Blinc Roadmap

Last updated: 2026-04-13

Vision

Blinc is a GPU-accelerated, cross-platform UI framework that enables developers to build production-quality desktop, mobile, and embedded applications from a single Rust codebase. The framework aims to match the quality of native platform UIs while providing a unified developer experience across all targets.

Phase 1: Desktop Production Readiness

Goal: Make Blinc viable for shipping real desktop applications.

1.1 System Integration (P0)

Feature	Status	Notes
File dialogs (open/save/folder)	Done	Via `rfd` crate, `blinc_app::dialog` module
System tray / status bar icon	Done	`blinc_app::tray::TrayIconBuilder` via `tray-icon` + `muda`
Native OS notifications	Done	`blinc_app::notify::Notification` via `notify-rust`
Drag and drop	Done	Window-level `on_file_drop()` + element-level `.on_file_drop()` on Div
Clipboard (rich content)	Done	Cross-platform text + image via `arboard` crate
Global keyboard shortcuts	Done	`blinc_app::hotkey::GlobalHotkey` via `global-hotkey`

1.2 Window Management (P0)

Feature	Status	Notes
Multi-window support	Done	`ctx.open_window(config)`, `WindowState`, `AppCommand` event loop
Window min/max size constraints	Done	`WindowConfig::min_size()`, `max_size()`
Programmatic window positioning	Done	`set_position()`, `center()`, `set_size()` on Window trait
Window state persistence	Done	`WindowStateStore` with JSON save/load
Modal window API	Done	`WindowConfig::modal()`, input blocking on non-modal windows
Custom title bar / drag regions	Done	`.drag_region()` on Div, `window_actions` module

1.3 Input (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
IME / compose input	Done	Winit Ime::Commit routed as Key::Char events, `set_ime_allowed(true)`
Context menu wiring	Done	`.on_right_click()` / `.on_context_menu()` on Div
Trackpad gestures (pinch/rotate)	Done	`.on_pinch()` / `.on_rotate()` on Div, winit gesture events

1.4 Missing Widgets (P1)

Widget	Status	Notes
Date picker	Planned	Calendar grid + input
Time picker	Planned	Clock face or dropdown
Color picker	Planned	HSL/RGB wheel + swatches
Range slider (dual thumb)	Planned	Extend existing slider
Number input (stepper)	Planned	text_input + increment/decrement
Data grid	Planned	Sortable, filterable table
Virtualized list	Done	`virtual_list(count, builder)` — variable-height items, CSS classes, flexbox layout
Rich text editor	Done	`rich_text_editor()` — formatting toolbar, undo/redo, selection, clipboard

Phase 2: Mobile Production Readiness

Goal: Bring mobile targets to feature parity with desktop.

2.1 Input & Interaction (P0)

Feature	Status	Notes
Soft keyboard show/hide	Done	Atomic flags polled in frame loop
IME / compose input (mobile)	Partial	Basic text input works, full compose candidates need InputConnection/UITextInput
Gesture recognizers	Done	`GestureExt` trait: `.on_tap()`, `.on_long_press()`, `.on_swipe()` + pinch/rotate
Pull-to-refresh	Done	`pull_to_refresh(callback)` widget with threshold, max pull, indicator
Safe area insets	Done	`ctx.safe_area`, `safe_top/right/bottom/left()`, `safe_width/height()`
Haptic feedback	Done	Native bridge handlers on both platforms

2.2 Platform Integration (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
Deep linking / URL schemes	Done	`blinc_router::handle_deep_link()` + platform `DeepLink` parser
App lifecycle	Done	Resumed/Suspended/LowMemory events, Android full lifecycle mapping
Native bridge API (Rust side)	Done	`native_call()`, `native_register()`, `PlatformAdapter` trait in blinc_core
Native bridge streams	Done	`native_stream()` — bidirectional data (camera, audio, sensors) with auto-cleanup

Push notifications, camera, location, biometrics, status bar theming are implemented as example native bridge extensions — not in the framework core, but as documented templates that demonstrate the bridge API:

Android: BlincNativeBridge.register("camera", "capture", handler) in Kotlin

iOS: BlincNativeBridge.shared.register(namespace:name:handler:) in Swift

Rust: native_call("camera", "capture", args) (planned API)

Blinc provides the bridge transport. Platform features ship as reference implementations users can copy and adapt.

