A lightweight library to use any web browser as a GUI for applications written in any backend language.
WebUI is a lightweight, portable library that allows developers to use any web browser as a graphical user interface for their applications. It enables building modern UIs with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while keeping the backend logic in languages like C, C++, Python, Go, or Rust, solving the problem of creating cross-platform desktop apps without heavy embedded WebView runtimes.
Developers building cross-platform desktop applications who want to use modern web technologies for the UI while keeping a lightweight, portable backend in their preferred language.
Developers choose WebUI because it eliminates the need for large WebView SDKs and dependencies, resulting in smaller, faster, and more portable applications that leverage the full power of existing web browsers for the UI.
Use any web browser or WebView as GUI, with your preferred language in the backend and modern web technologies in the frontend, all in a lightweight portable library.
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As shown in the runtime dependencies comparison table, WebUI only requires a web browser at runtime, unlike Tauri or Qt which need WebView runtimes or large SDKs, making applications highly portable.
Supports Windows, Linux, and macOS with multiple browsers including Firefox, Chrome, and Edge, ensuring broad usability across different systems without code changes.
The library is only a few kilobytes with minimal memory footprint, and it uses a fast binary communication protocol, leading to small application sizes and responsive UIs.
Uses private browser profiles to run the UI, which prevents security risks and keeps user data separate from the main browser, as highlighted in the features list.
The README states 'We are currently writing documentation,' which can hinder onboarding, troubleshooting, and adoption for new users seeking comprehensive guides.
Enabling secure connections requires manual installation and configuration of OpenSSL or similar libraries, as detailed in the build instructions for each platform, adding setup overhead.
The current version is v2.5.0-beta.4, indicating it might have bugs, breaking changes, or not be ready for production use, which could affect reliability.
While wrappers exist for many languages, several like C# and PHP are marked as 'not complete' in the wrappers list, reducing ecosystem maturity and support for those languages.