Wails
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 5 desktop app frameworks by recommenders
People recommend Wails for building small, fast desktop apps with a Go backend and web frontend, far lighter than Electron. Some call it a compromise.
People recommend Wails for building small, fast desktop apps with a Go backend and web frontend, far lighter than Electron. Some call it a compromise.
31 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 25
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 81%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: 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 carries the badge
- 25 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, 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
Much smaller than Electron
“Golang "backend" w/ a Svelte "frontend" to build desktop apps the fraction of the size of Electron is a killer imo.”
Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “SvelteKit 3” “I've been using Go/Wails for desktop projects rather than a bundled Chromium and Node”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” “brings a tiny statically linked binary instead of running on top of a massive runtime”
Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “Build desktop applications using Go and Web Technologies” - Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “The Codex App”
- Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Rune 1.3: adds TypeScript, a Helix editor, Kitty graphics and OSC-7501”
- Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “The Codex App”
Simple, low-friction development
“very simple to use, reliable, and keeps up with the performance and consistency demands on an IRC client”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “IRCv3” “With Wails it’s also a low friction way to build desktop software”
Comment from 11 Mar 2026 in “Zig – Type Resolution Redesign and Language Changes” “the DX is simply incomparable to that of web technologies”
Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “Build desktop applications using Go and Web Technologies” - Comment from 29 Nov 2025 in “Electron vs. Tauri”
Go backend with web frontend
“Golang "backend" w/ a Svelte "frontend" to build desktop apps the fraction of the size of Electron is a killer imo.”
Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “SvelteKit 3” “the biggest go gui successes still land in the web-technologies stack (wails)”
Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Gova – The declarative GUI framework for Go” “Wails serves our golang and SvelteKit/Svelte provide the UX.”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “SvelteKit 3” Reliable, trouble-free use
“very simple to use, reliable, and keeps up with the performance and consistency demands on an IRC client”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “IRCv3” “The Rust features all worked pretty much first try every time.”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Glaze by Raycast” “I don't have the kind of issues you're mentioning”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Deno Desktop” - Comment from 15 Oct 2026 in “Steam Client is now faster than Epic's new vibe coded launcher”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Seen as a compromise, not ideal
“So switched to Wails... I hate myself for doing this but it was by far the best option available”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “The 1987 Game "The Last Ninja" was 40 kilobytes” “the compromise I've settled on but will likely change my mind at some point again”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Make Tmux Pretty and Usable” Shares a problem with Tauri
“This problem isn't unique to Tauri as I have seen apps using Wails copy this same trick”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Linux server management over SSH – written in Rust and Tauri” “neither Tauri or Wails have this figured out”
Comment from 29 Nov 2025 in “Electron vs. Tauri”
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 Desktop | 30 | 10 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| WailsThis page | 25 | 6 | 81% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Electrobun | 17 | 6 | 74% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
35 of the 38 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a good balance between avoiding the slowness and bloat of Electron”
“I have 0 problems with the rendering.”
“For me, opening it. But my PC is old and not beefy enough for heavy things like react.”
“native library performance isn't trying to compete with my ability to cross-compile”
“very simple to use, reliable, and keeps up with the performance and consistency demands on an IRC client”
“Go is extremely attractive by comparison.”
“Golang "backend" w/ a Svelte "frontend" to build desktop apps the fraction of the size of Electron is a killer imo.”
“Wails serves our golang and SvelteKit/Svelte provide the UX.”
“This problem isn't unique to Tauri as I have seen apps using Wails copy this same trick”
“Wails for windowing (no Electron)”
“My biggest concern about it actually is using Go to render web front-ends in HTML/CSS”
“without the massive memory overhead of webviews (like Wails)”
“I don't have the kind of issues you're mentioning”
“I've been using Go/Wails for desktop projects rather than a bundled Chromium and Node”
“some people said is even better than tauri”
“Wails instead of Electron in desktop.”
“I've heard good things about Wails.”
“the biggest go gui successes still land in the web-technologies stack (wails)”
“the compromise I've settled on but will likely change my mind at some point again”
“Both of these libraries were chosen because they are well maintained and have a high number of contributors/eyeballs”
“So switched to Wails... I hate myself for doing this but it was by far the best option available”
“all apps i've made perform execellent on windows”
“With Wails it’s also a low friction way to build desktop software”
“The Rust features all worked pretty much first try every time.”
“Looks cool, but the phrase 'build applications with the flexibility and power of go' made me chuckle.”
“Use Tauri or Wails or many other solutions like these”
“Tauri/Wails don't seem like viable alternatives at the moment”
“it is day and night in terms of performance compared to lightest electron app”
“A full fledged app, that does everything I want, is ~ 10MB.”
“Just in case you missed it and are interested in a go alternative”
“neither Tauri or Wails have this figured out”
“i had a better time vibe coding with gpt 4 with WAILS”
“brings a tiny statically linked binary instead of running on top of a massive runtime”
“Devs like the ease of development and a ton of dependencies we don’t need to worry about, since Fyne is a lot leaner than Wails.”
“the DX is simply incomparable to that of web technologies”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.