v1.0 — Pure Go, no C deps

GUI for Go.
Finally.

Proton is a desktop GUI library that doesn't make you write XML, install CGo toolchains, or question your career choices. Pure Go. Built on Gio.

Download for your OS View on GitHub

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main.go
1package main
2
3import "github.com/CzaxStudio/proton"
4
5type UI struct {
6    name proton.Editor
7    btn proton.Clickable
8}
9
10func main() {
11    u := &UI{}
12    a := proton.New("my app")
13    a.ApplyPalette(proton.NordPalette)
14    a.Window("Hello", 480, 300, func(win *proton.Win) {
15        proton.H3(win, "Hello from Proton!")
16        proton.Gap(win, 8)
17        proton.Input(win, &u.name, "Your name")
18        proton.Gap(win, 8)
19        if proton.Button(win, &u.btn, "Go") {
20            println("Hello,", u.name.Text())
21        }
22    })
23    a.Run()
24}
INSTALL go get github.com/CzaxStudio/proton
Why Proton

Built for Go developers
who value their time

No CGo. No XML. No component lifecycles. Just Go functions that draw things on screen.

Pure Go

No C dependencies. No CGo toolchain. Works with a vanilla go build on every platform.

Cross-platform

Linux, macOS, and Windows. One codebase, three platforms. The dream is real.

Immediate mode

Your draw function runs every frame. No state syncing, no virtual DOM, no diffing algorithm to debug at 2am.

Simple theming

Four colors. One function call. Built-in palettes for Nord, Catppuccin, Rose Pine, and more.

One import

State types re-exported. Layout helpers included. You only ever need to import proton.

Real layouts

Row, Column, Split, Grid, GrowRow. Everything you need to build a real UI without fighting the framework.

How it works

Three steps to a running app

No boilerplate ceremony. No project scaffolding. Just code.

01

Define your state

Put all widget state in a plain Go struct. One proton.Clickable per button, one proton.Editor per text field. No special types, no reactive wrappers.

02

Write your draw function

Call widget functions in order — they appear on screen in that order, stacked vertically by default. Use Row, Split, and Pad to arrange them differently.

03

Call a.Run()

That's it. The event loop runs, your draw function fires every frame, and Gio handles rendering, input, and OS integration. You handle the logic.

Widget library

Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.

28 widgets covering every common UI pattern. Stateful ones return values — no callbacks, no event handlers.

Label
Body text
H1 – H6
Heading sizes
Text
Custom size, color, weight
Caption
Small annotation text
Button
Filled — returns bool
OutlineButton
Ghost style — returns bool
IconButton
Icon only — returns bool
Tappable
Any content as clickable
Input
Single-line text field
TextArea
Multi-line text field
Checkbox
Returns true on change
Toggle
On/off switch
RadioButton
Shared Enum state
Slider
Returns 0.0 – 1.0
ProgressBar
0.0 – 1.0 fill
List
Virtual scrolling list
HList
Horizontal list
Scroll
Scrollable area
Divider
Horizontal rule
Rect
Filled rectangle
RoundRect
Rounded rectangle
Card
Content in a background box
Badge
Colored chip / tag
Image
PNG and JPEG
Tooltip
Hover label
Toast
Timed notification
MinSize
Minimum size constraint
MaxWidth
Maximum width constraint
Theming

Four colors.
One function call.

Built-in palettes or roll your own. The entire app updates at once — no hunting through component stylesheets.

DarkPalette
NordPalette
RosePinePalette
CatppuccinPalette
Custom (Hacker)
Download

Get Proton

Free. Open source. MIT license.

Windows
x86 / x64
macOS
Intel
Linux
amd64
Detecting...
Or install via Go
go get github.com/CzaxStudio/proton

Linux also needs: apt install libwayland-dev libxkbcommon-dev libvulkan-dev