2.3 Media (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
Audio playback	Done	`AudioPlayer` — Desktop: rodio (Vorbis/WAV/FLAC), Mobile: native bridge
Video decoding	Done	`VideoDecoder` — Desktop: OpenH264 (H.264 NAL → RGBA), Mobile: native bridge
AV frame utilities	Done	`Frame` (RGBA/RGB/BGRA/YUV420/Gray, scale, convert) + `AudioSamples` (f32/i16/u8, resample, mono)
Audio recording	Done	`AudioRecorder` — Desktop: cpal, Mobile: native bridge stream
Video player	Done	`VideoPlayer` — play/pause/seek/volume, frame push API
Camera stream	Done	`CameraStream` — RTC-like reactive capture, RGBA frame delivery
Audio widget	Done	`audio_player()` — waveform canvas, `MediaControls` via `Player` trait
Video widget	Done	`video_player()` — canvas surface, shared controls, dimensions
Player trait	Done	Shared `Player` trait for `AudioPlayer` + `VideoPlayer` + live streams
Live streaming	Done	`Player::is_live()`, LIVE badge, seek-less controls

Licensing: Desktop uses royalty-free codecs only — OpenH264 (Cisco's BSD, patent costs covered by Cisco), VP9, AV1, Opus, Vorbis. No ffmpeg, no patent-encumbered codecs. Mobile uses platform-provided codecs (OS handles licensing).

Example Extension	Status	Notes
Push notifications	Planned	FCM/APNs example with bridge handlers
Camera capture	Done	`CameraStream` → native bridge → RGBA frames via `blinc_dispatch_stream_data` FFI
Location services	Planned	GPS via bridge example
Biometric auth	Planned	Fingerprint/Face ID bridge example
Status bar theming	Planned	Light/dark status bar bridge example

2.3 Navigation & Router (`blinc_router` crate)

See docs/plans/blinc_router.md for full design. See docs/book/src/advanced/routing.md for usage guide.

Feature	Status	Notes
Route definition & trie matching	Done	`/users/:id`, `*wildcard`, nested routes, O(depth) trie
Scoped `use_router()` hook	Done	Thread-local router stack, nested router support
History management	Done	`RouterHistory` with push/replace/back/forward
Page transitions	Done	`PageTransition` using `AnimationPreset` + `SpringConfig`
Navigation guards	Done	Auth guards with redirect/reject
Deep linking	Done	Auto-registered, zero-config: URI parsing + platform dispatch
Desktop deep links	Done	CLI `--deep-link=`, macOS/Windows/Linux URL scheme registration
iOS deep links	Done	`blinc_ios_handle_deep_link()` C FFI, auto-dispatched
Android deep links	Done	`dispatch_deep_link()` from JNI intent, auto-dispatched
System back button	Done	Auto-registered by `RouterBuilder::build()`, `Key::Back` dispatch
Named routing	Done	`push_named("user", &[("id", "42")])` reverse lookup
Route outlet	Done	`router.outlet()` builds current view with scoped context
Stack navigator	Done	`stack()` + `motion()` — documented integration pattern
Tab navigator	Done	`blinc_cn::tabs()` + `router.push()` — documented pattern
Bottom sheet navigation	Done	`blinc_cn::sheet()` + `router.outlet()` — documented pattern
Animation suspension	Done	`AnimatedValue::pause/resume`, `Spring::pause/resume` — old views auto-clean via Drop
Nested route stacks	Done	Sub-routers via `RouterBuilder`, `use_router()` returns innermost

Phase 3: Zyntax DSL (`.blinc` files)

Goal: A domain-specific language for Blinc UIs that compiles to optimized Rust, enabling hot reload, visual tooling, and a gentler learning curve.

