tauri-plugin-mobile-sharetarget 2.0.0

A mobile only Tauri plugin to handle Share Intents / Share extensions on Android & iOS
Documentation

Tauri Plugin mobile-sharetarget

Description

This plugin is an alternative to tauri-plugin-sharetarget. It is command based rather than event based, making the management of incoming intents more reliable, especially when your webview isn't able to listen to events yet.

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Installation

Android

This plugin works by linking a Rust function to some native code (Kotlin). Thus the plugin needs to load the lib generated by Tauri. Your Tauri app lib name sits in the src-tauri/Cargo.toml file :

[lib]
...
name = "tauri_app_lib"
...

Thus to use this plugin, you need to fork this repo. Here are the steps :

  1. In src-tauri/gen/android/gradle.properties, add this line tauri_app_lib_name=YOUR_LIB_NAME, and replace the placeholder with your app's lib name as described above.
  2. Add the packages to your app: Cargo.toml
...
[target."cfg(any(target_os = \"android\", target_os = \"ios\"))".dependencies]
tauri-plugin-mobile-sharetarget = "2"

lib.rs

#[cfg(mobile)]
    {
        builder = builder
            .plugin(tauri_plugin_mobile_sharetarget::init());
    }

package.json

...
		"tauri-plugin-mobile-sharetarget-api": "^2.0.0"
...
  1. Add the required intent filters. By default all kind of text is accepted, but you can tweak that to your needs. AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8">
<manifest ...>
    ...
    <application ...>
        ...
        <activity ...>
        ...
            <intent-filter>
                <!-- Support receiving share events. -->
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
                <!-- You can scope any MIME type here. You'll see what Intent Android returns. -->
                <data android:mimeType="text/*" />
            </intent-filter>
        ...
        </activity ...>
        ...
  1. Add the required permissions to your capabilities (don't forget to use it in your tauri.conf.json). src-tauri/capabilities/mobile.json
{
	"$schema": "../gen/schemas/mobile-schema.json",
	"identifier": "mobile",
	"description": "Capability for the main mobile window",
	"windows": ["main"],
	"permissions": ["mobile-sharetarget:default"],
	"platforms": ["android", "iOS"]
}

iOS

This plugin doesn't properly relies on a Tauri swift plugin, but it uses the same Rust queue to keep the same behaviour between platforms. Instead it makes use of the official Tauri Deep-Link plugin to read the incoming URLs sent by a native Swift Tauri extension. Here are the installation steps :

  1. Add the required packages to your app: Cargo.toml
...
[target."cfg(any(target_os = \"android\", target_os = \"ios\"))".dependencies]
tauri-plugin-mobile-sharetarget = "2"
tauri-plugin-deep-link = "2" # Note: you can also make this crate an ios only dependency

lib.rs

#[cfg(mobile)]
    {
        builder = builder
            .plugin(tauri_plugin_deep_link::init()) // This must be called before the sharetarget plugin
            .plugin(tauri_plugin_mobile_sharetarget::init())
            .setup(|_app| {
                #[cfg(target_os = "ios")]
                {
                    use tauri_plugin_deep_link::DeepLinkExt;
                    use tauri_plugin_mobile_sharetarget::{push_new_intent, IOS_DEEP_LINK_SCHEME};
                    let start_urls = _app.deep_link().get_current()?;
                    if let Some(urls) = start_urls {
                        println!("deep link URLs: {:?}", urls);
                        if let Some(url) = urls.first() {
                            if url.scheme().eq(IOS_DEEP_LINK_SCHEME.wait()) {
                                push_new_intent(url.to_string());
                            }
                        }
                    }
    
                    _app.deep_link().on_open_url(move |event| {
                        println!("got new url");
                        if let Some(url) = event.urls().first() {
                            if url.scheme().eq(IOS_DEEP_LINK_SCHEME.wait()) {
                                push_new_intent(url.to_string());
                            }
                        }
                    });
                }
                Ok(())
            });
    }

package.json

...
		"tauri-plugin-mobile-sharetarget-api": "^2.0.0"
...

