QFM094: Elixir Reading List - December 2025

Tauri combined with Elixir's Phoenix LiveView provides a lightweight alternative to Electron for desktop applications, leveraging Rust's Wry library for OS-native WebView rendering instead of bundling a full browser, and using Tauri's sidecar mechanism to run separate Elixir and Rust processes for business logic and window management respectively. The integration automates Tauri CLI installation into Phoenix's build folder and configures the web view to communicate with an Elixir backend, achieving a lean application footprint while maintaining a declarative LiveView programming model for reactive UI updates.

This guide demonstrates how to package a Phoenix LiveView application as a single cross-platform desktop executable using Tauri and Burrito, with Tauri providing the native window wrapper and process management while a Burrito-wrapped Phoenix backend runs on localhost:4000. The architecture uses a sidecar pattern where the Elixir application is compiled into a standalone executable with embedded ERTS, eliminating the need for separate runtime dependencies across macOS, Linux, and Windows builds. Key setup steps include configuring Burrito in mix.exs for multi-platform targets, updating production runtime configuration for database paths and server binding, and skipping migrations during the Burrito build context while handling them separately through a Release module.

Elixir Desktop is a framework enabling developers to build native-like applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android using Phoenix LiveView and Elixir, supporting local-first architecture. The project currently supports running on all target platforms and packaging for iOS/Android, with planned features including cross-platform installer creation, pre-compiled Erlang binaries, code signing integration, and GitHub Actions-based auto-updates.

ErrorTracker is an Elixir-native error tracking solution that integrates directly into applications to capture, store, and display errors through a built-in web dashboard, giving users complete control over data storage and privacy without relying on external SaaS providers. It provides Telemetry integration hooks for users to implement custom notifications or issue tracker integrations, and includes LiveView-based UI with asset management through Tailwind CSS.

The author is undertaking a year-long technical sabbatical in 2025 to master Elixir, transitioning from over a decade of Python development, with a structured quarterly curriculum progressing from language fundamentals and OTP through Phoenix web development, distributed systems on the BEAM VM, and concluding with production-grade systems design. Key milestones include building an open-source package, deploying a monetizable Phoenix Liveview application, and creating a production distributed system while potentially attending the Recurse Center and contributing to open-source projects.