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Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy shared a video comparing the current Electron app with a new Rust-based Windows client. In the clip, the new client loads its friends list sooner and shows 290.2MB of RAM use while running two accounts, but the comparison is an early-build snapshot, not a published like-for-like benchmark.
Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy has shared a video comparing the current Windows app with a new Rust-based client, showing the new version loading its friends list before the Electron app finishes starting. Discord staff said both were cold launches; the clip also showed 290.2MB of RAM use for the new client with two accounts signed in, though it is not a controlled, like-for-like benchmark.
The video, posted by Vishnevskiy and reshared by Discord’s official account, shows two Windows 11 laptops running the clients side by side. In Windows Latest’s account of the clip, the current app displays a blank window and then a starting tip, while the new client’s window appears in under a second. The new version has its friends list loaded by the time the older app reaches its interface. These are observations from a short video, not independent timing tests.
Discord employees said neither launch came from the system tray. Coral, who leads audio and video at Discord, described both as cold starts and said the new client starts quickly enough that the team no longer needs the existing startup modal. Coral also said it updates in the background; the employee said Discord was not using Microsoft Store or Windows Update Orchestration for that process at the time.
The memory figure came with an important qualification: Vishnevskiy said the client was running two accounts concurrently. He said the new client supports that use case, including keeping work and personal accounts active without tearing down the app between them. Discord has not released a controlled comparison of the two clients’ memory use under identical conditions.
What a Native Client Could Change
If the early results hold up in broader testing, a faster launch and lower memory use could make Discord less demanding for people who keep it open alongside games, browsers, or work apps. The video offers a concrete demonstration of the potential benefits of replacing a desktop app built on a browser runtime, especially for users who run more than one account.
But the clip does not establish a general performance advantage across different PCs or workloads. The 290.2MB reading is a single snapshot, and the source material does not provide a matching measurement for the Electron client at the same moment with the same accounts and settings. The result is an early indication, not proof that every Windows app should abandon Electron.
The change also matters because Discord is replacing a familiar web-based desktop architecture rather than merely adjusting a setting. A native interface may reduce some overhead, but users will ultimately care about reliability, feature parity, accessibility, and updates as much as launch speed. Those details are not established by the demonstration.
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Discord’s Move Beyond Electron
Discord’s existing Windows desktop client uses Electron, which combines Chromium and Node.js to run web technologies as a desktop application. That approach can make it easier to share code across platforms, but it also bundles a browser engine with the app. Discord has previously tried to improve performance within Electron: its September patch notes said an upgrade to Electron 42 reduced median CPU usage by about 17%, alongside a roughly 4% increase in p50 memory use.
The replacement described in the report uses Rust and GPUI, a GPU-accelerated interface framework developed by the makers of the Zed code editor. Unlike Tauri, which uses web technologies inside the operating system’s webview, GPUI draws the interface without HTML. Discord has used Rust since 2018, according to the source report. The new Windows client is described as an early build; the provided material does not give a public release date.
“The new Discord client using less RAM is just part of the story. Clicking around feels instant, I can’t go back. Check out the boot time.”
— Stanislav Vishnevskiy, Discord co-founder and CTO, on X
Benchmark and Rollout Questions
Discord has not published a like-for-like performance test comparing the Electron and Rust clients. The clip does not show matching memory readings for both apps, specify all test conditions, or establish how performance changes across hardware, account activity, and longer sessions. The 290.2MB figure should be treated as a point-in-time reading from an early build.
The source material also does not establish when the new client will be broadly available, whether it will replace the current app for all Windows users, or whether all existing features will be present at launch. Details about the longer-term update system, accessibility, and support are not provided. Discord’s claims about speed and account handling have not yet been independently verified in a full review.
Independent Tests and Release Details
The next useful milestone will be broader hands-on testing of the new client, including matched measurements of startup time, memory use, CPU use, and behavior with one or more accounts. Windows Latest said it plans to test the Rust version once it gets access. Such testing could show whether the video’s differences persist under consistent conditions.
Discord has not announced a release schedule in the supplied material. Users will need further information from the company about availability, feature coverage, and how the background update process will work before judging the practical effect of the move. For now, the clip shows a promising early comparison, not a final verdict on Electron or the new client.
Key Questions
What did Discord demonstrate in the video?
The new Rust client loaded its friends list before the current Electron app finished starting in a side-by-side clip. Discord employees said both launches were cold starts.
How much RAM did the new client use?
The video showed 290.2MB of RAM while two accounts were signed in. That is a single reading from an early build, not a controlled comparison with the Electron app.
Is Discord replacing Electron with Tauri?
No. The report says Discord’s new client uses Rust with GPUI, a framework that draws its interface without HTML. Tauri, which uses Rust with a system webview, was not the framework described.
When will the new Discord client be released?
No public release date is given in the supplied material. The client is described as an early build, and its availability and feature coverage remain unclear.
Source: windowslatest.com
