Skip to main content
This guide covers building Container Kit for production deployment with full optimizations, code signing, and notarization.

​
Prerequisites

Before building for production:
  • Development environment set up (see Development Build)
  • Environment variables configured (.env file)
  • Code signing certificates (for signed builds)
  • Apple Developer account (for notarization)

​
Production Build Process

Container Kit uses a custom build script that handles environment variables and targets macOS Apple Silicon (aarch64).

​
Build Command

Run the production build: 
pnpm tauri:build
This executes ./scripts/tauri-build.sh which:
  1. Sources environment variables from .env
  2. Runs database migration generation
  3. Builds the Vite frontend with optimizations
  4. Compiles the Rust backend for aarch64-apple-darwin
  5. Creates DMG and APP bundles
  6. Signs and notarizes the application (if configured)

​
Build Script Details

The tauri-build.sh script: 
#!/bin/bash
source .env && TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD=$TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD \
  TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY=$TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY \
  APPLE_ID=$APPLE_ID \
  APPLE_PASSWORD=$APPLE_PASSWORD \
  APPLE_TEAM_ID=$APPLE_TEAM_ID \
  APPLE_SIGNING_IDENTITY=$APPLE_SIGNING_IDENTITY \
  tauri build --target aarch64-apple-darwin

​
Build Configuration

​
Tauri Configuration

Key build settings in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json: 
{
  "productName": "Container Kit",
  "version": "0.10.0",
  "identifier": "com.ethercorps.container-kit",
  "build": {
    "beforeBuildCommand": "pnpm build",
    "frontendDist": "../build"
  },
  "bundle": {
    "active": true,
    "targets": ["dmg", "app"],
    "createUpdaterArtifacts": true,
    "macOS": {
      "hardenedRuntime": true,
      "minimumSystemVersion": "26.0"
    }
  }
}

​
Frontend Build

The pnpm build command (defined in package.json): 
pnpm db:generate && vite build
This:
  1. Generates database migrations and Rust bindings
  2. Builds the Svelte frontend with Vite
  3. Outputs to build/ directory

​
Build Outputs

Production builds are created in: 
src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/
├── bundle/
│   ├── dmg/
│   │   └── Container Kit_0.10.0_aarch64.dmg
│   └── macos/
│       └── Container Kit.app
└── Container Kit

​
Build Artifacts

1

DMG Installer

Custom-branded DMG installer with:
  • Custom background image
  • Drag-to-Applications installation
  • Window size: 900x500px
  • Code signed and notarized
2

APP Bundle

Standalone application bundle:
  • Hardened runtime enabled
  • Apple Container CLI embedded
  • Database migrations included
  • Custom app icon
3

Updater Artifacts

Auto-update files:
  • Signature files for secure updates
  • Latest release manifest
  • Update bundles

​
Environment Variables

Create a .env file with all required variables: 
DATABASE_URL=file:local.db

# Apple notarization
APPLE_ID=[email protected]
APPLE_PASSWORD=app-specific-password
APPLE_TEAM_ID=YOUR_TEAM_ID
APPLE_SIGNING_IDENTITY="Developer ID Application: Your Name (TEAM_ID)"

# Tauri signing (for updates)
TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY=your-private-key
TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD=your-password
See Code Signing for detailed setup instructions.

​
Build Steps

1

Prepare environment

Ensure your .env file contains all required variables:
# Verify .env file exists
cat .env
2

Clean previous builds

Optional: Remove previous build artifacts:
rm -rf src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/bundle
3

Run production build

Execute the build script:
pnpm tauri:build
This process takes several minutes depending on your system.
4

Verify build outputs

Check that build artifacts were created:
ls -la src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/bundle/dmg/
ls -la src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/bundle/macos/

​
Build Optimization

​
Included Resources

The build automatically bundles:
  • Database migrations: migrations/*
  • Apple Container CLI: binaries/sidecar/apple-container/**/*
  • App icons: Custom iconset in multiple sizes
  • External binaries: container CLI marked as external binary

​
Bundle Configuration

DMG appearance settings: 
{
  "dmg": {
    "background": "./images/background.jpg",
    "appPosition": { "x": 250, "y": 200 },
    "applicationFolderPosition": { "x": 650, "y": 200 },
    "windowSize": { "height": 500, "width": 900 }
  }
}

​
Troubleshooting

​
Build Fails

If the build fails: 
# Check Rust toolchain
rustup show

# Update Rust if needed
rustup update

# Verify aarch64 target
rustup target add aarch64-apple-darwin

​
Signing Errors

Verify your signing certificates: 
# List available signing identities
security find-identity -v -p codesigning
See Code Signing for troubleshooting.

​
Missing Dependencies

Ensure all dependencies are installed: 
# Reinstall dependencies
pnpm install

# Verify Apple Container CLI
ls -la src-tauri/binaries/sidecar/apple-container/bin/

​
CI/CD Integration

For automated builds in CI/CD:
  1. Store environment variables as secrets
  2. Install dependencies: pnpm install
  3. Download Apple CLI: pnpm script:download-apple-container
  4. Run build: pnpm tauri:build
  5. Upload artifacts from src-tauri/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/bundle/

​
Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us