3.1 Language Design

// zyntax: declarative UI with embedded logic

import { Color, SpringConfig } from "blinc"

component Counter {
  state count: i32 = 0

  view {
    col(gap: 16, align: center, justify: center) {
      text("Count: {count}")
        .size(32)
        .color(Color::WHITE)
        .animate(spring: SpringConfig::bouncy)

      row(gap: 8) {
        button("- Decrement") {
          on_click: count -= 1
        }
        button("+ Increment") {
          on_click: count += 1
        }
      }
    }
  }

  style {
    .self {
      background: var(--surface);
      padding: 24px;
      border-radius: 12px;
    }
  }
}

3.2 Compiler Pipeline

Stage	Description	Status
Lexer / tokenizer	`.blinc` source to token stream	Planned
Parser	Tokens to Zyntax AST	Planned
Type checker	Validate state, props, expressions	Planned
Code generator	AST to Rust builder API calls	Planned
Optimizer	Dead code elimination, const folding, static layout pre-computation	Planned
Build integration	`build.rs` or proc-macro for compile-time processing	Planned

3.3 Features

Feature	Priority	Notes
Component definitions	P0	`component Name { state, view, style }`
Reactive state	P0	`state` block with typed fields
Template expressions	P0	`{variable}` interpolation in text/attributes
Scoped CSS	P0	`style` block compiled to stylesheet
Props / inputs	P0	Typed component parameters
Conditional rendering	P0	`if/else` in template
List rendering	P0	`for item in list { ... }`
Event handlers	P0	`on_click`, `on_change`, etc.
Slot / children	P1	`<slot>` for composition
Animation declarations	P1	`animate`, `transition` in style block
Import system	P1	Cross-file component references
Hot reload	P2	File watcher + incremental recompile
LSP server	P2	Autocomplete, diagnostics, go-to-definition
VS Code extension	P2	Syntax highlighting, inline preview

3.4 Compilation Strategy

.blinc source
    |
    v
[Zyntax Lexer] -> tokens
    |
    v
[Zyntax Parser] -> AST
    |
    v
[Type Checker] -> validated AST
    |
    v
[Rust Codegen] -> fn component_name(ctx) -> impl ElementBuilder { ... }
    |
    v
[Cargo Build] -> native binary (zero runtime overhead)

Key principle: zero-cost abstraction. The DSL compiles entirely at build time. No interpreter, no runtime template engine. The output is the same Rust builder API calls a developer would write by hand.

Phase 4: Rendering & GPU

Goal: Complete the rendering pipeline for advanced visual content.

4.1 3D Mesh Rendering (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
Generic mesh data	Done	`MeshData` + `Vertex` + `Material` — users convert from glTF/OBJ/FBX
draw_mesh_data	Done	`DrawContext::draw_mesh_data(mesh, transform)` — direct render, no registration
PBR materials	Done	`Material`: base_color, metallic, roughness, emissive, texture, alpha_mode
Shadow mapping	Done	2048² depth pass, 4-tap PCF, front-face culling, depth bias
Normal / displacement maps	Done	Tangent-space normal maps + parallax occlusion mapping (16-layer)
Skeletal animation	Done	`Bone`/`Skeleton`/`SkinningData`, GPU skinning via storage buffer (max 256 joints)

4.2 Custom Shaders (P2)

Feature	Status	Notes
Custom render pass API	Done	`CustomRenderPass` trait, PreRender/PostProcess stages, label-based removal
Custom bind groups	Done	`BindGroupBuilder` — declarative layout+bind creation for all binding types
Compute shader access	Done	`ComputeDispatch` + `create_compute_pipeline()` + `@flow` DAG
Post-processing pipeline	Done	`PostProcessChain` — ping-pong effect chain, auto texture management

4.3 Performance (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
draw_rgba_pixels	Done	`DrawContext::draw_rgba_pixels()` — GPU texture upload + render per frame
Dynamic image rendering	Done	`DynamicImage` in PrimitiveBatch, renderer uploads + draws via image pipeline
Virtualized list rendering	Done	`virtual_list()` — viewport-aware, variable-height, CSS classes
Texture atlas improvements	Done	SVG atlas, glyph atlas
Lazy image loading	Done	Viewport-aware load + 100px buffer, color/image/skeleton placeholders, fade-in animation, CSS `loading` property
Render region culling	Done	AABB visibility test before GPU upload, shadow/rotation/affine-aware
GPU memory budget	Done	`GpuMemoryBudget` with LRU eviction, 128 MB default, env var override

