By name: use-pake description: "Package any website into a lightweight desktop app using Pake (Tauri/Rust). Use when the user wants to: wrap a URL as a native app, build a desktop app from a website, use Pake CLI to package a page, set up proxy for a packaged app, customize app icons or bundle IDs, or mentions 'pake', 'tauri package', 'website to app', 'wrap site'. Also trigger when the user asks about Pake CLI options, proxy configuration for packaged apps, or icon handling." version: 1.0.0 allowed-tools: - Bash - Read
Pake - Website to Desktop App
Pake wraps any webpage into a native desktop app via Tauri (Rust + system WebView). Output is ~5MB (vs Electron's ~150MB). Run the commands below from the root of this Pake repository.
Quick Start
# Build the CLI once (produces dist/cli.js); skip if dist/ already exists
pnpm run cli:build
node dist/cli.js "<URL>" --name <AppName> [options]
Workflow
1. Gather Requirements
Before running the build, confirm these with the user:
| Parameter | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| URL | The target website |
| Name | Becomes the .app / .exe name and productName |
Bundle ID (--identifier) |
Defaults to com.pake.a{md5hash} — set explicitly for clean installs (e.g. com.pake.youtube) |
Proxy (--proxy-url) |
Baked into the binary at build time; not runtime-configurable. Format: http://host:port or socks5://host:port |
| Icon | Auto-fetched from website if omitted; can be a local path or URL |
2. Handle Icons
Pake auto-fetches icons from multiple services (logo.dev, brandfetch, clearbit, Google favicons, direct favicon.ico). However:
The icon download does NOT use --proxy-url. That flag only configures the packaged app's WebView proxy. If the icon URL requires a proxy to reach (e.g. Google/GitHub assets from China), download it manually first:
curl -x http://<proxy-host>:<proxy-port> -o /tmp/icon.png "<icon-url>" --connect-timeout 15 -s
Then pass the local file:
node dist/cli.js "<URL>" --icon /tmp/icon.png ...
Icon tips:
- Prefer 256x256 or larger PNGs; SVG also works
- Pake auto-converts to platform format:
.icns(macOS),.ico(Windows),.png(Linux) - macOS icons get a squircle mask automatically
- If an old icon exists in
src-tauri/icons/<name>.icns, Pake reuses it — rename/remove it to force re-fetch
3. Build
node dist/cli.js "<URL>" \
--name <AppName> \
--identifier <com.pake.xxx> \
--proxy-url "http://host:port" \
--icon /path/to/icon.png
Build takes ~40s with cache, ~2min cold. Output: <AppName>.dmg in the project root.
4. Verify
After build, confirm:
- DMG path printed in output
- Icon correctness (user should open and check)
- Bundle ID via:
mdls -name kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier <path-to>.app
CLI Options Reference
Common Options
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--name <string> |
— | App name |
--icon <string> |
auto-fetch | Icon path (local file or URL) |
--identifier <string> |
com.pake.a{hash} |
Bundle ID / app identifier |
--proxy-url <url> |
— | WebView proxy (http/https/socks5) |
--width <number> |
1200 | Window width |
--height <number> |
780 | Window height |
--app-version <string> |
1.0.0 | App version |
Window Behavior
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--fullscreen |
false | Start fullscreen |
--maximize |
false | Start maximized |
--always-on-top |
false | Pin window on top |
--hide-title-bar |
false | Hide macOS title bar |
Advanced
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--inject <files> |
— | Inject CSS/JS files (comma-separated paths) |
--user-agent <string> |
— | Custom user agent |
--debug |
false | Enable devtools and verbose logging |
--multi-arch |
false | Build for both Intel and Apple Silicon |
--multi-instance |
false | Allow multiple app instances |
--multi-window |
false | Multiple windows in one instance |
--new-window |
false | Allow popup windows (needed for OAuth flows) |
--incognito |
false | Private browsing mode |
--dark-mode |
false | Force macOS dark mode |
--zoom <number> |
100 | Initial zoom level (50-200) |
--wasm |
false | Enable WebAssembly |
--enable-drag-drop |
false | Drag & drop support |
--camera |
false | Camera permission (macOS) |
--microphone |
false | Microphone permission (macOS) |
--ignore-certificate-errors |
false | Ignore TLS errors |
--targets <string> |
auto | Build target format |
--use-local-file |
false | Package local HTML file |
Platform Notes
Proxy Support
| Platform | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Full | Via --proxy-server browser arg |
| Linux | Full | Via --proxy-server browser arg |
| macOS | macOS 14+ | Uses Tauri native macos-proxy feature; auto-detected at build time |
Chrome Extensions
Not supported. Pake uses system WebView (WKWebView on macOS, WebView2 on Windows, WebKitGTK on Linux), not a full Chrome browser. Use --inject to add custom JS/CSS as an alternative.
Common Patterns
Website behind proxy (icon also needs proxy)
# Step 1: Download icon via proxy
curl -x http://127.0.0.1:7890 -o /tmp/icon.png "<icon-url>" -s
# Step 2: Build with local icon
node dist/cli.js "https://example.com" \
--name MyApp \
--identifier com.pake.myapp \
--proxy-url "http://127.0.0.1:7890" \
--icon /tmp/icon.png
Force icon re-fetch
# Remove cached icon, then build without --icon
mv src-tauri/icons/<name>.icns src-tauri/icons/<name>.icns.bak
node dist/cli.js "https://example.com" --name MyApp
OAuth-dependent site
node dist/cli.js "https://accounts.google.com" \
--name GoogleApp \
--new-window \
--ignore-certificate-errors