name: gpui description: Build desktop apps with GPUI, the GPU-accelerated UI framework from Zed. Covers Entity state, Render trait, div() Tailwind API, actions/keybindings, gpui-component widgets, theming. Use when building Rust desktop applications with GPUI or gpui-component.
GPUI Development
GPUI is a hybrid immediate/retained mode, GPU-accelerated UI framework for Rust from Zed.
Quick Reference
| Topic | When to Use | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals | Starting new projects, understanding architecture | fundamentals.md |
| State Management | Entity<T>, notify(), emit(), subscribe() | state-management.md |
| Rendering | div() API, layout, conditional rendering | rendering.md |
| Actions | Keyboard shortcuts, key bindings | actions.md |
| Components | gpui-component widgets (Button, Input, Table) | components.md |
| Theming | Colors, cx.theme(), Root view | theming.md |
| Anti-patterns | Common mistakes to avoid | anti-patterns.md |
Critical Setup (MUST DO)
use gpui::{Application, App};
use gpui_component::Root;
fn main() {
Application::new().run(|cx: &mut App| {
gpui_component::init(cx); // REQUIRED when using gpui-component
cx.open_window(opts, |window, cx| {
let view = cx.new(|cx| MyView::new(window, cx));
cx.new(|cx| Root::new(view, window, cx)) // REQUIRED for theming
});
});
}
Key Mental Model (React vs GPUI)
| React | GPUI | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
useState | Struct fields + cx.notify() | State in struct, manual re-render trigger |
| Component | View (impl Render) | Views are Entities that render |
| Virtual DOM | GPU rendering | No diffing - rebuild elements each frame |
| Props drilling | Entity<T> handles | Pass entity handles, not callbacks |
Instructions
REQUIRED: Before implementing GPUI code, load the relevant reference file(s) using the Read tool.
- Identify the task - What are you building?
- Load relevant references - Read the appropriate .md file(s) FIRST
- Follow patterns exactly - Use code patterns from references
- Check anti-patterns - Read anti-patterns.md before writing code
Reference Selection Guide
- New project setup → Read fundamentals.md FIRST
- Managing state, events → Read state-management.md FIRST
- Building UI layouts → Read rendering.md FIRST
- Adding keyboard shortcuts → Read actions.md FIRST
- Using Button, Input, Select, Table → Read components.md FIRST
- Styling, colors, themes → Read theming.md FIRST
- Debugging issues → Read anti-patterns.md FIRST
Cargo.toml
[dependencies]
gpui = "0.2.2"
gpui-component = "0.6.0-preview0"
Common Patterns
State Update Pattern
impl MyView {
fn update_something(&mut self, cx: &mut Context<Self>) {
self.value = new_value;
cx.notify(); // ALWAYS call after state changes
}
}
Button Click Pattern
Button::new("btn-id")
.label("Click Me")
.on_click(|_, _, cx| {
// handle click
})
Stateful Component Pattern
struct MyView {
input: Entity<InputState>, // Store entity in struct
}
impl MyView {
fn new(window: &Window, cx: &mut Context<Self>) -> Self {
Self {
input: cx.new(|cx| InputState::new(window, cx)), // Create once
}
}
}