Crux
Shares rank 9 of 13 cross-platform UI frameworks by recommenders
People recommend it as a shared Rust core with thin native UIs across platforms, built on the Elm architecture. Critics say it is overcomplicated and lacks desktop support.
People recommend it as a shared Rust core with thin native UIs across platforms, built on the Elm architecture. Critics say it is overcomplicated and lacks desktop support.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Shared Rust core with native UIs
“I've vibed up a Rust Crux hybrid app that runs well on macOS, iPad and wasm”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice” “Only reasonable way is shared core with thin UI layer on top”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Zero-native – Build native desktop apps with web UI” “Native UI with Crux backend. Best of both worlds.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “Tsrs: A Port of TypeScript to Rust” - Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Shopify is moving from React Native back to Swift and Kotlin”
Seen as best cross-platform approach
“Only reasonable way is shared core with thin UI layer on top”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Zero-native – Build native desktop apps with web UI” “I think something like Crux is the best approach.”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “Build Android apps using Rust and Iced” Promising and professional-looking
“Rust-based Crux is pretty cool, I'm experimenting with it now”
Comment from 23 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Palmier Pro – open-source macOS video editor built for AI” “Looks very professional and promising!”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Crux, a personal AI on your computer you can reach from anywhere”
Other cross-platform UI frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other cross-platform UI frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flutter | 171 | 106 | 62% | 12 | 3 yrs11 owners | — |
| React Native | 98 | 128 | 43% | 12 | 8 yrs7 owners | — |
| Kotlin Multiplatform | 27 | 12 | 69% | 9 | 2 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Expo | 21 | 10 | 68% | 11 | — | Approved |
| CruxThis page | 7 | 2 | 78% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
All 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Native UI with Crux backend. Best of both worlds.”
“a neat package called Crux for cross platform apps which uses the Elm architecture”
“A Rust implementation of this idea is Crux”
“I've vibed up a Rust Crux hybrid app that runs well on macOS, iPad and wasm”
“it's overcomplicated and broken and barebones would beat it”
“Rust-based Crux is pretty cool, I'm experimenting with it now”
“Looks very professional and promising!”
“Crux doesn't seem to support desktop targets”
“Only reasonable way is shared core with thin UI layer on top”
“Crux was rock solid for me into the 10s, nearly a decade of use and not even a hiccup.”
“it does not do most of the work for you”
“I think something like Crux is the best approach.”
“Plays well with https://github.com/bbatsov/crux also.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.