limn

limn-omega.vercel.app: the guides, and every component running in your browser.

A native UI library for Rust. An application describes its window as a tree of elements; limn lays it out, keeps the state of every control by its ID, and produces drawing commands for a backend to paint.

fn view(state: &State, palette: ComponentPalette) -> Element {
    Element::column(vec![
        Element::text(format!("Count: {}", state.count)).foreground(palette.text),
        Button::new("increment", "Increase", palette).render(),
    ])
    .gap(16.0)
}

• Declarative. The window is a function of your state, rebuilt every frame.
• Backend-neutral. The core has no window or graphics dependency. An egui backend is included.
• Animated by default. Menus, dialogs, tooltips and controls move without application code, and one switch turns all of it off.
• Themeable. Three colors define a palette; tokens set corner radii and pace for the whole application.
• Testable. A test lays out a tree and inspects the result. No window.

Quick start

nix-shell                                               # compiler and window libraries
cargo run -p limn-egui --example counter              # the smallest application
cargo run -p limn-gallery                             # every component
dx serve --hot-patch -p limn-gallery --features hot   # the gallery with hot reload
cargo test -p limn -p limn-egui -p limn-gallery   # the tests

Documentation

Everything is in docs/.

If you want to	Read
Build your first window	Getting started
Understand the model	Concepts
Arrange elements	Layout
See what components exist	Components
Change colors, corners and pace	Theming, Tokens
Know what animates and how to stop it	Animation
Test without a window	Testing
Edit your application while it runs	Hot reload
Browse and edit components live	Gallery and hot reload
Receive native file drops or opt into Selection text	File drops and text: APIs, decisions and lifetimes
Add a component	Contributing a component

Site

site/ is the documentation site: the guides in docs/, and a page per gallery page with the components running in WebAssembly.

sh site/build-gallery.sh          # the gallery, for the browser
cd site && npm install && npm run dev

It is published from a local build, because the gallery is compiled from Rust: cd site && vercel build --prod && vercel deploy --prebuilt --prod.

Crates

Crate	Purpose
limn	The library: elements, layout, events, animation and components. No backend dependency.
limn-egui	Backend: paints a frame with egui and wgpu and translates its input.
limn-editor	The text document behind the code editor: rope, selection, search.
limn-language	Syntax highlighting with tree-sitter and an LSP client. Optional, behind the syntax feature.
limn-dnd	Receive-only Copy drops and opt-in Selection text on Linux/Wayland, sharing a bounded owner; legacy outgoing drags. Default attachment stays DnD-only; stock-SDK clipboard backend wiring is pending. Safety and lifecycle.
limn-gallery	The component gallery. Not published.

Status

Version 0.1, on crates.io. Before 1.0 a release may change the API; the changelog says what each one changed.

What is missing, accessibility first, is in the roadmap; what has shipped, in the changelog.

Used by

openADE, a native Rust development environment for working with coding agents.

License

Licensed under either of the Apache License, Version 2.0 or the MIT license, at your option. Unless you say otherwise, what you contribute is licensed the same way.