Helios
A personal desktop dashboard built with Tauri 2 and React. 28+ plugin widgets, Kanban project management, network topology graph, and system monitoring.
The problem & the goals
Helios is a self-hosted desktop dashboard built on Tauri 2 (Rust backend) and React 19. It features a drag-and-drop widget grid, a 28-plugin ecosystem covering system stats, Docker monitoring, RSS feeds, notes, finance, and more. It also includes a full Kanban project management system, an interactive network topology graph, and a remote agent for monitoring headless servers.
Problem
28+ plugin widgets (system stats, Docker, RSS, notes, finance…)
Goal
Drag-and-drop grid dashboard
What I owned
Solo
- Kanban project management
- Interactive network topology graph
Stack & why
Each choice had to earn its place.
Tauri 2
Tech
Electron was ruled out - a 150 MB Node.js runtime for a local dashboard is overkill. Tauri's Rust core produces a ~5 MB binary with direct access to system APIs at near-native speed.
React 19
Tech
Each plugin widget is an isolated React component - adding a new plugin means dropping a single file. React 19's concurrent rendering keeps the grid responsive during heavy data fetches.
Rust
Tech
System metrics and Docker socket calls require a compiled backend. Rust's ownership model prevents the memory bugs that would crash a long-running dashboard daemon.
SQLite
Tech
No database server to install or manage - the app bundles its own persistence layer. Users install once and run, with no setup wizard or connection string.
Key features
28+ plugin widgets (system stats, Docker, RSS, notes, finance…)
Drag-and-drop grid dashboard
Kanban project management
Interactive network topology graph
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