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Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy shared a video comparing the current Electron app with a new Rust-based Windows client. The new client loaded its friends list sooner and showed 290.2 MB of RAM while running two accounts, but the footage is not a controlled benchmark and Discord has not published a like-for-like comparison.
Discord has demonstrated a new Rust-based Windows client that loaded its friends list before the company’s current Electron app finished starting, while showing 290.2 MB of RAM use with two accounts signed in. The side-by-side video, shared by Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy, highlights a potential performance difference, but it is not a controlled comparison and the company has not released matching benchmark results.
The approximately 15-second clip shows the existing Discord app on one Windows 11 ThinkPad and the new client, identified in Task Manager as Discord Phoenix, on another. Windows Latest reported that the Electron app was opened first and displayed a blank window and a startup tip before reaching its interface. The Rust client was opened about a second and a half later and showed its friends list while the older client was still loading.
Discord employees said both applications were launched from a cold start, rather than the new app being opened from the system tray. Coral, who leads audio and video at Discord, said the new client starts quickly enough that its architecture does not need the existing startup modal and that it updates in the background. Coral said Discord does not currently hand those updates to the Microsoft Store or Windows Update Orchestration Platform.
Vishnevskiy said the displayed 290.2 MB memory figure came with two accounts running concurrently, a capability he said the new client supports. The report compares that snapshot with a prior employee statement that ordinary Discord use is under 1 GB, but those figures do not establish a like-for-like test. Windows Latest said the figure came from an early build and that it had not yet tested both clients under matched conditions.
What a Native Rewrite Could Change
The demonstration matters because Discord is replacing a desktop app built on Electron, a framework that packages web technologies and a Chromium-based runtime, with a client built using Rust and GPUI. If the apparent speed and memory gains hold up in broader testing, the change could make the app feel more responsive and reduce its memory footprint for users who keep it open alongside games or other demanding software.
Those benefits remain prospective, not established across users or devices. The video compares one launch on two machines, and the memory figure is a single reading rather than a published test covering identical accounts, workloads and settings. For now, it offers a concrete preview of Discord’s engineering direction, not proof that every Windows app should abandon Electron or that the new client will perform better in every situation.
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Discord’s Move Beyond Electron
Discord’s current Windows desktop app uses Electron, which combines web technologies with Chromium and Node.js. Its multi-process model includes a main process and renderer processes for windows. Discord has previously tried to improve its existing app: September patch notes cited by Windows Latest said an Electron 42 upgrade cut median CPU usage by about 17%, alongside a roughly 4% increase in p50 memory usage.
The new desktop client uses GPUI, a GPU-accelerated Rust interface framework made by the developers of the Zed code editor. Unlike Tauri, another framework discussed in reactions to the demo, GPUI draws the interface without HTML, according to the report. Discord has used Rust since 2018, the article said. Discord has not described the client as a Tauri app, and the report says the new desktop build is intended to replace Electron; it also mentions plans to replace React Native in the mobile apps, but the demo itself concerns Windows.
“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, in a post on X
Performance Claims Still Need Testing
Discord has not published a like-for-like performance benchmark comparing the new client with its Electron app. The video does not establish how memory use changes over longer sessions, across different hardware, or under equivalent activity and settings. The 290.2 MB reading is an early-build snapshot with two accounts signed in; it should not be treated as a typical figure for all users or as a direct comparison with the current app.
The company also has not specified in the cited material when the Rust client will become generally available, whether access will be staged, or which Windows configurations it will support. The demonstration does not address feature parity, stability, accessibility, or whether the client’s background update process will offer user controls comparable to existing update methods.
Release Details and Benchmarks
The next useful evidence will be a broader release or hands-on testing that compares both clients on the same hardware and under the same workload. That could establish whether the startup and memory differences in the clip persist during ordinary use, including voice calls and multi-account sessions.
Discord has not announced a public release date in the information cited here. Users will need further company updates for rollout timing, supported systems, and details about the new client’s features and update process.
Key Questions
What did Discord demonstrate?
Discord showed a Rust-based Windows client loading its friends list before the current Electron app completed startup. The clip also showed 290.2 MB of RAM use while two accounts were signed in.
Has Discord proved the new client uses less memory?
No. The memory figure is a single early-build snapshot, and Discord has not published a controlled, like-for-like benchmark against the current client.
What technologies does the new desktop app use?
The client uses Rust and GPUI, a GPU-accelerated interface framework developed by the team behind the Zed editor. It is not described as a Tauri app.
When can Windows users try the Rust client?
The cited report does not give a public release date or rollout schedule. Discord has not specified when general availability will begin.
Source: windowslatest.com
