Deno Desktop
Ranked 3 of 5 desktop app frameworks by recommenders
Developers like its zero-config bundling and easy setup for desktop apps. Common caveats are large app sizes and some features not working.
Developers like its zero-config bundling and easy setup for desktop apps. Common caveats are large app sizes and some features not working.
40 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 30
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 30 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Zero-config, easier setup
“the only difference is that it bundles the tools and makes it transparent and config-free which is more convenient”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “Vastly easier to set up, optionally lets you use platform web renderers”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “The zero config options are nice”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” Packages other binaries and web apps
“this would be amazing for distributing web games as apps for Steam or online purchase”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “This works well. I’ve been using it to bundle other binaries with my applications”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “Deno just won't get in the way with packaging other stuff like CEF automatically”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” Small footprint, system webview option
“small footprint & cross-platform looks like a nice alternative”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “The size can be smaller in the Raw/WebView cases.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “the option to use system webview”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” Full Deno APIs and prompt() support
“You get a fully-fledged Deno program that can do all of this, _plus_ you get a frontend GUI app.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “Deno desktop supports prompt(), which electron refuses to implement”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “the big win from this is the Node API / NAPI support”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Apps as large as Electron
“Binary size is still pretty big IMO”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “I thought it would be smaller than an Electron build, but it's far worse.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “the result is 442 MB. So it's not any lighter than Electron”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” - Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop”
- Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop”
Bugs and missing features
“there to be some issues within deno-desktop in terms of some features not working on the desktop app”
Comment from 11 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Ant – A JavaScript runtime and ecosystem” “I tried deno desktop with the minimal js file to see if I can avoid relying on VS and C# but it's really bad currently, at least on Windows.”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “building and running the Hello World example just gives me a blank terminal and a white window that is not responding”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” - Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop”
Little advantage over Electron
“The benefit of Deno Desktop is it's like Tauri except for when you want it to be Electron???”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “I had a quick drive with deno desktop and don't see how it's better.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “Another Chrome wrapper...”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop”
Other desktop app frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other desktop app frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electron | 203 | 456 | 31% | 12 | — | — |
| Tauri | 152 | 88 | 63% | 13 | — | — |
| Deno DesktopThis page | 30 | 10 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| Wails | 25 | 6 | 81% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Electrobun | 17 | 6 | 74% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
39 of the 46 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I tried out deno desktop to build a desktop app and I liked it.”
“Deno desktop is way ahead of anything available for Node.”
“there to be some issues within deno-desktop in terms of some features not working on the desktop app”
“This gives a 77 MB folder, not containing the browser”
“I tried deno desktop with the minimal js file to see if I can avoid relying on VS and C# but it's really bad currently, at least on Windows.”
“app weight in at 308MB on macOS”
“the option to use system webview”
“the big win from this is the Node API / NAPI support”
“Binary size is still pretty big IMO”
“Deno just won't get in the way with packaging other stuff like CEF automatically”
“Yeah, the RAM usage is quite high atm.”
“Deno desktop supports prompt(), which electron refuses to implement”
“The size can be smaller in the Raw/WebView cases.”
“Another Chrome wrapper...”
“I'll definitely use Deno desktop for these internal tools.”
“the only difference is that it bundles the tools and makes it transparent and config-free which is more convenient”
“Deno Desktop could be a real contender in this space.”
“This works well. I’ve been using it to bundle other binaries with my applications”
“supporting other backends using raw is crazy”
“shipping bloated javascript apps easier”
“Smart move from the Deno team to get me to try out their ecosystem.”
“didn't allow for fullscreen webview apps”
“Result (Windows 10): 442 MB. Ouch.”
“Impressive work. This is going to be really interesting for vibe coding Desktop apps.”
“the result is 442 MB. So it's not any lighter than Electron”
“I thought it would be smaller than an Electron build, but it's far worse.”
“If they deliver on this it will get much bigger.”
“this would be amazing for distributing web games as apps for Steam or online purchase”
“You get a fully-fledged Deno program that can do all of this, _plus_ you get a frontend GUI app.”
“building and running the Hello World example just gives me a blank terminal and a white window that is not responding”
“The benefit of Deno Desktop is it's like Tauri except for when you want it to be Electron???”
“I had a quick drive with deno desktop and don't see how it's better.”
“Vastly easier to set up, optionally lets you use platform web renderers”
“more web UI slop isn't going to help that”
“Deno can run true TypeScript directly and not just strip types like the current Node implementation”
“The zero config options are nice”
“Interesting but IMHO as we see on mobile providing WebViews work.”
“small footprint & cross-platform looks like a nice alternative”
“This is a smart thing to ship.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.