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https://github.com/slint-ui/slint

Slint is a declarative GUI toolkit to build native user interfaces for Rust, C++, or JavaScript apps.
https://github.com/slint-ui/slint

cpp declarative-ui desktop embedded-devices gui javascript language lsp-server native rust rust-lang toolkit ui user-interface wasm webassembly widgets

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Slint is a declarative GUI toolkit to build native user interfaces for Rust, C++, or JavaScript apps.

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README 

        



![Slint](./logo/slint-logo-full-light.svg#gh-light-mode-only) ![Slint](./logo/slint-logo-full-dark.svg#gh-dark-mode-only)



[![Build Status](https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/workflows/CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/actions)

[![REUSE status](https://api.reuse.software/badge/github.com/slint-ui/slint)](https://api.reuse.software/info/github.com/slint-ui/slint)

[![Discussions](https://img.shields.io/github/discussions/slint-ui/slint)](https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/discussions)



Slint is a declarative GUI toolkit to build native user interfaces for embedded,

desktop, and mobile applications written in Rust, C++, JavaScript, or Python. 



The name *Slint* is derived from our design goals:



- **Scalable**: Slint should support responsive UI design, allow cross-platform

    usage across operating systems and processor architectures and support

    multiple programming languages.

- **Lightweight**: Slint should require minimal resources, in terms of memory

    and processing power, and yet deliver a smooth, smartphone-like user

    experience on any device.

- **Intuitive**: Designers and developers should feel productive while enjoying

    the GUI design and development process. The design creation tools should be

    intuitive to use for the designers. Similarly for the developers, the APIs

    should be consistent and easy to use, no matter which programming language

    they choose.

- **Native**: GUI built with Slint should match the end users' expectations of a

    native application irrespective of the platform - desktop, mobile, web or

    embedded system. The UI design should be compiled to machine code and provide

    flexibility that only a native application can offer: Access full operating

    system APIs, utilize all CPU and GPU cores, connect to any peripheral.



Visit [#MadeWithSlint](https://madewithslint.com) to view some of the projects

using Slint. We invite you to use Slint and be part of its community.



## Current Status



Slint is in active development. The state of support for each platform is as

follows:



- **Embedded**: *Ready*. Slint is being used by customers in production on embedded

    devices running embedded Linux and Windows. The Slint run-time requires less than

    300KiB of RAM and can run on different processor architectures such as ARM Cortex M,

    ESP32, STM32 from the MCU category to ARM Cortex A, Intel x86 from the MPU category.

- **Desktop**: *In Progress*. While Slint is a good fit on Windows, Linux and Mac,

    we are working on improving the platform support in subsequent releases.

- **Web**: *In Progress*. Slint apps can be compiled to WebAssembly and can run

    in a web browser. As there are many other web frameworks, the web platform

    is not one of our primary target platforms. The web support is currently

    limited to demo purposes.

- **Mobile**

  - Android: *In Progress*. Track the progress of work here https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/issues/46.

  - iOS: *Todo*. Support for iOS will commence after the initial support for Android is completed.



### Accessibility



Slint supports keyboard based navigation of many widgets, and user interfaces

are scalable. The basic infrastructure for assistive technology like screen

readers is in place. We're aware that more work is needed to get best-of-class

support for users with special needs.



## Demos



### Embedded



| RaspberryPi                          | STM32                         | RP2040                         |

| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------ |

| [Video of Slint on Raspberry Pi][#1] | [Video of Slint on STM32][#2] | [Video of Slint on RP2040][#3] |



### Desktop



| Windows                                     | macOS                                     | Linux                                     |

| ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |

| ![Screenshot of the Gallery on Windows][#4] | ![Screenshot of the Gallery on macOS][#5] | ![Screenshot of the Gallery on Linux][#6] |



