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Are there any alternatives to using Golang for building desktop apps with Bun.js


Currently, the primary method for building desktop apps with Bun.js involves using Golang for packaging. However, there are alternatives to Golang that can be considered for creating desktop applications with Bun.js:

1. Tauri: Tauri is a framework that allows you to build smaller, faster binaries for desktop applications. It is designed to be backend-language agnostic, meaning you can potentially use Bun.js as the backend while leveraging Tauri's capabilities for the frontend. This allows you to avoid the overhead associated with Electron, which bundles its own version of Chromium[1][8].

2. Webview: This is a lightweight alternative that allows you to create a web-based GUI using native web views. You can integrate Webview with Bun.js to create desktop applications without needing a heavy framework like Electron. This approach can significantly reduce the application's size and improve performance[1][8].

3. Rust with other frameworks: If you're open to exploring Rust, frameworks like Wails or Tauri can be used in conjunction with Bun.js. These frameworks facilitate building cross-platform desktop applications while allowing you to write the frontend in JavaScript or TypeScript[4][8].

4. Electron Alternatives: While Electron itself is tightly coupled with Node.js, there are emerging alternatives that aim to provide similar functionalities without the same resource overhead. Exploring these options might yield frameworks that can work alongside Bun.js.

In summary, while Golang is currently the only officially supported language for packaging Bun.js apps, alternatives like Tauri and Webview offer promising paths for developers looking to leverage Bun.js in their desktop applications without relying solely on Golang.

Citations:
[1] https://github.com/Bunland/webapp
[2] https://bun.sh/blog/bun-v1.1
[3] https://dev.to/thejaredwilcurt/bun-hype-how-we-learned-nothing-from-yarn-2n3j
[4] https://www.reddit.com/r/golang/comments/12fepkc/deciding_between_rust_or_go_for_desktop/
[5] https://bun.sh
[6] https://www.builder.io/blog/bun-vs-node-js
[7] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38059036
[8] https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/discussions/790