The Crossroads: C++ Qt vs. Tauri + Rust for the AI Era

If you are building a high-performance desktop tool like a video editor today, you face a binary choice:

1. The Titan: C++ with Qt 6 (The industry standard for 25 years).
2. The Disruptor: Tauri v2 with a Rust backend (The modern web-native approach).

Usually, this debate centers on raw performance. But there is a new variable in 2026: Ease of development with AI Agents (like Google Antigravity).

Which stack allows you—and your AI pair programmer—to move faster?

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1. Performance Roadmap: The Gap is Closing

C++ & Qt

• The Reality: It renders its own pixels. It is as close to the metal as you can get.
• Performance: Unbeatable for complex, custom UI controls (like a timeline with 10,000 clips).
• The Roadmap: Qt 6 is heavily optimizing for Vulkan/Metal, but the framework is massive (“bloated”). Start-up times are decent, but binary sizes are huge.

Tauri + Rust

• The Reality: The UI is a WebView (Edge on Windows, WebKit on Mac). The backend is native Rust binary.
• Performance:
  • UI: 60fps is easy. 144fps is hard. RAM usage is higher (~150MB baseline) due to the browser engine.
  • Logic: Rust matches C++ speed for the heavy lifting (video processing).
• The Roadmap: Tauri Mobile and v2 have optimized the IPC (communication between UI and Rust) to be near-instant.

Verdict: Unless you are building Adobe After Effects where every pixel of the UI is dynamic, Tauri is “Fast Enough” for 99% of apps.

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2. The “Antigravity” Factor: AI-Assisted Development

This is where the choice gets interesting. You are coding with an advanced AI Agent. Which language does the AI speak better?

The C++ / Qt Experience

• AI Proficiency: High, but dangerous.
• The Problem: C++ lets you shoot yourself in the foot. An AI can write valid C++ that leaks memory or causes segfaults in edge cases. Debugging signal/slot connections in Qt often confuses LLMs because of the “Magic” code generation (moc).
• Styling: QML is powerful but proprietary. AI models have seen 1000x more CSS than QML. You will spend time fixing the AI’s QML syntax.

The Tauri (React + Rust) Experience

• AI Proficiency: God-Tier.
• Frontend: LLMs are incredibly good at React, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. The AI can instantly generate beautiful, responsive, accessible UIs for your editor because it has “read” the entire internet’s web code.
• Backend: Rust is the perfect partner for AI. Why? The Compiler.
  • If the AI writes bad Rust code, the compiler screams at it. The AI sees the error and fixes it.
  • Once the code compiles, it is likely safe (no segfaults).
• Result: You spend less time debugging memory errors and more time building features.

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3. The Verdict: What is better for You?

If you are building specifically with Google Antigravity, I strictly recommend: Tauri + Rust.

Why?

1. Iteration Speed: You can ask me to “Make the timeline dark mode with a glassmorphism effect,” and I can generate the CSS instantly. Doing that in Qt stylesheets is a nightmare.
2. Safety Net: Rust protects us. When I write backend logic for you, the Rust compiler ensures I haven’t introduced race conditions.
3. Modern UI: You want your app to look like 2026, not 2010. Web tech (CSS Grid, Animations) makes “slick” UIs trivial.

The Stack Recommendation

• Frontend: React + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS (The AI’s home turf).
• Backend: Rust (for FFmpeg bindings and file IO).
• Glue: Tauri v2.

This path offers the least friction for our collaboration.