Makepad 1.0: Rust UI Framework

Hello HN!

We’re happy to finally announce our first public release of Makepad.

Makepad is a UI framework written in Rust. It’s designed for performance — relying almost solely on the GPU for rendering. It features a novel styling system, based on the idea of using shaders to adjust the look and feel of your application. To this end, it also features a custom DSL, including a shader language that compiles to multiple graphics backends.

A major feature of Makepad’s DSL is real-time UI editing: Makepad apps listen for changes to their DSL source code and update themselves at runtime to reflect the new code. This allows developers to adjust the layout and style of their app without having to do an expensive recompilation step on each change.

Makepad currently works on all major native platforms (OS X, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android) as well as the web (via WASM builds).

This is an early release — lots of core stuff works, and you can build real apps with Makepad today. In fact, there are some real apps being built with Makepad today:

- Robrix, a Rust Matrix client https://github.com/project-robius/robrix - Moly, a Rust AI LLM client https://github.com/moxin-org/moly

To get a better overview of what Makepad can do, you might also want to check out our UI zoo (currently desktop only): https://makepad.nl/makepad-example-ui-zoo/index.html

That said, there are still some rough edges and missing bits. Looking forward, our intent is to start releasing regularly from now on, so Makepad will only become better over time.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

crates.io: https://crates.io/crates/makepad-widgets github.com: https://github.com/makepad/makepad website: https://makepad.nl

I have followed Makepad since Raph Levien pointed me towards it, while developing Xi. I am so stoked about this. What they have achieved in terms of UI framework is so unique in the rust ecosystem, particularly with the Shader abstractions. I am so eager to build with this. I know there are plenty of shortcomings when you are building your own UI framework without native components, but for creative applications, DAWs, Synths, 2D UI for games, even text editors, I think it will be so cool.

Great work guys! Can't wait for the Makepad workshop this Thursday at RustWeek! https://rustweek.org/events/workshops/

It’s fantastic to see Makepad reach its 1.0 release. Congratulations to Rik and the entire team for this spectacular achievement! The dedication and effort put into this project are truly commendable.

Makepad presents a compelling approach to cross-platform GUI and application development, and I believe it has the potential to become a leading open-source solution. Several key features stand out:

* *Rust-Native Design:* Built specifically for Rust, Makepad leverages the language’s strengths in performance, safety, and concurrent programming, resulting in robust and efficient applications.

* *Integrated Development System:* Makepad offers a unified environment encompassing a GUI framework, a development system, and an IDE, streamlining the development workflow.

* *Fast Compilation:* The system demonstrates impressively fast compilation times, accelerating iteration and development cycles.

* *Embedded Rust-like GPU Shader Language:* The inclusion of a dedicated, Rust-like shader language allows for powerful and flexible GPU programming within the framework. The design choice to facilitate variable referencing by name – both in the program and the shader code is a particularly nice touch.

* *Broad Platform Support:* Including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, and the web via WebAssembly etc.

While Makepad 1.0 represents a major milestone, further development is crucial to fully realize its potential. Areas for future focus could include:

* *Accessibility Features:* Implementing robust accessibility support is essential for inclusivity and broad adoption. * *Agentic AI Integration:* Exploring integration with agentic AI frameworks would position Makepad at the forefront of emerging technologies. * *IDE Customization:* Expanding IDE customization options, particularly support for various keyboard mappings (e.g., Vim), would cater to a wider range of developer preferences. * *Real-World Applications & Community Growth:* Encouraging the development of more real-world applications and fostering a growing community will be key to long-term success.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for Makepad and look forward to contributing to its future success.

Gaaf. I’ve written a piece of software using egui and while it let me iterate fast it has its limitations. There’s also gpui but that’s very Mac centric for now… I’ll give this a go in the near future. I’m a little curious about the DSL though. What is the advantage of a/this DSL over the builder pattern used by gpui? Does the fact that you can insert new code during runtime mean that there is in fact an interpreter between my code and the ui? How do you manage performance/efficiency in that case?

Stellar performance! The fact it compiles to web wins my heart!

Been following makepad for years. Congrats!

Congratulations on this milestone!