fix(tauri): disable GPU on Linux for Mesa 26+ EGL compatibility (closes #1697)

[PranavAgarkar07]

Summary

Add --disable-gpu flag to CEF command-line args on Linux, fixing the AppImage crash on Mesa 26+ (Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS).

Problem

The AppImage fails to launch on Arch-based distros with Mesa 26.0.2+. The GPU process crashes during EGL initialization:

eglCreateContext ES 3.0 failed with error EGL_BAD_ATTRIBUTE
eglCreateContext ES 2.0 failed with error EGL_BAD_ATTRIBUTE
ContextResult::kFatalFailure: Failed to create shared context for virtualization.

This is a Chromium/CEF compatibility issue with Mesa 26's stricter EGL attribute validation. The same CEF build works on Ubuntu/deb-based distros with older Mesa.

Three users confirmed: Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS.

Solution

Added #[cfg(target_os = "linux")] block that pushes --disable-gpu to the CEF command-line args, following the same pattern as the existing --disable-gpu-compositing flag for Intel macOS (issue #1012). This forces Chromium to use SwiftShader software rendering instead of failing on EGL initialization.

Submission Checklist

• Tests added or updated — N/A: CEF startup flag, no test harness for Tauri process args (verified via cargo check)
• Diff coverage >= 80% — N/A: single Rust file, 14 lines added, no testable logic (config-time flag)
• Coverage matrix updated — N/A: no feature tier or user-visible capability changed
• Feature IDs listed — N/A: no TEST-COVERAGE-MATRIX rows touched
• No new external network dependencies — no new crates or deps
• Manual smoke checklist updated — N/A: does not touch packaging/scripts
• Linked issue — Closes AppImage does not launch on Manjaro #1697

Impact

• Linux AppImage (and all Linux builds) will use software rendering via SwiftShader
• GPU acceleration for WebGL, video decode is disabled; perf impact on GPU-intensive surfaces (mascot animations, embedded web apps)
• Fixes "app won't launch at all" on Arch-based distros with Mesa 26+
• Follows existing pattern for Intel macOS GPU workaround (Fix Intel build crash on OpenHuman webview sign-in (Gmail/Google Meet) #1012)

Related

• Closes AppImage does not launch on Manjaro #1697
• Same pattern as Intel macOS GPU fix (Fix Intel build crash on OpenHuman webview sign-in (Gmail/Google Meet) #1012)

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Fixed startup issues on Linux systems

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: f91f5389-c572-4272-8d7b-82f8dfae70ed

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 35080ae and 3b94304.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This change adds a Linux-only --disable-gpu flag to CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) startup arguments, forcing software rendering to work around Mesa 26+ GPU context creation failures (EGL_BAD_ATTRIBUTE errors). The flag is conditionally compiled and logged for debugging.

Changes

Linux CEF GPU Workaround

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Linux GPU disable flag app/src-tauri/src/lib.rs	CEF initialization on Linux now conditionally passes --disable-gpu to the Chromium process via command-line arguments, with debug logging to track the workaround application.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~3 minutes

Poem

🐰 A Mesa mix-up made the renderer weep,
On Linux machines, in a GPU heap.
But now with a flag, we disable the plight,
Software rendering saves the day, burning bright! ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and specifically describes the main change: adding GPU disable for Linux Mesa 26+ EGL compatibility.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The code change directly addresses issue #1697 by implementing the GPU disable workaround on Linux to resolve Mesa 26+ EGL initialization failures.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are scoped to the stated objective: Linux-only GPU disable flag addition follows the existing Intel macOS workaround pattern.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.

_{✏️ Tip: You can configure your own custom pre-merge checks in the settings.}

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}