crates.md

Crates, dependencies, and features

For a Rust application in Argui 0.4, start with argui-runtime. The argui init rust scaffold creates a Cargo.toml pinned to its own CLI version and imports its public runtime types. There is no single argui umbrella crate in this workspace. A Solid or React TSX application should use the CLI-generated packages and host; it does not need to list engine crates manually.

Choose the dependency you need

Need	Direct dependency	When to add it
A native Rust application	argui-runtime	Start here; it composes windows, models, input, layout, and rendering.
Native file selection or platform APIs	argui-platform	Use its API directly; enable file-picker for dialogs.
Fluent translations and locale negotiation	argui-i18n	Add when the app has translated messages.
Signed application updates	argui-updater	Add only when shipping an updater.
Custom WGSL effects	argui-effects	Add for effect definitions used by the renderer.
Lower-level engine integration	argui-ui, argui-layout, argui-paint, argui-render, argui-text	Add only if the app actually imports those APIs.
Transaction host or custom adapter	argui-host, argui-schema	For host and adapter authors; ordinary apps use the runtime or CLI.

argui-core, argui-animation, argui-theme, argui-accessibility, argui-media, and argui-inspect are focused layers. Add one directly only when using its public types. Cargo resolves the runtime's internal dependencies for you; copying the whole workspace into an app's manifest is unnecessary. The repository structure guide lists every crate and its dependency direction.

Add runtime features

The generated Rust manifest is equivalent to:

[dependencies]
argui-runtime = "=0.4.0"

Add only the capabilities the app uses:

[dependencies]
argui-runtime = { version = "=0.4.0", features = ["tasks", "tray"] }
argui-platform = { version = "=0.4.0", features = ["file-picker"] }
argui-i18n = "=0.4.0"

These Cargo commands add the same exact version requirements:

cargo add argui-runtime@=0.4.0 --features tasks,tray
cargo add argui-platform@=0.4.0 --features file-picker
cargo add argui-i18n@=0.4.0
argui check

cargo add changes dependencies; argui check validates the application. For a generated Rust app, argui init rust --feature tasks also enables runtime tasks at creation. For TSX apps, argui init solid --feature tasks wires the matching native host feature. The CLI's --feature choices at init are tasks and, for native TSX, automation; this is separate from the full Cargo feature set below.

argui-runtime feature	Adds	Typical use
tasks	Async task scheduling	Background work attached to app models.
inspect	argui-inspect records	Custom inspection or tooling.
media	Host media transaction support	Media-backed host content.
tray	argui-platform/tray	System tray integration.
global-shortcuts	argui-platform/global-shortcuts	OS-level key bindings.
native-popups	argui-platform/native-popups	Popups beyond the app window where supported.
desktop-backdrop	argui-platform/desktop-backdrop	Acrylic, Mica, or native backdrop effects.
window-input-regions	argui-platform/window-input-regions	Pointer holes and custom hit regions.
webview	WebView and its native host dependencies	Embedded Web content on supported desktops.
android, ios	Runtime entry hooks	Native mobile shells supplied by the app.

The runtime defaults to no optional features. Desktop and Web rendering backends are chosen by the Cargo target, not by a web or desktop feature. Platform support is still target-specific: for example, the WebView path brings GTK dependencies on Linux, and native popup behavior depends on the window backend. Read desktop windows and native mobile before enabling those integrations.

Some capabilities live in their own crates rather than a runtime feature:

Capability	Dependency or feature
File picker	argui-platform with file-picker.
Localization	argui-i18n.
Signed updater	argui-updater.
WGSL effects	argui-effects with only its required effect features.
Native test driver	The CLI's --feature automation for generated native TSX apps, or argui-automation for a custom harness.

argui-effects offers blur, shadow, color, refraction, liquid-glass, artistic, and scroll. For example, an app using only blur can add argui-effects = { version = "=0.4.0", features = ["blur"] }. Avoid enabling all effects just to use one shader.

To see the actual resolved graph in a Rust project, use cargo tree -e features or cargo tree -e features -i argui-runtime. These are Cargo dependency diagnostics; use argui check for the Argui application itself. The root Cargo manifest owns the current versions and the minimum Rust version for source builds.