Google Messages for macOS

A native-like macOS wrapper for Google Messages that properly handles window closing behavior.

Features

• Prevents the app from quitting when the window is closed on macOS (behaves like native apps)
• Persists window size and position between sessions
• Ensures the window stays within visible screen bounds (even after display changes)
• Restores window when clicking the app icon in the dock

Why This Exists

Google Messages is a great service, but when used as a PWA on macOS, clicking the close button quits the app completely instead of minimizing to the dock like native macOS apps. This Tauri-based wrapper solves that problem by intercepting the close event and simply hiding the window instead.

Installation

Download Pre-built App

Download the latest release from the Releases page.

Build from Source

Prerequisites

• Rust (with cargo installed)
• Tauri CLI

Steps

1. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/tomvoss/google-messages-for-macos.git
cd google-messages-for-macos

2. Install dependencies:

cargo install tauri-cli

3. Run the app in development mode:

cargo tauri dev

4. Build the app for distribution:

cargo tauri build

The built application will be available in the target/release/bundle/macos/ directory.

Development

Project Structure

• src-tauri/ - Tauri application configuration and Rust backend
• src/ - Frontend UI files
• package.json - Project configuration (if using a frontend framework)

Technical Details

The application works by:

1. Intercepting the window close event on macOS
2. Preventing the default behavior (quitting)
3. Saving the window state
4. Hiding the window instead of closing it
5. Restoring the window when clicking the dock icon

This creates a user experience consistent with native macOS applications.

License

MIT