1 unstable release

new 0.1.0 Mar 2, 2025

#1399 in Web programming

MIT license

24KB
648 lines

Introduction

Natrix is a Rust-first frontend framework. Where other frameworks aim to bring React-style development to rust, Natrix embraces Rust’s strengths—leveraging smart pointers, derive macros, the builder pattern, and other idiomatic Rust features to create a truly native experience.

A Simple Example

A simple counter in Natrix looks like this:

#[derive(Component)]
struct Counter(usize);

impl Component for Counter {
    fn render() -> impl Element<Self::Data> {
        e::div().child(
            e::button()
                .child(|ctx: &S<Self>| *ctx.0)
                .style("font-size", "4rem")
                .on("click", |ctx: &mut S<Self>| {
                    *ctx.0 += 1;
                }),
        )
    }
}

See the book for more information

Standout features

  • No macro DSL – Macro-based DSLs break formatting & Rust Analyzer support. Natrix avoids them completely for a smoother dev experience.
  • Derive macros for reactive state – No need for useSignal everywhere, state is directly tied to Rust’s type system.
  • Callbacks use references to state – Instead of closures capturing state setters, Natrix callbacks take a reference to the state, which better aligns with Rust’s ownership model.
  • Fine-grained reactivity – Natrix only updates what's necessary, minimizing re-renders and maximizing performance.
  • Smart feature selection - Natrix will automatically use nightly-only optimizations if possible without needing a explicit nightly flag.

Design Goals

  • Developer experience first – Natrix is designed to feel natural for Rust developers.
  • Idiomatic Rust – We use Rust-native features & patterns, not what worked for js.
  • Stop porting JS to Rust – Rust is an amazing language, let’s build a frontend framework that actually feels like Rust.

Dependencies

~11MB
~204K SLoC