After receiving feedback about performance issues with their Mac app Desktop Docs, the co-founder and team successfully rebuilt it using Rust and Tauri, resulting in a significantly smaller app size, improved indexing speed, increased stability, and a more user-friendly interface, while overcoming challenges related to learning Rust and integrating Redis.
Rust, Tauri, CLIP embeddings, Redis
2025-05-29
- App
Highlight 1
The app's rebuild with Rust and Tauri has significantly improved performance, particularly in terms of indexing speed, making it far more efficient than its Electron predecessor.
Highlight 2
The app is now much more stable, with fewer crashes compared to the old Electron version, particularly during background processes.
Highlight 3
The app's new user interface is simpler and cleaner, providing a more intuitive user experience compared to the previous, more complex UI.
Improvement 1
While the performance improvements are clear, the transition to Rust and Tauri has introduced a steeper learning curve, which may limit the app's accessibility for new developers.
Improvement 2
The integration of Redis into the app, while necessary for vector storage, still presents challenges with permissioning and requires further optimization to streamline this process.
Improvement 3
The app could improve in terms of compatibility with larger datasets, as it might still face challenges when handling vast numbers of images or videos that exceed the current indexing capabilities.
Product Functionality
Further optimize the indexing process for even larger datasets, perhaps by introducing a feature for background indexing or allowing users to pause and resume indexing tasks.
UI & UX
Consider adding customizable filtering options in the UI to allow users to refine their search results more precisely, especially when dealing with large volumes of media files.
SEO or Marketing
Enhance online visibility through content marketing, such as blog posts or tutorials showcasing the app's unique capabilities. Building partnerships with media libraries or content creators could also boost awareness.
MultiLanguage Support
Introduce multi-language support to make the app accessible to users in different regions. This could include not only UI localization but also support for searching in different languages using natural language processing.
- 1
How does Desktop Docs improve search performance compared to traditional search methods?
Desktop Docs uses CLIP embeddings to perform semantic searches, allowing users to find relevant images and videos by content, not just by file names. This enhances the accuracy and relevance of search results.
- 2
What file types can Desktop Docs search?
Desktop Docs is designed to index and search a variety of image and video file types. Users can search their entire machine's media library, as the app supports a wide range of popular file formats.
- 3
Is there a way to improve the app's speed when indexing large files?
The app's indexing process has already been optimized significantly with the migration to Rust and Tauri. However, for users dealing with extremely large files, it's important to ensure that their system meets the necessary hardware requirements for optimal performance.