Viva is a Go-first, GPU-native desktop framework. Applications draw through
the platform's own window and GPU APIs — Cocoa and Metal, Win32 and Direct3D 11,
XCB and Vulkan — with no WebView, no browser engine, and no bundled runtime. It
is aimed at small binaries, low idle resource usage, and direct access to native
platform capabilities. An application that needs web content can host the
system's own web view beside Viva's drawing (WebKitGTK, WKWebView, WebView2): it
is opt-in, loaded when the first page opens, and nothing is bundled.
The status list below is what runs today.
Quick start
Viva is a Go module, github.com/vivaui/viva. The viva command builds,
packages and live-reloads applications; nothing in it is linked into the program
you ship.
brew install vivaui/tap/viva # macOS, Linux
scoop bucket add vivaui https://github.com/vivaui/homebrew-tap && scoop install viva # Windows
viva doctor # is this machine ready?
viva init hello
cd hello
viva dev . # hot reload: save a file, the window updates and keeps its state
Prebuilt archives (with SHA256SUMS) are on each release from v0.1.3 on; with Go
already installed, go install github.com/vivaui/viva/cmd/viva@latest works too.
You do not need Go first: viva build, viva dev and viva init download the
official toolchain once into your user cache when there is none (checked against
go.dev's SHA-256; VIVA_GO_DOWNLOAD=0 turns it off). A project made by viva init
pins the command with a tool line in go.mod, so go tool viva runs the version
that project builds against. See the Build and package guide.
viva init writes a runnable project: a window, a test that drives it without
opening one, viva.toml, and an AGENTS.md describing the programming model.
viva build writes a release program to build/, and viva package writes the
platform's own bundle.
Requirements: Go 1.26 or newer (viva fetches it when missing). On macOS the Xcode command-line tools, because
Viva reaches Cocoa and Metal through cgo; on Linux, X11 with the system XCB and
Vulkan loaders; on Windows, Win32 with Direct3D 11 and DirectWrite. Viva loads
the system libraries at runtime and bundles none of them.
The current release is v0.6.3; name it explicitly (@v0.6.3) to pin it. Guides,
the API reference, and a component catalog with live previews live in
website/; run it with npm run dev there, or read them on
vivaui.dev, which is also available in
Chinese.
Everything below describes this repository: its measurements, its own programs,
and how to work on the framework rather than with it.
Scope
Viva targets native desktop applications on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and
treats WebAssembly/Canvas2D as a supported web deployment target. Both targets
share components, input, text, focus and accessibility semantics; capabilities
the browser does not have are reported through explicit asynchronous APIs and
Capability, never faked. The web target must not add cost to native builds.
iOS, iPadOS, Android, mobile packaging, and a touch-first mobile runtime are
explicitly out of scope. Desktop performance and native integration will not be
weakened to preserve hypothetical future mobile compatibility.
All three backends use direct operating-system window and GPU APIs with no
WebView and no bundled rendering runtime.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
