A Docker Desktop clone with Tauri is an excellent project idea! Tauri is perfect for this - you get native performance, small bundle size, and can leverage web technologies for the UI while having system-level access.

Frontend Options:

• React/Vue/Svelte - Component-based UI with state management
• Vanilla JS - Lighter weight, direct DOM manipulation
• Web Components - Reusable, framework-agnostic components

Backend (Rust):

• Tauri commands for Docker API integration
• Docker SDK for Rust or shell command execution
• Background processes for real-time updates
• System tray integration

Container Management:

• Visual container dashboard with cards/tiles
• Start/stop/restart controls with status indicators
• Resource usage graphs (CPU, memory, network)
• Port mapping visualization
• Volume mount management

Image Management:

• Image registry browser
• Pull/push operations with progress bars
• Image layers visualization
• Dockerfile editor with syntax highlighting

Development Tools:

• Compose file editor and management
• Log viewer with search/filtering
• Terminal/exec integration
• File browser for container filesystems

Real-time Updates:

• WebSocket or Server-Sent Events for live container status
• Tauri's event system for backend-to-frontend communication
• Efficient polling strategies to avoid overwhelming the Docker API

Performance:

• Virtual scrolling for large container/image lists
• Lazy loading of container details
• Background data fetching

Platform Integration:

• System tray with quick actions
• Native notifications for container events
• File associations for Docker Compose files
• Auto-start with system

1. Setup Tauri project with your preferred frontend framework
2. Implement basic Docker API integration - start with listing containers
3. Build core UI components - container cards, status indicators
4. Add real-time updates - container state changes
5. Expand features - images, volumes, networks, compose

The main advantage over Docker Desktop would be customizability, lighter resource usage, and potentially better performance. You could also add features like container templates, custom dashboards, or developer-specific workflows.