`tauri dev` uses the same app data directory (and database) as the installed production app on macOS

Author: marcoscale98Created Sep 16, 2026Updated Sep 19, 2026

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Have the production Wealthfolio desktop app installed and in use on macOS (data at ~/Library/Application Support/com.teymz.wealthfolio/app.db)
  2. In a clone of the repo, run pnpm tauri dev
  3. Observe the dev build starts, runs database migrations, and performs read/sync operations against ~/Library/Application Support/com.teymz.wealthfolio/app.dbthe same file used by the installed production app

Expected vs actual behavior:

  • Expected: the development build to use an isolated app data directory, separate from the installed production app's data.
  • Actual: apps/tauri/tauri.conf.json defines a single identifier (com.teymz.wealthfolio) with no dev-specific override. Tauri derives app_data_dir() from this identifier, so pnpm tauri dev resolves to the same data directory as the production build. There is no warning about this in the README or CONTRIBUTING.md.

Impact: Any contributor who runs pnpm tauri dev on a machine where the production app is also installed will have the dev build run database migrations against, and read/write, their live production datasilently, with no confirmation prompt or warning. Since schema migrations are applied automatically on startup and are not generally reversible, this means whatever migrations exist on the currently checked-out branch (including unreleased/in-progress ones) get applied directly to production data the first time a contributor runs the dev build.

Environment:

  • OS: macOS 15.6.1 (24G90)
  • App version: 3.7.0
  • Command: pnpm tauri dev