Build fantastic, high-performance desktop apps with Rust and GPUI.
GPUI Kit is a comprehensive Rust desktop application framework. It combines a production-ready UI system with application-grade data, layout, and editing capabilities, all built on a reusable foundation of behavior, state, and infrastructure, and opens the finished application to JavaScript extensions.
Documentation: https://gpui-kit.com
gpui-kit The one crate applications depend on
├── gpui-base Unstyled behavior, state, and infrastructure
├── gpui-shell JavaScript extensions for a Rust host
└── gpui-component GPUI Component: the complete styled UI system
gpui-kit pins the matching GPUI release and re-exports every layer, so an
application lists a single dependency and never GPUI itself.
Features
- 60+ UI Components: Forms, navigation, overlays, feedback, layout, and more, with polished interactions and productive defaults.
- Production Ready: Used to build Longbridge Pro from day one and continuously refined in a publicly shipped commercial desktop application.
- Native Feel: Modern controls inspired by macOS and Windows, backed by semantic themes and multiple sizes.
- 120 FPS: GPU-accelerated interfaces that remain smooth under load.
- Data Tables: Virtual scrolling, fixed and resizable columns, sorting, and cell selection across hundreds of thousands of rows.
- Virtual Lists: Render only the visible range, including lists whose items have different sizes.
- Code Editor: Stable performance at 200K lines with Tree-sitter highlighting and LSP diagnostics, completion, and hover.
- Dock Layout: Resizable panels, draggable tabs, nested splits, edge docks, and serializable freeform Tiles.
- Rich Content: Native Markdown and HTML rendering, syntax highlighting, and built-in charts.
- Design Freedom: Use the complete visual system or build your own on the behavior and infrastructure in
gpui-base. - JavaScript Extensions:
gpui-shelllets a shipped Rust host load panels and business logic as scripts, with every capability granted explicitly. - Cross Platform: Ship one Rust codebase to macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Framework Architecture
Three layers. One ecosystem.
Use gpui-component to keep the application coherent with one complete visual
and interaction system. Use gpui-base when your product needs to create and
own that system itself. Use gpui-shell when the application should be
extensible in JavaScript after it ships.
gpui-component |
gpui-base |
gpui-shell |
|---|---|---|
| Complete, styled components | Unstyled behavior and infrastructure | JavaScript runtime hosted by Rust |
| Productive defaults with theming | Full control over structure and visual design | Capabilities granted one at a time |
| Best for building applications | Best for building design systems | Best for plugins and scripted applications |
APPLICATION
│
┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐
│ gpui-component │ │ Your Design │ │ gpui-shell │
│ Styled UI │ │ System │ │ JS extensions │
└────────┬─────────┘ └────────┬─────────┘ └────────┬─────────┘
│ │ │
└────────────────────┼────────────────────┘
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ gpui-base │
│ Behavior · State │
│ Infrastructure │
└────────┬─────────┘
▼
GPUI
Behavior belongs to the foundation. Presentation belongs to the application.
Use gpui-component when you want polished controls ready to ship. Build on
gpui-base when your application should own its component source, layout,
styling, and motion while reusing difficult interaction behavior. Add
gpui-shell when contributors should extend the product without a fork or
a release.
The layering follows the same separation that makes the shadcn ecosystem flexible:
| GPUI Kit ecosystem | Web ecosystem |
|---|---|
| GPUI | HTML + Tailwind CSS |
gpui-base |
Base UI |
gpui-component |
shadcn's styled component layer |
Showcase
GPUI Kit has powered Longbridge Pro from day one. The framework is extracted from the demands of a publicly shipped commercial desktop application rather than designed in isolation.
GPUI provides the rendering foundation. Longbridge provides the production foundation.
Usage
[]
= "0.6"
gpui-kit always brings in GPUI and gpui-base; gpui-component and the
default icon set are on by default. Turn default
features off to keep only the layers you use. The gpui-component features (inspector, decimal,
tree-sitter, and each tree-sitter-<language>) are available under the same
names.
Basic Example
use *;
use *;
use *;
;
Icons
The default assets feature bundles the Lucide icon set
as gpui-kit-assets; pass it to the application with
gpui_kit::application().with_assets(gpui_kit::assets::Assets). To ship your
own icons instead, leave that feature out and name the SVG files as defined in
IconName.
Skills for AI Coding Agents
Install the GPUI Kit skills for your AI coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex, etc.):
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
gpui-kit |
Setup, component catalog, usage patterns, GPUI mechanics (elements, entities, async, focus, actions, tests), and the Coding Guides. |
gpui-kit-design-guides |
The Design Guides: layout, spacing, hierarchy, interaction states, overlays, and interface copy. |
Development
Desktop Gallery (Story)
The story crate is a gallery application that showcases all available components. Run it with:
Examples
Some important examples are built into the story crate and can be run directly:
# Code editor with LSP support and syntax highlighting
# Dock layout system (panels, split views, tabs)
# Markdown rendering
# HTML rendering
The examples directory also contains standalone examples, each focused on a single feature. Each example is a separate crate, run them with cargo run -p <name>:
# Basic hello world
# System monitor (real-time charts with CPU/memory data)
# Window title customization
Check out CONTRIBUTING.md for more details.
Compare to others
See the comparison with Iced, egui and Qt 6 on the site.
License
Apache-2.0