Build desktop products with web layout skills.
KUI brings HTML/CSS interfaces, native application logic and built-in capabilities together for teams that want control over their desktop runtime, components and delivery.
- Modern web layout: Use familiar Flex, Grid, selectors, CSS variables, typography and animation. Canvas, SVG and DOM events have dedicated APIs, with individual support details in the reference.
- Lean runtime & Lua: KUI ships its own HTML/CSS renderer, without Chromium or a system WebView. Keep business logic in the native host, and use optional Lua for interface interactions.
- Built-in virtual components: VirtualList, ListView and TreeView are built in. Instantiate rows for the viewport and overscan, with APIs for selection, tree expansion and dynamic data changes.
- An extensible native core: Add an editor, PDF viewer or 3D through standalone extensions. Register your own elements through a pure C ABI, with styling, events and a defined drawing lifecycle.
- Built for agent-assisted development: You do not need to learn KUI’s features first. Describe layout, style and actions using HTML/CSS web standards. Your agent can consult the SDK docs, handle integration and inspect the UI and interactions through DevTools/MCP.
Dart widgets and the Flutter engine
Flutter organizes interfaces as widget trees rendered by its engine. Dart can call host code through platform channels or FFI. Ordinary Flutter widgets are not HTML elements, and CSS is not their native UI description.
Migrate UI and state
Map the widget tree to KUI page structure and express themes and layouts in supported CSS. Rewrite Dart state management, navigation and plugin calls, or retain them behind independent services. Assess C ABI business libraries separately for reuse.
Verify interaction
Choose a real page with IME, a long list and animation. Use identical fonts, data and actions to check focus, scrolling, animation interruption and scaling. Include runtimes and assets when measuring delivered size.
Sources and practice
Technical models were checked against official documentation on 2026-11-09. Migration sections are our engineering guidance, without cross-framework benchmark results. Check KUI interfaces, limitations and examples for specific capabilities.
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