tauri-calling-rust_skill

Overview

This skill explains how to call Rust backend functions from a Tauri v2 frontend using the command system and the invoke function. It covers defining and registering commands, passing and returning typed data, async commands, error handling, streaming, and organizing commands across modules. Follow the patterns here to build type-safe, maintainable IPC between your frontend and Rust backend.

How this skill works

Define Rust functions annotated with #[tauri::command], register them with tauri::generate_handler! in your app builder, and call them from the frontend with invoke('command_name', { args }). Arguments are serialized via serde and mapped between Rust snake_case and JavaScript camelCase by default. invoke returns a Promise, so async Rust commands behave like any other awaited call in the frontend.

When to use it

• Invoke backend logic from UI code (file IO, native APIs, long-running tasks).
• Share structured data between frontend and Rust with serde-serializable types.
• Call async network or filesystem operations from the UI.
• Stream large binary data or use channels for chunked transfers.
• Expose app and window internals (AppHandle, WebviewWindow, State) to frontend-triggered commands.

Best practices

• Keep command names unique across the app and register all commands in a single generate_handler! call.
• Use owned types (String, Vec) for async commands; avoid borrowed types like &str in async functions.
• Implement serde::Deserialize for input types and serde::Serialize for outputs to ensure correct (de)serialization.
• Return Result<T, E> for recoverable errors and serialize custom errors into user-friendly messages or structured error objects.
• Organize commands in modules for clarity and expose module functions in the single handler registration.

Example use cases

• A settings screen invoking get_config to load typed app configuration into the frontend.
• Uploading a file from the UI to Rust using a raw Request or channel for streaming large files.
• A login form invoking an async authenticate command that performs network requests.
• Incrementing and reading a global counter through managed State exposed to commands.
• Reading binary content of a file via a command returning tauri::ipc::Response to avoid JSON overhead.