dock2tauri

Dock2Tauri Roadmap

This roadmap outlines the planned evolution of Dock2Tauri from its current state to a comprehensive platform for containerized desktop applications.

Current Status (v1.0.x) ✅

Core Functionality Complete:

• ✅ Multi-launcher support (Bash, Python, Node.js, Makefile)
• ✅ Docker container to desktop application bridging
• ✅ Tauri v2 integration with ephemeral configuration
• ✅ Cross-compilation with intelligent gating
• ✅ Native bundling (DEB, RPM, AppImage, DMG, MSI)
• ✅ PWA examples and Dockerfile support
• ✅ Comprehensive installation system
• ✅ Documentation and troubleshooting guides

Recent Improvements (August 2025):

• ✅ Intelligent cross-compilation target filtering
• ✅ Automatic AppImage skipping in problematic environments
• ✅ System dependency installer with platform detection
• ✅ Enhanced error handling and user messaging
• ✅ Architecture documentation and contributing guidelines
• ✅ Custom Build Paths System - Complete flexibility for build workflows
  • Custom output directories with --output-dir
  • Custom app names with --app-name integrated in tauri.conf.json
  • Multi-location deployment with --copy-to
  • Advanced CLI argument parsing with filtered processing
  • Environment configuration system with .env support

Version 1.1 - Stability & Polish (Q3 2025) 🔄

Focus: Improve reliability, user experience, and developer workflow

High Priority

• CI/CD Pipeline
  • GitHub Actions for automated testing
  • Multi-platform build verification
  • Release automation with artifact publishing
  • Integration tests across different environments
• Enhanced Error Handling
  • Retry mechanisms for network operations
  • Better error messages with suggested solutions
  • Graceful degradation when tools are missing
  • Improved logging and debug capabilities
• Developer Experience
  • Pre-commit hooks (shellcheck, ruff, eslint, rustfmt)
  • Unified lint/format/test Makefile targets
  • Development environment validation
  • Hot reload improvements

Medium Priority

• Performance Optimizations
  • Parallel cross-compilation builds
  • Build caching and incremental compilation
  • Bundle size optimization
  • Startup time improvements
• Enhanced Documentation
  • API reference documentation
  • Video tutorials and demos
  • Best practices guide
  • Integration examples with popular tools

Timeline

• Week 1-2: CI/CD setup and testing infrastructure
• Week 3-4: Error handling improvements
• Week 5-6: Developer experience tools
• Week 7-8: Performance optimizations and documentation

Version 1.2 - Advanced Features (Q4 2025) 🎯

Focus: Add sophisticated features for power users and enterprise adoption

Core Features

• Container Health Monitoring
  • Real-time health status in desktop app
  • Automatic container restart on failure
  • Custom health check endpoints
  • Resource usage monitoring (CPU, memory, network)
• Configuration Management
  • Environment variable management UI
  • Volume mounting configuration
  • Network settings and port management
  • Configuration presets and profiles
• Enhanced Build System
  • Parallel target compilation
  • Build progress reporting
  • Build artifact caching
  • Custom bundler integration

Platform Support

• Windows Improvements
  • Native Windows installer
  • PowerShell launcher script
  • Windows-specific bundling optimizations
  • WSL2 integration improvements
• macOS Enhancements
  • macOS installer package
  • App Store compatibility
  • Code signing integration
  • Homebrew formula

Timeline

• Month 1: Health monitoring and configuration UI
• Month 2: Build system improvements
• Month 3: Platform-specific enhancements

Version 2.0 - GUI Management Platform (Q1 2026) 🚀

Focus: Transform into a comprehensive desktop application management platform

Major Features

• Native GUI Application
  • Complete desktop management interface
  • Container discovery and management
  • Visual configuration builder
  • Real-time monitoring dashboard
• Advanced Container Management
  • Multi-container applications (Docker Compose)
  • Container orchestration
  • Service discovery and networking
  • Resource allocation and limits
• Application Store Integration
  • Curated application templates
  • One-click installations
  • Community-contributed configurations
  • Rating and review system

Enterprise Features

• Security & Compliance
  • Container security scanning
  • Network isolation policies
  • Audit logging and compliance reporting
  • Role-based access control
• Deployment & Distribution
  • Enterprise deployment tools
  • Silent installation modes
  • Central configuration management
  • License management

Timeline

• Month 1-2: GUI framework and basic interface
• Month 3-4: Container management features
• Month 5-6: Enterprise and security features