tauri.conf.json

...
"plugins": {
    "deep-link": {
      "mobile": [
        {
          "scheme": ["REPLACE-BY-YOUR-APP-SCHEME"],
          "appLink": false,
          "pathPrefix": ["/share"]
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  ...
  1. In Xcode, create an additionnal target for your iOS app, with the "Share Extension" template, name it (e.g. "ShareExtension") and activate the scheme when prompted.
  2. In the new generated "ShareExtension" folder replace the content of these files by the following src-tauri/gen/apple/NAME_OF_YOUR_SHARE_EXTENSION/Info.plist
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
    "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>NSExtension</key>
	<dict>
		<key>NSExtensionAttributes</key>
		<dict>
			<key>NSExtensionActivationRule</key>
			<dict>
                <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsWebURLWithMaxCount</key>
                <integer>1</integer>
                <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsWebPageWithMaxCount</key>
                <integer>1</integer>
                <key>NSExtensionActivationSupportsText</key>
                <true />
        </dict>
		</dict>
		<key>NSExtensionPointIdentifier</key>
		<string>com.apple.share-services</string>
		<key>NSExtensionPrincipalClass</key>
    <string>$(PRODUCT_MODULE_NAME).ShareViewController</string>
    <key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
    <array>
      <string>REPLACE-BY-YOUR-SCHEME</string>
    </array>
	</dict>
</dict>
</plist>

src-tauri/gen/apple/NAME_OF_YOUR_SHARE_EXTENSION/ShareViewController.swift

import UIKit
import UniformTypeIdentifiers
import Foundation

class ShareViewController: UIViewController {
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
            super.viewDidLoad()
            // Minimal UI: Transparent with spinner
            self.view.backgroundColor = .clear
            let spinner = UIActivityIndicatorView(style: .large)
            spinner.center = self.view.center
            spinner.startAnimating()
            self.view.addSubview(spinner)
        }

        override func viewDidAppear(_ animated: Bool) {
            super.viewDidAppear(animated)
            print("🟢 Share Extension: View Did Appear")
            
            // 1. Extract Data safely
            extractSharedURL { [weak self] sharedURL in
                guard let self = self else { return }
                
                guard let url = sharedURL else {
                    print("🔴 Share Extension: No URL found in shared content.")
                    self.closeExtension()
                    return
                }
                
                // 2. Build Deeplink (WITH ENCODING)
                // If the shared URL has special chars, it MUST be encoded or URL(string:) returns nil
                let originalString = url.absoluteString
                
                // Prepare the query item
                // e.g., myapp://share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgoogle.com
                var components = URLComponents()
                components.scheme = "REPLACE-BY-YOUR-APP-SCHEME"
                components.host = "share"
                components.queryItems = [
                    URLQueryItem(name: "url", value: originalString)
                ]
                
                guard let deepLink = components.url else {
                    print("🔴 Share Extension: Could not construct deep link.")
                    self.closeExtension()
                    return
                }
                
                print("🟢 Share Extension: Attempting to open -> \(deepLink)")

                // 3. Attempt to Open
                let success = self.openURL(deepLink)
                
                if success {
                    print("🟢 Share Extension: Open command sent successfully.")
                    // Give the system time to switch apps before killing this extension
                    DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.5) {
                        self.closeExtension()
                    }
                } else {
                    print("🔴 Share Extension: Trampoline failed. Responder not found.")
                    // Fallback: Show an alert so the user isn't left confusingly
                    self.showErrorAndClose()
                }
            }
        }

    
    // MARK: - Helper Methods

        private func closeExtension() {
            self.extensionContext?.completeRequest(returningItems: [], completionHandler: nil)
        }
        
        private func showErrorAndClose() {
            let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Error", message: "Could not open the main app.", preferredStyle: .alert)
            alert.addAction(UIAlertAction(title: "OK", style: .default, handler: { _ in
                self.closeExtension()
            }))
            self.present(alert, animated: true)
        }

        // MARK: - Data Extraction
        private func extractSharedURL(completion: @escaping (URL?) -> Void) {
            // Safely unwrap extension items
            guard let extensionItem = extensionContext?.inputItems.first as? NSExtensionItem,
                  let attachments = extensionItem.attachments else {
                completion(nil)
                return
            }

            let urlType = UTType.url.identifier // "public.url"
            let textTypes: [String] = {
                if #available(iOS 16.0, *) {
                    return [UTType.text.identifier, UTType.plainText.identifier]
                } else {
                    return [UTType.text.identifier]
                }
            }()

            // Helper to extract the first URL from a string using a data detector
            func urlFromString(_ string: String) -> URL? {
                let detector = try? NSDataDetector(types: NSTextCheckingResult.CheckingType.link.rawValue)
                let range = NSRange(location: 0, length: (string as NSString).length)
                let match = detector?.firstMatch(in: string, options: [], range: range)
                if let match = match, match.resultType == .link, let foundURL = match.url {
                    return foundURL
                }
                // Fallback: direct initializer if the text is exactly a URL
                return URL(string: string.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines))
            }

