Discord is rebuilding its app in Rust
The chat service plans to replace Electron and React Native with its own client using GPUI.
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Discord is working on a new version of its desktop and mobile applications that will run largely on the Rust programming language. According to technical director Stanislav Vishnevskiy, Electron and React Native will disappear from the new architecture.
Discord has not yet released the new application widely, but its technical leadership has confirmed the plans in posts on X. According to the available information, the desktop version will be called Discord Phoenix and will use GPUI for its user interface.
The current Windows app is based on Electron, a framework that bundles a Chromium browser with the application. This makes it easier to build an application for multiple operating systems, but can increase memory usage because the browser component runs continuously.
Windows Latest writes that an early Windows version of the new client used about 290 megabytes of RAM. That is a measurement from an early test version, not an independent benchmark of the final application. Discord has previously acknowledged that the existing Windows client can use up to 4 gigabytes of memory in some circumstances.
Vishnevskiy wrote that Discord has been using parts of Rust for infrastructure and voice technology since 2018. According to him, the aim is ultimately to move the entire client to Rust. A native user interface will remain for mobile devices, but desktop and mobile are expected to share more code.
The switch does not automatically mean that every user will use less memory or that the app will be faster. The early measurement offers no certainty about performance for other users or when they will be able to use the new client.
The choice of Rust raises questions about maintenance and compatibility. Users also still have questions about availability and the retention of features. Discord's confirmation of the architectural change does not in itself answer those questions.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The architectural change and the technical director's statements have been described by multiple public sources. The text explicitly presents the memory figures as a test result rather than as proven final performance.
- confirmed Discord is rebuilding the client in Rust. — This was confirmed by the technical director and described by Windows Latest. source
- confirmed The new desktop client uses GPUI. — Vishnevskiy's statement is quoted in the source. source
- confirmed An early test version used about 290 megabytes of memory. — Windows Latest describes the measurement as an early Windows test. source
Editor's note
Discord has confirmed its technical direction, but the memory figures come from an early test version and are not an independent measurement of the final product. No release date has been given.Sources
- Discord is killing its Electron app — Windows Latest
- Discord CTO confirms the desktop and mobile apps are being rebuilt in Rust — MyAppsPlus
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „discord rust”
- NOS — „discord rust”
- Het Parool — „discord rust”