4.4 Text & Fonts (P2)

Feature	Status	Notes
Lazy per-codepoint emoji loader	Planned	Network-fetched glyph loader for dynamic text — similar to Google Fonts' CSS2 API. Covers runtime strings (user input, fetched content, chat messages) whose codepoints weren't in the build-time emoji subset. Targets web/wasm and non-Apple platforms that don't ship a bundled Color Emoji font. Requires: (1) async `FontRegistry::load_glyph_async(codepoint)` entry point, (2) a hosted glyph service or a per-codepoint chunked font asset, (3) a pending-glyph placeholder in the shaper so layout doesn't shift when glyphs arrive. Escape hatch for the build-time emoji subsetter (which covers statically-known strings).

Phase 5: Developer Experience

Goal: Make Blinc a joy to develop with.

5.1 Tooling (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
Hot reload	Planned	File watcher + incremental rebuild
Visual inspector	Partial	blinc_debugger exists, needs UI overlay
Animation debugger	Planned	Timeline view, pause/step
Layout debugger	Planned	Flexbox visualization (like browser devtools)
Performance profiler	Planned	Frame time, GPU utilization, batch count

5.2 IDE Integration (P2)

Feature	Status	Notes
VS Code extension	Planned	Zyntax syntax highlighting + preview
LSP for `.blinc` files	Planned	Autocomplete, diagnostics
Component preview	Planned	Inline rendering in editor
Code snippets	Planned	Common patterns and widgets

5.3 Documentation (P1)

Feature	Status	Notes
Blinc Book	Partial	Core concepts, 3D rendering, flow shaders (vertex/material), routing, media
API reference (rustdoc)	Partial	Many crates need doc improvements
Interactive examples	Done	40+ live WebGPU demos in mdBook gallery, auto-generated from cross-target examples
Video tutorials	Planned	Getting started, advanced topics
Skills.md (AI agents)	Done	Example-driven reference for LLMs

Phase 6: Accessibility

Goal: Make Blinc apps usable by everyone.

Feature	Priority	Notes
Semantic element roles	P1	Button, heading, list, etc.
Screen reader announcements	P1	Platform accessibility APIs
Keyboard navigation (Tab order)	P1	Focus ring, tab index
ARIA-like attributes	P1	Label, description, live regions
High contrast mode	P2	Theme variant
Reduced motion	P2	Respect OS preference
Text scaling	P2	Independent of DPI scaling

Phase 7: Platform Expansion

Platform	Status	Notes
macOS	Stable	wgpu (Metal)
Windows	Stable	wgpu (DX12/Vulkan)
Linux	Stable	wgpu (Vulkan)
Android	Stable	wgpu (Vulkan)
iOS	Stable	wgpu (Metal)
HarmonyOS	In progress	wgpu (Vulkan/OpenGL ES)
Web (WASM)	Preview (Tier 2)	wgpu WebGPU + WebGL2 fallback. Full render pipeline: SDF (split pipelines: core/shadow/3D/notch), text, mesh, @flow, motion, overlays, CSS animations/transitions, blend modes, layer effects. WebGL2 fallback (0.5.1): data texture path replaces storage buffers on GL adapters (Android Chrome, older browsers); VERTEX_STORAGE fallback via instance-stepped vertex buffers; glass and particle rendering pending on WebGL2. Chrome 113+, Edge 113+, Firefox 141+, Safari 18+ (macOS Tahoe), iPhone Safari (iOS 18+), Android Chrome (WebGL2). Text: Arial + FiraCode + JetBrains Mono bundled. Asset preload via `fetch()`. See `docs/web.md`.
Embedded (RPi)	Future	Framebuffer or Vulkan

