A backend agnostic Ruby framework for building reactive desktop apps
For a year or two I've been building a UI library with the aim of making desktop applications fun and easy to write. It is currently written in C/Ruby and uses a custom tree sitter grammar to describe templates. Features include: composable UI components, template directives, event and prop handling, slots, styles and automation capabilities baked in. One of the goals of the project is privileging easy to write custom components via a drawing API over providing a fixed set of components. At the time of this writing it should install on Windows, Mac, and Linux, but sometimes it is hard…
In plain words
Hokusai is a Ruby framework for building reactive desktop applications that work across Windows, Mac, and Linux. It provides composable UI components, template directives, event handling, slots, and styling capabilities written in C and Ruby with a custom tree sitter grammar. The framework emphasizes custom component creation through a drawing API rather than relying on pre-built components, and includes built-in automation features. It is designed to make desktop app development straightforward and enjoyable.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
For a year or two I've been building a UI library with the aim of making desktop applications fun and easy to write. It is currently written in C/Ruby and uses a custom tree sitter grammar to describe templates. Features include: composable UI components, template directives, event and prop handling, slots, styles and automation capabilities baked in. One of the goals of the project is privileging easy to write custom components via a drawing API over providing a fixed set of components. At the time of this writing it should install on Windows, Mac, and Linux, but sometimes it is hard to test the install on all platforms. I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions on the project. It is still in an early stage, but it would be great to hear thoughts. Docs are here: https://hokusai.skinnyjames.net/ Repo is here: https://codeberg.org/skinnyjames/hokusai Licensed under the PPL
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