# Pake — Turn Any Website into a Lightweight Desktop App

> Pake wraps any web page into a native desktop application using Rust and system webviews, producing binaries under 5 MB compared to Electron's 100 MB+. It supports macOS, Windows, and Linux with built-in shortcuts, immersive windows, and drag-and-drop packaging.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# Pake — Turn Any Website into a Lightweight Desktop App

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install via npm
npm install -g pake-cli
# Package any URL into a desktop app
pake https://example.com --name MyApp
```

## Introduction
Pake is a tool that converts any web page into a small, fast desktop application using Rust and the system's built-in webview rather than bundling a full browser engine. It produces binaries that are a fraction of the size of Electron-based apps, making distribution and startup significantly faster.

## What Pake Does
- Wraps any URL into a native desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux
- Produces binaries under 5 MB by leveraging system webviews instead of Chromium
- Provides a CLI and a no-code GUI for packaging
- Supports custom icons, window sizes, and system tray integration
- Enables keyboard shortcuts, user-agent overrides, and multi-window configurations

## Architecture Overview
Pake is built on top of Tauri, using Rust for the native shell and WRY for cross-platform webview bindings. When you run the CLI, it generates a Tauri project with your specified URL, compiles it to a platform-specific binary, and bundles minimal native chrome around the webview. The result is a self-contained executable that renders the target site with native OS integration.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install globally via npm: `npm install -g pake-cli`
- Requires Rust toolchain for building from source
- Configure window dimensions, transparency, and fullscreen via CLI flags
- Customize the app icon with `--icon path/to/icon.png`
- Set user-agent strings and inject custom JS/CSS for tweaked behavior

## Key Features
- Produces apps 20x smaller than equivalent Electron wrappers
- Zero JavaScript runtime overhead on the backend side
- Built-in support for system tray, global shortcuts, and file drag-and-drop
- GitHub Actions templates for automated cross-platform CI builds
- Popular prebuilt apps available for Twitter, ChatGPT, YouTube Music, and more

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Electron** — Full Chromium bundled; much larger binaries but richer Node.js API access
- **Tauri** — Pake's foundation; Tauri is a full framework while Pake is a one-command wrapper
- **Nativefier** — Archived Electron-based wrapper; Pake is the modern, lighter successor
- **WebCatalog** — Proprietary site-to-app tool; Pake is fully open source
- **Webapp Manager** — Linux-only; Pake supports macOS, Windows, and Linux

## FAQ
**Q: Do I need to know Rust to use Pake?**
A: No. The CLI handles all Rust compilation automatically. You only need the Rust toolchain installed.

**Q: Can I inject custom JavaScript into the wrapped app?**
A: Yes. Pake supports injecting custom JS and CSS files that run inside the webview on every page load.

**Q: Does Pake support auto-updating the wrapped app?**
A: Pake does not include a built-in updater. You would need to redistribute new binaries or integrate Tauri's updater plugin manually.

**Q: How does Pake compare to a PWA?**
A: PWAs rely on browser support and have limited OS integration. Pake apps behave like native executables with full system tray and shortcut support.

## Sources
- https://github.com/tw93/Pake
- https://github.com/tw93/Pake/blob/master/README.md

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-75328e16
Author: Script Depot