Rust GUI with Qt

Qt Bridges gives you access to QML and Qt Quick UI technology from several backend languages. Bridging works differently in each language, so there is one bridge per language, but every bridge provides the same UI capabilities. The Qt Bridge for Rust is the one for building Rust UIs.

CXX is a Rust library for safe calls between Rust and C++. Qt Bridges, or more specifically, the Qt Bridge for Rust, uses CXX to bring Qt Quick’s UI capabilities into pure Rust applications. That allows you to stay fully in Rust even though Qt is C++-based. CXX-Qt, maintained by KDAB, solves a different problem: adding Rust to an existing C++ Qt application.

If your Rust backend already keeps logic separate from the UI, the Qt Bridge for Rust lets you leave that backend untouched and put a QML frontend in front of it. You register your Rust types with QML and stay in Cargo and your usual Rust workflow, with no need to write C++ or learn Qt’s own container types.

The Qt Bridge for Rust brings Qt Quick, a mature, GPU-accelerated, feature-rich UI framework, to Rust. You can re-use the UI across target platforms or even across projects, and you get native look and feel as well as native UI performance even with more advanced UI elements. Qt doesn’t rely on a browser runtime, so its memory footprint is much lower than web-based UI options.

Yes. The Qt Bridge for Rust supports desktop applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux, on both x86 and ARM devices. Embedded Linux, such as Boot to Qt or Raspberry Pi, also works because it behaves like regular Linux. iOS, Android, and web targets aren’t yet supported in the Technology Preview.

The Qt Bridge for Rust installs with Cargo, the way any Rust crate does, and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Follow the installation instructions for your OS, run the Hello World app, and then build on it; you stay in your normal Rust workflow and add QML as your UI layer. Watch the tutorial for a fun way to get you started.

Qt Quick comes with ready-made controls, styles, native menus, and trays, and the Qt Bridge for Rust lets you use them from QML while your app logic stays in Rust. The same UI you create works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

It depends on your app and your background, but the Qt Bridge for Rust keeps the learning curve small. You install it like any Rust crate, keep writing plain Rust with attribute macros, and build with cargo. You do need Qt Framework to back it up, and the one new skill is QML, a declarative UI language: you describe what the UI should look like, which makes it quick to prototype.

Use it when your Rust application needs a mature, production-grade user interface with solid performance, cross-platform consistency, memory safety, and a wealth of UI capabilities. The Qt Bridge for Rust gives you access to Qt Quick’s feature-richness, from basic to advanced UI elements. It’s in Technology Preview, so now is a good time to try it and tell us what you need.