### Web using WebAssembly



| Printer Demo                                | Slide Puzzle                                 | Energy Monitor                                       | Widget Gallery                                | Weather demo                                  |

| ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |

| [![Screenshot of the Printer Demo][#7]][#8] | [![Screenshot of the Slide Puzzle][#9]][#10] | [![Screenshot of the Energy Monitor Demo][#11]][#12] | [![Screenshot of the Gallery Demo][#13]][#14] | [![Screenshot of the weather Demo][#29]][#30] |



More examples and demos in the [examples folder](examples#examples)



## Get Started



### Hello World



The UI is defined in a Domain Specific Language that is declarative, easy to use,

intuitive, and provides a powerful way to describe graphical elements, their

placement, their hierarchy, property bindings, and the flow of data through the

different states.



Here's the obligatory "Hello World":



```slint

export component HelloWorld inherits Window {

    width: 400px;

    height: 400px;



    Text {

       y: parent.width / 2;

       x: parent.x + 200px;

       text: "Hello, world";

       color: blue;

    }

}

```



### Documentation



For more details, check out the [Slint Language Documentation](https://slint.dev/docs/slint).



The [examples](examples) folder contains examples and demos, showing how to

use the Slint markup language and how to interact with a Slint user interface

from supported programming languages.



The `docs` folder contains a lot more information, including

[build instructions](docs/building.md), and

[internal developer docs](docs/development.md).



Refer to the README of each language directory in the `api` folder:



- [C++](api/cpp) ([Documentation][#15] | [Getting Started Template][#17])

- [Rust](api/rs/slint) [![Crates.io][#18]][#19] ([Documentation][#20] | [Tutorial Video][#22] | [Getting Started Template][#23])

- [JavaScript/NodeJS (Beta)](api/node) [![npm][#24]][#25] ([Documentation][#26] | [Getting Started Template][#28])



## Architecture



An application is composed of the business logic written in Rust, C++, or

JavaScript and the `.slint` user interface design markup, which is compiled to

native code.



![Architecture Overview](https://slint.dev/resources/architecture.drawio.svg)



### Compiler



The `.slint` files are compiled ahead of time. The expressions in the `.slint`

are pure functions that the compiler can optimize. For example, the compiler

could choose to "inline" properties and remove those that are constant or

unchanged. In the future we hope to improve rendering time on low end devices by

pre-processing images and text. The compiler could determine that a `Text` or an

`Image` element is always on top of another `Image` in the same location.

Consequently both elements could be rendered ahead of time into a single

element, thus cutting down on rendering time.



The compiler uses the typical compiler phases of lexing, parsing, optimization,

and finally code generation. It provides different back-ends for code generation

in the target language. The C++ code generator produces a C++ header file, the

Rust generator produces Rust code, and so on. An interpreter for dynamic

languages is also included.



### Runtime



The runtime library consists of an engine that supports properties declared in

the `.slint` language. Components with their elements, items, and properties are

laid out in a single memory region, to reduce memory allocations.



Rendering backends and styles are configurable at compile time:



- The `femtovg` renderer uses OpenGL ES 2.0 for rendering.

- The `skia` renderer uses [Skia](https://skia.org) for rendering.

- The `software` renderer uses the CPU with no additional dependencies.



NOTE: When Qt is installed on the system, the `qt` style becomes available,

using Qt's QStyle to achieve native looking widgets.



### Tooling



We have a few tools to help with the development of .slint files:



- A [**LSP Server**](./tools/lsp) that adds features like auto-complete and live

  preview of the .slint files to many editors.

- It is bundled in a [**Visual Studio Code Extension**](./editors/vscode)

  available from the market place.

- A [**slint-viewer**](./tools/viewer) tool which displays the .slint files. The

  `--auto-reload` argument makes it easy to preview your UI while you are

  working on it (when using the LSP preview is not possible).

- [**SlintPad**](https://slintpad.com/), an online editor to try out .slint syntax

  without installing anything ([sources](./tools/slintpad)).

- An [**updater**](./tools/updater) to convert the .slint files from

  previous versions to newer versions.

