GPUI Kit
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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. GPUI Kit ships 75+ documented components and primitives,
WebAssembly support, AccessKit accessibility, UI integration testing, and an
optional JavaScript extension runtime.
Documentation: https://gpui-kit.com
gpui-kit The one crate applications depend on
├── gpui-base Unstyled behavior, state, and infrastructure
└── gpui-component GPUI Component: the complete styled UI system
gpui-kit pins the matching GPUI release and re-exports GPUI, base, component,
and assets, so a Rust application lists a single dependency. JavaScript extension
hosts add gpui-shell separately; its default components feature supplies the styled catalog.
See the executable application recipe and AI-assisted development acceptance checks for a tested starting point and verification commands.
Features
- 75+ Components and Primitives: Forms, navigation, overlays, data display, editing, feedback, and layout, 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.
- WebAssembly: Run applications and the same component showcases on the web with
wasm32-unknown-unknown.
- Accessibility: AccessKit roles, names, states, relationships, and actions are built into the interaction layer and covered by tests.
- UI Integration Testing: Render real components in headless windows, drive pointer and keyboard input, and assert state, focus, layout, and accessibility.
- 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, and edge docks — all serializable.
- 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-shell lets 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 |
Explore the architecture →
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
[dependencies]
gpui-kit = "0.7"
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.
GPUI Fast
Enable the optional gpui-fast feature to select GPUI Fast
for the core, native platforms, WebAssembly, and every enabled Kit layer:
[dependencies]
gpui-kit = { version = "0.7", features = ["gpui-fast"] }
Keep the same imports, initialization, and test macros; no application [patch]
or crate alias is needed. The default backend remains the pinned upstream GPUI
snapshot. Cargo features are additive, so upstream packages still compile when
Fast is selected. See Getting Started
for feature combinations and comparison commands.
Basic Example
use gpui_kit::component::button::*;
use gpui_kit::component::*;
use gpui_kit::*;
pub struct HelloWorld;
impl Render for HelloWorld {
fn render(&mut self, _: &mut Window, _: &mut Context<Self>) -> impl IntoElement {
div()
.v_flex()
.gap_2()
.size_full()
.items_center()
.justify_center()
.child("Hello, World!")
.child(
Button::new("ok")
.primary()
.label("Let's Go!")
.on_click(|_, _, _| println!("Clicked!")),
)
}
}
fn main() {
gpui_kit::application().run(move |cx| {
// This must be called before using any GPUI Component features.
gpui_kit::init(cx);
gpui_kit::open_window(WindowOptions::default(), cx, |_, cx| {
cx.new(|_| HelloWorld)
})
.expect("Failed to open window");
});
}
gpui_kit::open_window is the application window entry point and always mounts a Base Root. Component initialization registers styled window facilities; Cargo features do not select a different root type.
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.):
npx skills add longbridge/gpui-kit
| 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:
cargo run
Examples
Some larger examples reuse the story gallery components and run as standalone packages:
# Dock layout system (panels, split views, tabs)
cargo run -p example-dock
# Markdown rendering
cargo run -p example-markdown
# HTML rendering
cargo run -p example-html
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>:
# Code editor with LSP support and syntax highlighting
cargo run -p example-editor
# Basic hello world
cargo run -p hello_world
# System monitor (real-time charts with CPU/memory data)
cargo run -p system_monitor
# Window title customization
cargo run -p window_title
Check out CONTRIBUTING.md for more details.
Compare to others
See the comparison with Iced, egui and Qt 6 on the site.
Native Shell (source) is a sibling project that lets AI generate UI and renders it natively on iOS, Android, Linux (GTK) and macOS (AppKit). Its GPUI desktop backend is in development and will be built on GPUI Kit.
License
Software source and documentation code examples: Apache-2.0.
Documentation prose and original illustrations in the Docs, Base, Component, and Shell sections (including Chinese translations) for which GPUI Kit holds licensing rights are also offered under CC BY 4.0. When copying or adapting that material, credit GPUI Kit, link to the source page and CC BY 4.0 license, and indicate changes. Existing Apache-2.0 permissions remain; earlier revisions retain their prior terms, and third-party contributions keep their own licenses unless separately authorized. Using facts or ideas without copying protected expression does not require attribution under CC BY 4.0.
- Built on GPUI, the UI framework from Zed Industries, also Apache-2.0. The
gpui-pre-* crates are snapshots of it, published with Zed's license and notices intact.
- UI design based on shadcn/ui, some from Reui.
- Icons from Lucide.
GPUI Kit is a Rust framework for building cross-platform desktop apps on top of GPUI (Zed Industries' UI engine), combining a styled component library, a headless behavior layer, and an extension layer that opens the app to JavaScript.