            // 1) Prefer a real URL item provider
            for provider in attachments {
                if provider.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier(urlType) {
                    provider.loadItem(forTypeIdentifier: urlType, options: nil) { (item, error) in
                        DispatchQueue.main.async {
                            if let error = error { print("🔴 Load Error (URL): \(error.localizedDescription)") }
                            if let url = item as? URL {
                                completion(url)
                            } else if let url = item as? NSURL {
                                completion(url as URL)
                            } else if let string = item as? String, let url = urlFromString(string) {
                                completion(url)
                            } else {
                                completion(nil)
                            }
                        }
                    }
                    return
                }
            }

            // 2) Fall back to text providers that may contain a URL
            for provider in attachments {
                for type in textTypes {
                    if provider.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier(type) {
                        provider.loadItem(forTypeIdentifier: type, options: nil) { (item, error) in
                            DispatchQueue.main.async {
                                if let error = error { print("🔴 Load Error (Text): \(error.localizedDescription)") }
                                if let string = item as? String, let url = urlFromString(string) {
                                    completion(url)
                                } else if let data = item as? Data, let string = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8), let url = urlFromString(string) {
                                    completion(url)
                                } else {
                                    completion(nil)
                                }
                            }
                        }
                        return
                    }
                }
            }

            // No suitable provider found
            completion(nil)
        }

    // MARK: - The Trampoline (The Magic)
    @discardableResult
    @objc func openURL(_ url: URL) -> Bool {
        var responder: UIResponder? = self
        
        while responder != nil {
            if let application = responder as? UIApplication {
                application.open(url)
                return true
            }
            responder = responder?.next
        }
        return false
    }
}
  1. Define and setup an "App Group" capability for both your main app and Share Extension in Xcode
  2. Add this to the src-tauri/Info.ios.plist file of your app :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
	<array>
		<string>REPLACE-BY-YOUR-SCHEME</string>
	</array>
</dict>
</plist>
  1. Add the required permissions to your capabilities (don't forget to use it in your tauri.conf.json). src-tauri/capabilities/mobile.json
{
	"$schema": "../gen/schemas/mobile-schema.json",
	"identifier": "mobile",
	"description": "Capability for the main mobile window",
	"windows": ["main"],
	"permissions": ["mobile-sharetarget:default"],
	"platforms": ["android", "iOS"]
}

Usage

Intents are stored in a Rust queue. Each call to the queue pops the latest intent in the queue.

You can call popIntentQueue() to retrieve a raw intent in the FIFO queue.

You can also call popIntentQueueAndExtractText() that extracts the text payload of a textual share intent.

Svelte

Here's a Svelte 5 snippet that uses the plugin to consume the queue automatically when the app is launched or when it is focused. This is the equivalent to the event based approach but we can retry to consume the queue if we missed an event for some reason.

  import { popIntentQueueAndExtractText } from 'tauri-plugin-mobile-sharetarget-api';
  import { listen, type UnlistenFn } from '@tauri-apps/api/event';
 	import { platform } from '@tauri-apps/plugin-os';

	let openDrawer = $state(false);

	let sharedTargetUrl: string | undefined = $state();
	const currentPlatform = platform();

	let focusUnlistener: UnlistenFn;

	onMount(async () => {
		if (currentPlatform === 'android' || currentPlatform === 'ios') {
			popIntentAndOpenDrawer();

			// iOS tauri://focus isn't reliable for some reason, so we can use a custom event instead.
			focusUnlistener = await listen(
				currentPlatform === 'android' ? 'tauri://focus' : 'new-intent',
				async () => {
					await popIntentAndOpenDrawer();
				}
			);
		}
	});

	const popIntentAndOpenDrawer = async () => {
		let potentialIntent = await popIntentQueueAndExtractText();
		if (potentialIntent) {
			sharedTargetUrl = decodeURIComponent(potentialIntent);
			// Or whatever state you need to update when a new intent is received.
			openDrawer = true;
		}
	};

	onDestroy(() => {
		focusUnlistener();
	});

Example

An example app is provided in this repo under examples/tauri-app.

Credits

  • Thanks to lafleurdeboum for the original tauri-plugin-sharetarget available here
  • Thanks to Takuya Matsuyama for his article that explains how to setup an iOS Share Extension.
  • Thanks to the Tauri team