Discord replaces Electron with lighter new app
The gist
Discord is moving its desktop client fully to Rust, replacing Electron and React Native.
The rebuild cuts memory use, but no release date is set.
How it unfolded
- Sep 8, 2026Discord's own patch notes say the team upgraded the desktop app to Electron 42.
- Nov 5, 2026The Verge reports Discord is moving its apps fully to Rust, replacing Electron; CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy confirms the plan in a post on X.
- Nov 5, 2026Vishnevskiy shares an image of an early Windows 11 build labeled "Discord Phoenix" using 290.2MB of RAM while signed in to two accounts.
Key terms
- Electron
- A free, open-source framework for building desktop applications with web technologies, using Chromium and Node.js.
- React Native
- An open-source UI framework by Meta for building cross-platform apps with React and native capabilities.
- Rust
- A general-purpose programming language emphasizing performance, type safety, concurrency, and memory safety.
Source: Wikipedia