Xilem
Shares rank 31 of 45 GUI frameworks by recommenders
An experimental Rust UI framework that people recommend for its modular, renderer-agnostic design, with the caveat that many standard widgets are still missing.
An experimental Rust UI framework that people recommend for its modular, renderer-agnostic design, with the caveat that many standard widgets are still missing.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 53%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Modular, renderer-agnostic design
“The way Vello/Parley/Masonry/Xilem are split projects is partially what got me interested in it”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Xilem – An experimental Rust native UI framework” “Xilem and others are doing a good job of making a lot of things modular”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “The state of building user interfaces in Rust” “the master branch of Xilem and Masonry is somewhat renderer-agnostic”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Xilem – An experimental Rust native UI framework”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Many standard widgets not implemented
“Xilem is less mature in comparison. Many standard UI components, such as selection box, are not implemented yet.”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Xilem – An experimental Rust native UI framework” “Xilem needs more widgets out of the box to be easy to build with.”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Xilem – An experimental Rust native UI framework”
Other GUI frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other GUI 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qt | 191 | 133 | 59% | 12 | 15 yrs7 owners | — |
| GTK | 85 | 118 | 42% | 12 | — | — |
| Windows Forms | 76 | 33 | 70% | 12 | 15 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| SwiftUI | 75 | 121 | 38% | 11 | 4 yrs8 owners | — |
| XilemThis page | 9 | 8 | 53% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
15 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Xilem and others are doing a good job of making a lot of things modular”
“afaict iced and xilem are probably the best current options”
“the master branch of Xilem and Masonry is somewhat renderer-agnostic”
“A little warning would go a long way though.”
“It's not really designed for the web though so I wouldn't hold that against it.”
“I notice and appreciate that Xilem mentions accessibility”
“The trait system can really get complex as your widget layout gets more complex”
“The way Vello/Parley/Masonry/Xilem are split projects is partially what got me interested in it”
“it's not native to any platform”
“the total experience in the Xilem examples just seems like much more effort than using FFI”
“Xylem doesn't give you that.”
“Try Xilem if you want to experiment with new, experimental way to build UIs in Rust.”
“Xilem needs more widgets out of the box to be easy to build with.”
“Xilem is less mature in comparison. Many standard UI components, such as selection box, are not implemented yet.”
“I suspect Xilem will never be finished”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.