- An experimental [**Figma importer**](./tools/figma_import).



Please check our [Editors README](./editors/README.md) for tips on how to

configure your favorite editor to work well with Slint.



## License



You can use Slint under ***any*** of the following licenses, at your choice:



1. Build proprietary desktop, mobile, or web applications for free with the [Royalty-free License](LICENSES/LicenseRef-Slint-Royalty-free-2.0.md),

2. Build open source embedded, desktop, mobile, or web applications for free with the [GNU GPLv3](LICENSES/GPL-3.0-only.txt),

3. Build proprietary embedded, desktop, mobile, or web applications with the [Paid license](LICENSES/LicenseRef-Slint-Software-3.0.md).



See the [Slint licensing options on the website](https://slint.dev/pricing.html) and the [Licensing FAQ](FAQ.md#licensing).



## Contributions



We welcome your contributions: in the form of code, bug reports or feedback.



- If you see an [RFC tag](https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/labels/rfc) on an

  issue, feel free to chime in.

- For contribution guidelines see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).



## Frequently Asked Questions



Please see our separate [FAQ](FAQ.md).



## About us (SixtyFPS GmbH)



We are passionate about software - API design, cross-platform software

development and user interface components. Our aim is to make developing user

interfaces fun for everyone: from Python, JavaScript, C++, or Rust developers all the

way to UI/UX designers. We believe that software grows organically and keeping

it open source is the best way to sustain that growth. Our team members are

located remotely in Germany.



### Stay up to date



- Follow [@slint-ui](https://twitter.com/slint_ui) on X/Twitter.

- Follow [@[email protected]](https://mastodon.social/@[email protected]) on Mastodon.

- Follow [@slint-ui](https://www.linkedin.com/company/slint-ui/) on LinkedIn.



### Contact us



Feel free to join [Github discussions](https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/discussions)

for general chat or questions. Use [Github issues](https://github.com/slint-ui/slint/issues)

to report public suggestions or bugs.



We chat in [our Mattermost instance](https://chat.slint.dev) where you are

welcome to listen in or ask your questions.



You can of course also contact us privately via email to [[email protected]](mailto://[email protected]).



[#1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BDbNHrjK7g

[#2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNNOJJsOAis

[#3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkBwNocItGs

[#4]: https://slint.dev/resources/gallery_win_screenshot.png "Gallery"

[#5]: https://slint.dev/resources/gallery_mac_screenshot.png "Gallery"

[#6]: https://slint.dev/resources/gallery_linux_screenshot.png "Gallery"

[#7]: https://slint.dev/resources/printerdemo_screenshot.png "Printer Demo"

[#8]: https://slint.dev/demos/printerdemo/

[#9]: https://slint.dev/resources/puzzle_screenshot.png "Slide Puzzle"

[#10]: https://slint.dev/demos/slide_puzzle/

[#11]: https://slint.dev/resources/energy-monitor-screenshot.png "Energy Monitor Demo"

[#12]: https://slint.dev/demos/energy-monitor/

[#13]: https://slint.dev/resources/gallery_screenshot.png "Gallery Demo"

[#14]: https://slint.dev/demos/gallery/

[#15]: https://slint.dev/latest/docs/cpp

[#17]: https://github.com/slint-ui/slint-cpp-template

[#18]: https://img.shields.io/crates/v/slint

[#19]: https://crates.io/crates/slint

[#20]: https://slint.dev/latest/docs/rust/slint/

[#22]: https://youtu.be/WBcv4V-whHk

[#23]: https://github.com/slint-ui/slint-rust-template

[#24]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/slint-ui

[#25]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/slint-ui

[#26]: https://slint.dev/latest/docs/node

[#28]: https://github.com/slint-ui/slint-nodejs-template

[#29]: ./demos/weather-demo/docs/img/desktop-preview.png "Weather Demo"

[#30]: https://slint.dev/demos/weather-demo/