Resolve frontend assets at runtime in release bundles#38
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The HTTP server resolved its web-asset directory from the compile-time `CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR`, so a binary built in CI looked for `dist` at the build machine's checkout path (e.g. `/Users/runner/work/ide/ide/dist`), which doesn't exist on a user's machine. The landing page still rendered because it's server-side Rust, but opening a workspace served the SPA from the missing path and fell back to the "Build the web assets" message. The assets were never copied into the bundle either. Bundle `dist` as a Tauri resource and pick the serve directory at runtime from the app's resource dir, falling back to the source-tree path for `cargo run` / `tauri dev`. Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitButler <gitbutler@gitbutler.com>
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Code Review
This pull request introduces a mechanism to dynamically resolve the frontend assets directory at runtime instead of relying solely on the compile-time CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR path, which is unreliable in release bundles. It adds a resolve_frontend_dist helper function that checks the app's resource directory for bundled assets (falling back to the source-tree path for development), integrates it into the application startup, updates the Tauri bundle configuration to include the dist folder as a resource, and adds comprehensive unit tests. There are no review comments, and the changes look solid, so I have no additional feedback to provide.
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Pull request overview
This PR fixes release bundles failing to serve the built SPA when opening a workspace by bundling dist into the Tauri app resources and resolving the HTTP server’s frontend asset directory at runtime (instead of using the compile-time CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR path that points to the CI/build machine).
Changes:
- Bundle
../distinto the Tauri app as a named resource (dist) for release builds. - Add a
resolve_frontend_disthelper to prefer the bundled resource dir at runtime, with a dev fallback to the source-treedist. - Add unit tests covering the resolver’s resource-dir and fallback behavior.
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| src-tauri/tauri.conf.json | Adds dist to bundle resources so web assets ship inside the app bundle. |
| src-tauri/src/lib.rs | Resolves frontend assets directory at runtime and adds unit tests for the resolver. |
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Address PR review feedback: when the resource dir has no staged assets and the baked `CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR` path doesn't exist (a relocated bundle or unstaged resources in a release build), fall back to a resource-dir path instead of the build machine's checkout. Only use the manifest path when it actually exists on disk, which is the dev / `cargo run` case. Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: GitButler <gitbutler@gitbutler.com>
Summary
npm run build, then reload." when opening a workspace. The HTTP server resolved its asset directory from the compile-timeCARGO_MANIFEST_DIR, so a CI-built binary looked fordistat the build machine's checkout (/Users/runner/work/ide/ide/dist), which doesn't exist on a user's machine, and the assets were never copied into the bundle anyway.distas a Tauri resource (tauri.conf.json) so the web assets ship inside the.app.resolve_frontend_disthelper, falling back to the source-tree path forcargo run/tauri dev.Test plan
npm run tauri:check— config validator passescargo test resolve_frontend_dist— 3 new resolver unit tests passnpm run tauri:build— bundle builds;ide.app/Contents/Resources/dist/index.htmlpresent<div id="root">+ hashed JS asset 200s), zero "Build the web assets" hits