Version 2.1+ - Ecosystem & Integration (2026+) 🌐

Focus: Build ecosystem around Dock2Tauri platform

Ecosystem Development

• Plugin Architecture
  • Plugin API and SDK
  • Third-party integration support
  • Custom bundler plugins
  • Monitoring and analytics plugins
• Cloud Integration
  • Remote container registries
  • Cloud deployment options
  • Collaborative configuration sharing
  • Remote monitoring and management
• Developer Ecosystem
  • VS Code extension
  • IDE integrations
  • DevOps tool integration
  • Marketplace for templates

Advanced Use Cases

• Microservices Support
  • Multi-service applications
  • Service mesh integration
  • Load balancing and discovery
  • Distributed tracing
• IoT and Edge Computing
  • ARM/embedded support
  • Edge deployment tools
  • Offline operation modes
  • Resource-constrained optimizations

Feature Categories

🔒 Security & Compliance

• Current: Basic container isolation
• v1.1: Enhanced error handling and validation
• v1.2: Configuration security
• v2.0: Full security scanning and compliance
• v2.1+: Enterprise-grade security features

🎨 User Experience

• Current: CLI-first with basic GUI
• v1.1: Improved error messages and debugging
• v1.2: Configuration management UI
• v2.0: Full-featured desktop application
• v2.1+: Ecosystem integrations

⚡ Performance

• Current: Basic optimization
• v1.1: Build caching and parallel compilation
• v1.2: Advanced build system
• v2.0: Resource management and monitoring
• v2.1+: Cloud and edge optimizations

🌍 Platform Support

• Current: Linux-focused with basic cross-platform
• v1.1: Improved Windows/macOS support
• v1.2: Native platform integrations
• v2.0: Platform-specific optimizations
• v2.1+: IoT and embedded platforms

Community & Adoption Strategy

Open Source Growth

• Phase 1: Core contributor growth (Q3-Q4 2025)
• Phase 2: Community examples and templates (Q1 2026)
• Phase 3: Plugin ecosystem (Q2+ 2026)

Enterprise Adoption

• Phase 1: Proof of concepts and pilots (Q4 2025)
• Phase 2: Enterprise features and support (Q1-Q2 2026)
• Phase 3: Large-scale deployments (Q3+ 2026)

Technology Partnerships

• Container Platforms: Docker, Podman, containerd
• Cloud Providers: AWS, Azure, GCP
• Developer Tools: VS Code, JetBrains, GitHub
• Enterprise Software: Red Hat, SUSE, Canonical

Success Metrics

Technical Metrics

• Build Times: <30s for simple apps, <2min for complex cross-compilation
• Bundle Sizes: <50MB for typical applications
• Startup Time: <3s from click to functional application
• Platform Coverage: 95%+ success rate across Linux distros

Adoption Metrics

• Downloads: 10K+ monthly by end of 2025
• Active Users: 1K+ weekly active users by Q2 2026
• Community: 100+ GitHub stars, 20+ contributors by Q1 2026
• Enterprise: 10+ enterprise pilots by Q2 2026

Quality Metrics

• Bug Reports: <5 critical bugs per release
• Test Coverage: >80% code coverage
• Documentation: <24h response time on GitHub issues
• Performance: <1% performance regression between versions

Risk Mitigation

Technical Risks

• Tauri Evolution: Stay aligned with Tauri roadmap, contribute upstream
• Docker Changes: Maintain compatibility with multiple container runtimes
• Platform Fragmentation: Automated testing across platforms

Market Risks

• Competition: Focus on unique value proposition (simplicity + power)
• Technology Shifts: Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies
• User Needs: Regular user feedback and usage analytics

Resource Risks

• Maintainer Capacity: Grow contributor base, clear contribution guidelines
• Technical Debt: Regular refactoring, automated testing
• Documentation: Keep docs updated with every release

Long-term Vision (2027+)

Dock2Tauri as Platform:

• De facto standard for containerized desktop applications
• Rich ecosystem of plugins and integrations
• Enterprise-ready with comprehensive security and compliance
• Seamless cloud-to-edge deployment capabilities

Technology Leadership:

• Contribute back to upstream projects (Tauri, Docker)
• Pioneer new patterns in desktop containerization
• Lead standards development for portable desktop applications
• Influence container and desktop application ecosystems

Community Success:

• Self-sustaining open source community
• Regular conferences and meetups
• Educational content and certification programs
• Strong partnership network

This roadmap is a living document that will evolve based on community feedback, technology changes, and market needs. We’re committed to maintaining backward compatibility and smooth upgrade paths between versions.