "lldb", "request": "launch", "name": "Tauri Production Debug", "cargo": { "args": [ "build", "--release", "--manifest-path=./src-tauri/Cargo.toml" ] }, "preLaunchTask": "ui:build" } ] }
Windows Visual Studio Debugger
For faster Windows debugging with better enum support:
{ "version": "0.2.0", "configurations": [ { "name": "Launch App Debug", "type": "cppvsdbg", "request": "launch", "program": "${workspaceRoot}/src-tauri/target/debug/your-app-name.exe", "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}", "preLaunchTask": "dev" } ] }
tasks.json Configuration
Create .vscode/tasks.json:
{ "version": "2.0.0", "tasks": [ { "label": "ui:dev", "type": "shell", "isBackground": true, "command": "npm", "args": ["run", "dev"] }, { "label": "ui:build", "type": "shell", "command": "npm", "args": ["run", "build"] }, { "label": "build:debug", "type": "cargo", "command": "build", "options": { "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}/src-tauri" } }, { "label": "dev", "dependsOn": ["build:debug", "ui:dev"], "group": { "kind": "build" } } ] }
Debugging Workflow Set breakpoints by clicking the line number margin in Rust files Press F5 or select debug configuration from Run menu The preLaunchTask runs the dev server automatically Debugger attaches and stops at breakpoints
NOTE: LLDB bypasses the Tauri CLI, so beforeDevCommand and beforeBuildCommand must be configured as tasks.
RustRover / IntelliJ Setup Project Configuration
If your project lacks a top-level Cargo.toml, create a workspace file:
[ workspace ] members = ["src-tauri"]
Or attach src-tauri/Cargo.toml via the Cargo tool window.
Run Configurations
Create two configurations in Run | Edit Configurations:
- Tauri App Configuration (Cargo) Command: run Additional arguments: --no-default-features
The --no-default-features flag is critical - it tells Tauri to load assets from the dev server instead of bundling them.
- Development Server Configuration
For Node-based projects:
Create an npm Run Configuration Set package manager (npm/pnpm/yarn) Set script to dev
For Rust WASM (Trunk):
Create a Shell Script configuration Command: trunk serve Debugging Workflow Start the development server configuration first Click Debug on the Tauri App configuration RustRover halts at Rust breakpoints automatically Inspect variables and step through code Neovim Setup Required Plugins nvim-dap - Debug Adapter Protocol client nvim-dap-ui - Debugger UI nvim-nio - Async dependency for nvim-dap-ui overseer.nvim (recommended) - Task management Prerequisites
Download codelldb from GitHub releases and note the installation path.
DAP Configuration
Add to your Neovim config (init.lua or equivalent):
local dap = require("dap")
-- Configure codelldb adapter dap.adapters.codelldb = { type = 'server', port = "${port}", executable = { command = '/path/to/codelldb/adapter/codelldb', args = {"--port", "${port}"}, } }
-- Launch configuration for Rust/Tauri dap.configurations.rust = { { name = "Launch Tauri App", type = "codelldb", request = "launch", program = function() return vim.fn.input('Path to executable: ', vim.fn.getcwd() .. '/target/debug/', 'file') end, cwd = '${workspaceFolder}', stopOnEntry = false }, }
UI Integration local dapui = require("dapui") dapui.setup()
-- Auto-open/close UI dap.listeners.before.attach.dapui_config = function() dapui.open() end dap.listeners.before.launch.dapui_config = function() dapui.open() end dap.listeners.before.event_terminated.dapui_config = function() dapui.close() end dap.listeners.before.event_exited.dapui_config = function() dapui.close() end
Visual Indicators vim.fn.sign_define('DapBreakpoint', { text = 'B', texthl = 'DapBreakpoint', linehl = '', numhl = '' }) vim.fn.sign_define('DapStopped', { text = '>', texthl = 'DapStopped', linehl = 'DapStopped', numhl = '' })
Keybindings
vim.keymap.set('n', '
Development Server Task
Create .vscode/tasks.json for overseer.nvim compatibility:
{ "version": "2.0.0", "tasks": [ { "type": "process", "label": "dev server", "command": "npm", "args": ["run", "dev"], "isBackground": true, "presentation": { "revealProblems": "onProblem" }, "problemMatcher": { "pattern": { "regexp": "^error:.", "file": 1, "line": 2 }, "background": { "activeOnStart": false, "beginsPattern": ".Rebuilding.", "endsPattern": ".listening.*" } } } ] }
NOTE: The development server does not start automatically when bypassing Tauri CLI. Use overseer.nvim or start it manually.
CrabNebula DevTools
CrabNebula DevTools provides real-time application instrumentation including log inspection, performance monitoring, and Tauri event/command analysis.
Features Inspect log events (including dependency logs) Monitor command execution performance Analyze Tauri events with payloads and responses Real-time visualization Installation cargo add tauri-plugin-devtools@2.0.0
Setup
Initialize DevTools as early as possible in src-tauri/src/main.rs:
fn main() { // Initialize DevTools only in debug builds #[cfg(debug_assertions)] let devtools = tauri_plugin_devtools::init();
let mut builder = tauri::Builder::default();
#[cfg(debug_assertions)]
{
builder = builder.plugin(devtools);
}
builder
.run(tauri::generate_context!())
.expect("error while running tauri application")
}
Usage
When running tauri dev, DevTools automatically opens a web-based interface showing:
Application logs with filtering IPC command calls with timing Event payloads and responses Performance spans
For full documentation, see CrabNebula DevTools docs.
Quick Reference Task Command/Action Enable backtraces RUST_BACKTRACE=1 tauri dev Open WebView DevTools Ctrl+Shift+i / Cmd+Option+i Debug build tauri build --debug Add DevTools plugin cargo add tauri-plugin-devtools@2.0.0 IDE Comparison Feature VS Code RustRover Neovim Extension/Plugin vscode-lldb Built-in nvim-dap + codelldb Windows Alt cppvsdbg Built-in codelldb Task Runner tasks.json Run configs overseer.nvim Setup Complexity Medium Low High Common Issues Breakpoints not hit: Ensure --no-default-features is set when building Dev server not starting: Configure preLaunchTask or start manually App not loading frontend: Dev server must be running before Tauri app starts Windows enum display issues: Use cppvsdbg instead of LLDB