i think i got step one working

frontend/vite.config.ts

@@ -1,15 +1,30 @@
 import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
 import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';
 
+// Use TAURI_DEV_HOST when running inside tauri dev, otherwise fall back to localhost.
+const host = process.env.TAURI_DEV_HOST;
+
 export default defineConfig({
   plugins: [react()],
-  base: './',
+  // Prevent vite from obscuring Rust errors in tauri dev
+  clearScreen: false,
   server: {
     port: 5173,
     strictPort: true,
+    host: host || false,
+    hmr: host ? { protocol: 'ws', host, port: 5174 } : undefined,
+    watch: {
+      // Tauri expects a hot reloading mechanism; ignore Rust src changes in Vite
+      ignored: ['**/src-tauri/**'],
+    },
   },
   build: {
     outDir: 'dist',
     emptyOutDir: true,
+    // Produces smaller bundle sizes compatible with Tauri's webview
+    target: ['es2021', 'chrome105', 'safari13'],
+    minify: !process.env.TAURI_DEBUG ? 'esbuild' : false,
+    sourcemap: !!process.env.TAURI_DEBUG,
   },
 });
+