Hi HN,

For the last ~15 years I've worked on embedding web browsers into Java and .NET desktop apps (JxBrowser, DotNetBrowser). Over time, I watched many teams move from embedding web views into native apps, to building full desktop apps with frameworks like Electron and Tauri.

Both are useful, but in practice I kept running into several problems.

With Electron, beyond the larger app footprint, I often ran into:

  - lack of type-safe IPC
  - no source code protection
  - weak support for the modern web stack

Tauri solves some problems (like app size), but introduces others:

  - different WebViews across platforms → inconsistent behavior
  - requires Rust + JS instead of a single stack

So we built MōBrowser, a framework for building desktop apps with TypeScript, Node.js, and Chromium.

Some of the things we focused on:

  - typed IPC using Protobuf + code generation (RPC-style communication instead of string channels)
  - consistent rendering and behavior across different platforms
  - Node.js runtime
  - built-in packaging, updates, and scaffolding
  - source code protection
  - small delta auto-updates

The goal is to let web developers ship desktop apps with a web stack they already know and fewer cross-platform surprises.

I'd especially love feedback from people who have built production apps with Electron or Tauri.

Happy to answer any questions.