diff --git a/.changes/dev-path-dist-dir-validation.md b/.changes/dev-path-dist-dir-validation.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..648ec4b65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/dev-path-dist-dir-validation.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"tauri": patch
+"tauri-utils": patch
+"tauri-codegen": patch
+---
+
+Validate `tauri.conf.json > build > devPath` and `tauri.conf.json > build > distDir` values.
diff --git a/core/tauri-codegen/src/context.rs b/core/tauri-codegen/src/context.rs
index 2fbbfc54e..76f02a023 100644
--- a/core/tauri-codegen/src/context.rs
+++ b/core/tauri-codegen/src/context.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use crate::embedded_assets::{AssetOptions, EmbeddedAssets, EmbeddedAssetsError};
 use proc_macro2::TokenStream;
 use quote::quote;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
-use tauri_utils::config::Config;
+use tauri_utils::config::{Config, WindowUrl};
 
 /// Necessary data needed by [`context_codegen`] to generate code for a Tauri application context.
 pub struct ContextData {
@@ -24,15 +24,31 @@ pub fn context_codegen(data: ContextData) -> Result<TokenStream, EmbeddedAssetsE
     config_parent,
     root,
   } = data;
-  let assets_path = if dev {
-    // if dev_path is a dev server, we don't have any assets to embed
-    if config.build.dev_path.starts_with("http") {
-      None
-    } else {
-      Some(config_parent.join(&config.build.dev_path))
-    }
+  let app_url = if dev {
+    &config.build.dev_path
   } else {
-    Some(config_parent.join(&config.build.dist_dir))
+    &config.build.dist_dir
+  };
+  let assets_path = match app_url {
+    WindowUrl::External(_) => None,
+    WindowUrl::App(path) => {
+      if path.components().count() == 0 {
+        panic!(
+          "The `{}` configuration cannot be empty",
+          if dev { "devPath" } else { "distDir" }
+        )
+      }
+      let assets_path = config_parent.join(path);
+      if !assets_path.exists() {
+        panic!(
+          "The `{}` configuration is set to `{:?}` but this path doesn't exist",
+          if dev { "devPath" } else { "distDir" },
+          path
+        )
+      }
+      Some(assets_path)
+    }
+    _ => unimplemented!(),
   };
 
   // generate the assets inside the dist dir into a perfect hash function
diff --git a/core/tauri-utils/src/config.rs b/core/tauri-utils/src/config.rs
index 0e3d9b092..4c038468a 100644
--- a/core/tauri-utils/src/config.rs
+++ b/core/tauri-utils/src/config.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,13 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 
+//! The Tauri configuration used at runtime.
+//! It is pulled from a `tauri.conf.json` file and the [`Config`] struct is generated at compile time.
+//!
+//! # Stability
+//! This is a core functionality that is not considered part of the stable API.
+//! If you use it, note that it may include breaking changes in the future.
+
 use std::{collections::HashMap, path::PathBuf};
 
 use serde::Deserialize;
@@ -384,21 +391,21 @@ impl Default for TauriConfig {
 pub struct BuildConfig {
   /// the devPath config.
   #[serde(default = "default_dev_path")]
-  pub dev_path: String,
+  pub dev_path: WindowUrl,
   /// the dist config.
   #[serde(default = "default_dist_path")]
-  pub dist_dir: String,
+  pub dist_dir: WindowUrl,
   /// Whether we should inject the Tauri API on `window.__TAURI__` or not.
   #[serde(default)]
   pub with_global_tauri: bool,
 }
 
-fn default_dev_path() -> String {
-  "http://localhost:8080".to_string()
+fn default_dev_path() -> WindowUrl {
+  WindowUrl::External(Url::parse("http://localhost:8080").unwrap())
 }
 
-fn default_dist_path() -> String {
-  "../dist".to_string()
+fn default_dist_path() -> WindowUrl {
+  WindowUrl::App("../dist".into())
 }
 
 impl Default for BuildConfig {
@@ -762,8 +769,8 @@ mod build {
 
   impl ToTokens for BuildConfig {
     fn to_tokens(&self, tokens: &mut TokenStream) {
-      let dev_path = str_lit(&self.dev_path);
-      let dist_dir = str_lit(&self.dist_dir);
+      let dev_path = &self.dev_path;
+      let dist_dir = &self.dist_dir;
       let with_global_tauri = self.with_global_tauri;
 
       literal_struct!(tokens, BuildConfig, dev_path, dist_dir, with_global_tauri);
@@ -915,8 +922,8 @@ mod test {
 
     // create a build config
     let build = BuildConfig {
-      dev_path: String::from("http://localhost:8080"),
-      dist_dir: String::from("../dist"),
+      dev_path: WindowUrl::External(Url::parse("http://localhost:8080").unwrap()),
+      dist_dir: WindowUrl::App("../dist".into()),
       with_global_tauri: false,
     };
 
@@ -925,7 +932,10 @@ mod test {
     assert_eq!(b_config, build);
     assert_eq!(d_bundle, tauri.bundle);
     assert_eq!(d_updater, tauri.updater);
-    assert_eq!(d_path, String::from("http://localhost:8080"));
+    assert_eq!(
+      d_path,
+      WindowUrl::External(Url::parse("http://localhost:8080").unwrap())
+    );
     assert_eq!(d_title, tauri.windows[0].title);
     assert_eq!(d_windows, tauri.windows);
   }
diff --git a/core/tauri/src/manager.rs b/core/tauri/src/manager.rs
index 0368443fe..2cd7ae42f 100644
--- a/core/tauri/src/manager.rs
+++ b/core/tauri/src/manager.rs
@@ -239,16 +239,18 @@ impl<P: Params> WindowManager<P> {
   // setup content for dev-server
   #[cfg(dev)]
   fn get_url(&self) -> String {
-    if self.inner.config.build.dev_path.starts_with("http") {
-      self.inner.config.build.dev_path.clone()
-    } else {
-      "tauri://localhost".into()
+    match &self.inner.config.build.dev_path {
+      WindowUrl::External(url) => url.to_string(),
+      _ => "tauri://localhost".into(),
     }
   }
 
   #[cfg(custom_protocol)]
   fn get_url(&self) -> String {
-    "tauri://localhost".into()
+    match &self.inner.config.build.dist_dir {
+      WindowUrl::External(url) => url.to_string(),
+      _ => "tauri://localhost".into(),
+    }
   }
 
   fn prepare_pending_window(
@@ -505,7 +507,7 @@ mod test {
     assert_eq!(manager.get_url(), "tauri://localhost");
 
     #[cfg(dev)]
-    assert_eq!(manager.get_url(), manager.config().build.dev_path);
+    assert_eq!(manager.get_url(), "http://localhost:4000/");
   }
 }