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Tauri permissions generator

Tauri updater permission: updater:default

The updater plugin (tauri-plugin-updater) checks an update endpoint for a newer version, downloads it, verifies the signature and installs it. It is the standard way a distributed Tauri app ships fixes without asking users to reinstall.

updater:default grants check, download and install. The grant is only as safe as the signing key behind it: the app's public key and endpoints live in tauri.conf.json, artifacts must be signed with the matching private key at build time, and an updater configured without signature verification is remote code execution by design.

Updater at a glance

Permission
updater:default
Cargo crate
tauri-plugin-updater
npm bindings
@tauri-apps/plugin-updater
Builder call
.plugin(tauri_plugin_updater::init())
What it enables
Check for and install application updates.
What it widens
Downloads and installs new versions of the app. Requires a signing key — an unsigned updater is remote code execution by design.

The four files that must agree

Capability file

src-tauri/capabilities/default.json
{
  "$schema": "../gen/schemas/desktop-schema.json",
  "identifier": "default",
  "description": "Capabilities granted to the main window.",
  "windows": [
    "main"
  ],
  "permissions": [
    "core:default",
    "updater:default"
  ]
}

core:default is the baseline every window has; the plugin permission is the one line this page adds.

Cargo dependency

src-tauri/Cargo.toml
[dependencies]
tauri = { version = "2", features = [] }
serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
serde_json = "1"
tauri-plugin-updater = "2"

Plugin registration

src-tauri/src/lib.rs
#[cfg_attr(mobile, tauri::mobile_entry_point)]
pub fn run() {
    tauri::Builder::default()
        .plugin(tauri_plugin_updater::init())
        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
        .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

A crate that is declared but never registered is dead weight; one registered without its permission is a runtime denial.

Frontend bindings

terminal
npm install @tauri-apps/plugin-updater

updater:default, answered

The longer version is in the guide Tauri 2 permissions: capabilities without the runtime denials.

What does updater:default grant in Tauri 2?
updater:default is the default permission set of tauri-plugin-updater. It check for and install application updates. Tauri 2 denies every command that is not listed in a capability file, so without this line the plugin's commands fail at runtime even though the crate compiles and is registered.
Why does my updater call fail with a permission error?
Three files have to agree: tauri-plugin-updater in Cargo.toml, .plugin(tauri_plugin_updater::init()) in src/lib.rs, and updater:default in the capability file under src-tauri/capabilities/. The ACL is checked when a command is invoked, not when the app is built, so a missing permission string compiles cleanly and denies at runtime. The frontend also needs @tauri-apps/plugin-updater installed to call it.
Is updater:default safe to ship?
Downloads and installs new versions of the app. Requires a signing key — an unsigned updater is remote code execution by design. Permissions are additive on top of core:default, so the least-privilege shape is to grant only the plugins the app calls, and to prefer the plugin's granular allow-* permissions over the default set wherever a command or path can be named.

Combine it with the rest of your capability file

The Tauri permissions generator builds the whole file from the same catalogue — tick every plugin the app calls, add a custom title bar's window permissions, and copy the capability JSON, Cargo dependencies, builder chain and npm install line together. In the Nodlume workspace the same selection is what the Desktop export writes into src-tauri.

Open the generator

Other Tauri 2 plugin permissions

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