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UI Runtime

Stygian

A GPU-accelerated C23 UI and tool runtime for real desktop software and long-lived tooling projects.

Current Signal

OpenGL and Vulkan paths are live, the widget baseline exists, and the runtime keeps improving step by step.

SoA Persistent buffers
Skip Idle redraw path
GL/VK Backends live

The mockup tone is intentional: dark shell, clear hierarchy, and enough signal to show this is a desktop tooling runtime.

What It Is

A practical tool runtime built for day-to-day use.

Stygian is a native C23 UI library built around a data-driven immediate (DDI) runtime: classify impact, publish mutations, commit deterministically into GPU-resident SoA buffers, then either render or skip.

That structure exists for one reason: static UI should not rebuild and redraw just because input is still flowing through the app.

Why It Matters

Single draw call is the headline. The actual win is deeper.

Stygian is SDF-first across chrome, shapes, wires, and text. Elements live on the GPU between frames, dirty ranges are tracked explicitly, and clean scopes replay without re-uploading clean data.

The result is a runtime built for editors, browsers, node graphs, and actual tools where idle behavior and deterministic updates matter just as much as raw throughput.

Current Shape

Already doing the hard parts.

OpenGL 4.3 and Vulkan access points are implemented. The codebase already carries dock and tab systems, node graph paths, borderless window chrome, MTSDF text, ICC-aware output handling, and a shipped widget baseline.

This is the UI layer we are using for Field Continuum and the rest of our stack as requirements keep growing.