Dioxus 0.5+ Knowledge Patch

Claude's baseline knowledge covers Dioxus through 0.4.x. This skill provides features from 0.5 (2024) onwards.

Quick Reference

Component Syntax (0.5+)

Old (0.4)	New (0.5+)
fn App(cx: Scope) -> Element	fn App() -> Element
cx.use_hook()	use_signal(), use_memo()
use_state, use_ref	Signal<T> (always Copy)
Per-platform launchers	dioxus::launch(App)

Signals

Operation	Syntax
Create	let count = use_signal(|| 0);
Read (subscribes)	count.read() or count()
Read (no subscribe)	count.peek()
Write	count.write(), count.set(5), count += 1
Global	static THEME: GlobalSignal<T> = GlobalSignal::new(|| ...)
Mapped	user.map(|u| &u.name)

See references/signals-hooks.md for hooks, effects, resources, coroutines.

RSX Syntax

Pattern	Example
Conditional	if show { Header {} }
Conditional attr	class: if active { "active" }
List with key	for item in items { li { key: "{item.id}", ... } }
Children prop	fn Card(children: Element) -> Element
Optional prop	#[props(default)] disabled: bool
Prop into	#[props(into)] id: String

See references/rsx-patterns.md for attributes, events, prop spreading.

Assets (0.6+)

const LOGO: Asset = asset!("/assets/logo.png");
const HERO: Asset = asset!(
    "/hero.png",
    ImageAssetOptions::new()
        .format(ImageFormat::Avif)
        .preload(true)
);
const STYLES: Asset = asset!("/app.css", CssAssetOptions::new().minify(true));

Server Functions (0.7+)

Feature	Syntax
Basic	#[server] async fn get_data() -> Result<T>
Route params	#[get("/api/users/{id}")] async fn get_user(id: u32)
Query params	#[get("/search?query")] async fn search(query: String)
Middleware	#[server] #[middleware(AuthLayer)]
Extractors	async fn auth(headers: HeaderMap, cookies: Cookies)

See references/fullstack.md for WebSocket, SSR, streaming, server config.

Router

#[derive(Routable, Clone, PartialEq)]
enum Route {
    #[route("/")]
    Home {},
    #[route("/user/:id")]
    User { id: u32 },
    #[route("/files/:..path")] // Catch-all
    Files { path: Vec<String> },
}

See references/router.md for layouts, navigation, nested routes.

CLI Commands

Command	Purpose
dx serve	Dev server with hot-reload
dx serve --platform ios	iOS simulator
dx build --release	Production build
dx bundle	Package for distribution
dx serve --wasm-split	Route-based code splitting

See references/cli-desktop.md for desktop config, platform args.

Reference Files

File	Contents
signals-hooks.md	Signals, use_memo, use_effect, use_resource, context
rsx-patterns.md	RSX syntax, props, events, conditionals, lists
fullstack.md	Server functions, SSR, WebSocket, extractors
router.md	Routes, layouts, navigation, parameters
cli-desktop.md	CLI commands, desktop config, platforms

Critical Knowledge

Element is Result (0.6+)

Use ? anywhere - propagates to ErrorBoundary:

#[component]
fn Profile(id: u32) -> Element {
    let user = get_user(id)?; // Early return on error
    rsx! { "{user.name}" }
}

Suspense for Async

rsx! {
    SuspenseBoundary {
        fallback: |_| rsx! { "Loading..." },
        AsyncChild {}
    }
}

fn AsyncChild() -> Element {
    let data = use_resource(fetch_data).suspend()?;
    rsx! { "{data}" }
}

Document Head

use dioxus::document::{Title, Link, Meta};

rsx! {
    Title { "My Page" }
    Meta { name: "description", content: "..." }
    Link { rel: "stylesheet", href: asset!("/style.css") }
}

Stores for Nested State (0.7+)

#[derive(Store)]
struct AppState {
    users: BTreeMap<String, User>,
}

#[component]
fn UserList(state: Store<AppState>) -> Element {
    let users = state.users();
    rsx! {
        for (id, user) in users.iter() {
            UserRow { key: "{id}", user }  // Only changed items re-render
        }
    }
}

CSS Modules (0.7.3+)

css_module!(Styles = "/styles.module.css", AssetOptions::css_module());

rsx! {
    div { class: Styles::container,  // Typed, compile-checked
        p { class: Styles::title, "Hello" }
    }
}

Fullstack Server Setup

use axum::Router;
use dioxus::prelude::*;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() {
    let app = Router::new()
        .serve_static_assets("dist")
        .serve_dioxus_application(ServeConfig::new(), App);

    let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind("0.0.0.0:3000").await.unwrap();
    axum::serve(listener, app).await.unwrap();
}

Reactivity Gotchas

Memos in attributes don't subscribe properly:

// BAD: Won't update
let style = use_memo(move || format!("color: {}", color()));
rsx! { div { style: style } }

// GOOD: Direct signal read
rsx! { div { style: format!("color: {}", color()) } }

Use individual CSS properties:

// GOOD: Proper reactivity
rsx! {
    p {
        font_weight: if bold() { "bold" } else { "normal" },
        text_align: "{align}",
    }
}

Native FFI Bridge (0.7.4+)

Write mobile plugins in Kotlin/Java/Swift with dioxus_platform_bridge. CLI auto-bundles via linker metadata:

#[cfg(all(feature = "metadata", target_os = "android"))]
dioxus_platform_bridge::android_plugin!(
    plugin = "geolocation",
    aar = { env = "DIOXUS_ANDROID_ARTIFACT" },
    deps = ["implementation(\"com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:21.3.0\")"]
);

Hot-Reload Boundaries

Instant reload: Literal values, text, formatted segments, attribute order, template structure

Requires rebuild: Rust logic, component structure, control flow conditions, struct field changes

Workspace hot-patching (0.7.4+): Subsecond now patches across workspace library crates, not just the tip crate.