## 17. Desktop Distribution Deep Dive ### Tauri advantages - Installer sizes: 2.5–10 MB (vs. 80–150 MB for Electron) - Idle memory: 30–40 MB (vs. 200–300 MB for Electron) - Sub-second startup times - 70,000+ GitHub stars, 35% year-on-year adoption growth - Built-in auto-updater with Ed25519 signature verification ### Code signing requirements - **macOS:** Apple Developer Programme (£79/year) + notarisation mandatory. Unsigned apps trigger "damaged app" dialogue. - **Windows:** EV certificate (£240–£480/year) for immediate SmartScreen bypass. Unsigned executables trigger warnings. - **Linux:** Users more tolerant of unsigned software. Flathub + AppImage. ### Discovery patterns for successful indie desktop apps - Free or generous free tier drives adoption - Organic search and content marketing drive discovery (Obsidian: 52.9% organic search traffic) - Community building on Discord/Reddit/Twitter creates advocates - Product Hunt launch provides initial visibility spike