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Releasing Your Desktop App

This guide covers the path from a working mix ex_tauri.dev app to signed, distributable artifacts with auto-updates.

1. Production build

mix ex_tauri.build

This builds your Elixir release, wraps it with Burrito into a single binary sidecar, and bundles platform packages into src-tauri/target/release/bundle/:

Platform Artifacts
macOS .app, .dmg
Linux .deb, .appimage
Windows .msi, .exe (NSIS)

At runtime the app picks a free ephemeral port for Phoenix (no collisions with other software) and passes PORT, PHX_SERVER=true, PHX_HOST, and a generated SECRET_KEY_BASE to the sidecar — the standard Phoenix config/runtime.exs picks these up without modification.

2. Code signing

Unsigned apps trigger OS warnings (macOS Gatekeeper blocks them outright for downloaded apps). Tauri signs during mix ex_tauri.build when these environment variables are set:

macOS (signing + notarization)

export APPLE_CERTIFICATE="base64 encoded .p12"
export APPLE_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD="p12 password"
export APPLE_SIGNING_IDENTITY="Developer ID Application: Your Name (TEAMID)"
# Notarization (required for distribution outside the App Store):
export APPLE_ID="you@example.com"
export APPLE_PASSWORD="app-specific password"
export APPLE_TEAM_ID="TEAMID"

Windows

Set certificateThumbprint, digestAlgorithm, and timestampUrl under bundle > windows in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json, or use an EV certificate provider's signing tool in CI. See the Tauri distribution docs for details.

3. Auto-updates

  1. Generate a signing keypair (once, keep the private key secret):

    mix ex_tauri.signer generate

  2. Configure the updater and rerun mix ex_tauri.install's config step or edit config/config.exs:

    config :ex_tauri,
  updater: [
    enabled: true,
    endpoints: ["https://github.com/you/yourapp/releases/latest/download/latest.json"],
    pubkey: "PUBLIC_KEY_FROM_STEP_1"
  ]

  3. Install the updater plugin: mix ex_tauri.add updater process

  4. Build with the private key in the environment — Tauri then emits .sig files next to each bundle:

    export TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY="content of the private key"
export TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD="password"
mix ex_tauri.build

  5. Publish the bundles plus a latest.json manifest at your endpoint:

    {
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "notes": "Bug fixes",
  "pub_date": "2026-07-08T00:00:00Z",
  "platforms": {
    "darwin-aarch64": {
      "signature": "content of the .app.tar.gz.sig file",
      "url": "https://github.com/you/yourapp/releases/download/v1.2.0/YourApp_aarch64.app.tar.gz"
    },
    "linux-x86_64": {
      "signature": "content of the .AppImage.sig file",
      "url": "https://github.com/you/yourapp/releases/download/v1.2.0/your-app_1.2.0_amd64.AppImage"
    }
  }
}

  6. In the app, check and apply updates from LiveView:

    socket =
  ExTauri.Updater.check(socket, fn
    {:ok, %{"available" => true, "version" => version}}, socket ->
      assign(socket, update_available: version)

    _result, socket ->
      socket
  end)

# Later, on user confirmation:
socket = ExTauri.Updater.install(socket, fn {:ok, _}, socket ->
  ExTauri.App.relaunch(socket)
end)

4. CI release workflow

A ready-to-adapt GitHub Actions workflow lives at guides/github-release-workflow.yml. It builds on a macOS/Linux/Windows matrix, signs when secrets are configured, and uploads the bundles to a GitHub release. Copy it to .github/workflows/release.yml in your app and adjust the app name.

Notes and constraints

  • Cross-compilation is limited: build each platform's artifacts on that platform (the CI matrix handles this). Burrito can cross-wrap the BEAM, but Tauri's bundler and signing are per-OS.
  • OTP 27 is required for Burrito's precompiled ERTS (see README).
  • Sessions are signed with a per-launch SECRET_KEY_BASE by default; set the env var yourself (e.g. store one in the app's data dir) if you need sessions to survive restarts.