Krate
Shipping desktop apps: answers
Straight answers about getting a desktop app to people with Krate, the app runtime: one .krate file that runs natively on every desktop, sandboxed. The facts page has the short version of what Krate is.
The .krate format: one app file for every desktopA .krate file holds your app as a WebAssembly component plus a manifest, and the same bytes open on macOS, Windows and Linux through the native Krate app runtime.
Share an app made with AI as one fileTo share an app you built with AI, package it for Krate, the app runtime, as one .krate file and send it: the person on the other end installs a compatible Krate runtime once, sees what the app asks for, and opens it on macOS, Windows or Linux.
Run an AI-built app safely: see what it can touch firstA Krate app starts with no file or network access and the Krate app runtime shows what it asks for before it runs, so you decide what an AI-built app can touch; permissions narrow access but do not prove the code is correct.
Krate vs Electron vs Tauri: what do you ship?Electron and Tauri share a codebase and ship a package for each operating system; Krate, the app runtime, ships one .krate file that runs natively on every desktop.
How to distribute a desktop app: ship one fileTo distribute a desktop app without a separate build, signature and download for each operating system, ship it as one .krate file: the same file runs natively on macOS, Windows and Linux through the Krate app runtime, which each person installs once.
Krate vs Electron: one native file instead of a browser in every appElectron puts Chromium and Node.js inside every app and ships a package for each operating system; Krate, the app runtime, ships one .krate file that runs natively on every desktop through one shared runtime, with no browser inside and no file or network access until the user allows it.
Krate vs Tauri: one file, every desktop, no per-OS bundlesTauri uses the system WebView and builds a separate bundle for each operating system; Krate, the app runtime, ships one .krate file with no WebView that runs natively on every desktop, sandboxed with the permissions the user grants.
Ship a native desktop app, not another hosted web appAI tools made it easy to build an app, and most of them hand you a website to host; Krate, the app runtime, gives you a real desktop app instead: one .krate file that runs natively on every desktop, works offline and needs no server.
Ship a desktop app without code signing for every OSNative installers need an Apple Developer ID and notarization on macOS and a trusted signature on Windows; a .krate file is not a native installer, so you ship one file and the people you send it to install the Krate app runtime once.
Shipping a desktop app in 2026: questions and straight answersAI solved building the app; the short answer to shipping it is one .krate file that runs natively on every desktop, sandboxed, and sent in one click.
Electron alternatives in 2026, compared by what you shipThe main Electron alternatives are Tauri, Wails, Neutralinojs, Flutter, Qt and Krate, and they differ most in what you hand to users: Krate ships one .krate file for every desktop, while the others ship a build for each operating system.
Tauri alternatives in 2026, compared by what you shipIf you like Tauri's small apps but want to stop building, signing and hosting a bundle for each operating system, Krate ships one .krate file that runs natively on every desktop; Electron, Wails and Flutter are the other common choices, each with a build per OS.
Cross-platform desktop app frameworks in 2026, compared by what you shipIf you want one artifact for every desktop, Krate ships a single sandboxed file; if you need a mature accessibility stack, mobile targets or an existing web codebase, Electron, Tauri, Flutter or Qt fit better, and the table below shows each trade-off.