Release Milestones

Version	Target	Focus	Status
0.2.0	Q2 2026	Desktop production readiness — system integration, multi-window, IME, clipboard, DnD, tray, hotkeys, code editor, virtual list	Complete
0.3.0	Q3 2026	Mobile production readiness — gestures, safe area, haptics, navigation/router, deep linking, media (audio/video/camera), native bridge	Complete
0.4.0	Q3 2026	GPU & rendering — 3D mesh pipeline (PBR, shadows, normal maps, skeletal animation), custom shaders (bind groups, compute, post-processing), render culling, memory budget	Complete (pulled forward from 0.5.0)
0.5.0	Q2 2026	Web/WASM platform (WebGPU), rich text editor, virtualized list, lazy image loading, mobile soft keyboard + edit menu	Complete
0.5.1	Q2 2026	WebGL2 fallback (data textures, vertex storage fallback), split SDF pipelines, video player fixes (wasm duration/pacing), platform capability detection	Complete
0.6.0	Q4 2026	Zyntax DSL v1 — lexer, parser, type checker, Rust codegen, build.rs integration	Planned
0.7.0	Q1 2027	Developer experience — hot reload, visual inspector, layout/animation debugger, performance profiler	Planned
0.8.0	Q1 2027	Accessibility v1 — semantic roles, screen reader, keyboard navigation, ARIA-like attributes, high contrast, reduced motion	Planned
0.9.0	Q2 2027	Platform expansion — HarmonyOS stable	In progress
1.0.0	Q3 2027	Stable API, full documentation, Zyntax hot reload + LSP, production certification	Planned

Contributing

See individual crate READMEs for architecture details. The most impactful areas to contribute:

Missing widgets (Phase 1.4) — date picker, color picker, data grid
Zyntax DSL (Phase 3) — lexer, parser, codegen
Accessibility (Phase 6) — screen reader, keyboard nav, ARIA
Developer tooling (Phase 5) — hot reload, visual inspector, debugger
Documentation — API docs, tutorials, interactive examples

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Blinc Roadmap

Vision

Phase 1: Desktop Production Readiness

1.1 System Integration (P0)

1.2 Window Management (P0)

1.3 Input (P1)

1.4 Missing Widgets (P1)

Phase 2: Mobile Production Readiness

2.1 Input & Interaction (P0)

2.2 Platform Integration (P1)

2.3 Media (P1)

2.3 Navigation & Router (`blinc_router` crate)

Phase 3: Zyntax DSL (`.blinc` files)

3.1 Language Design

3.2 Compiler Pipeline

3.3 Features

3.4 Compilation Strategy

Phase 4: Rendering & GPU

4.1 3D Mesh Rendering (P1)

4.2 Custom Shaders (P2)

4.3 Performance (P1)

4.4 Text & Fonts (P2)

Phase 5: Developer Experience

5.1 Tooling (P1)

5.2 IDE Integration (P2)

5.3 Documentation (P1)

Phase 6: Accessibility

Phase 7: Platform Expansion

Release Milestones

Contributing

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Blinc Roadmap

Vision

Phase 1: Desktop Production Readiness

1.1 System Integration (P0)

1.2 Window Management (P0)

1.3 Input (P1)

1.4 Missing Widgets (P1)

Phase 2: Mobile Production Readiness

2.1 Input & Interaction (P0)

2.2 Platform Integration (P1)

2.3 Media (P1)

2.3 Navigation & Router (blinc_router crate)

Phase 3: Zyntax DSL (.blinc files)

3.1 Language Design

3.2 Compiler Pipeline

3.3 Features

3.4 Compilation Strategy

Phase 4: Rendering & GPU

4.1 3D Mesh Rendering (P1)

4.2 Custom Shaders (P2)

4.3 Performance (P1)

4.4 Text & Fonts (P2)

Phase 5: Developer Experience

5.1 Tooling (P1)

5.2 IDE Integration (P2)

5.3 Documentation (P1)

Phase 6: Accessibility

Phase 7: Platform Expansion

Release Milestones

Contributing

2.3 Navigation & Router (`blinc_router` crate)

Phase 3: Zyntax DSL (`.blinc` files)