Strut

Strut is an open-source, desktop-first motion design studio for interactive product graphics. It is built around an open .strut format, a fast Rust core, GPU-backed previews, and an AI-native workflow that can turn prompts, SVGs, images, or rough sketches into editable runtime-ready animation components.

Strut is not trying to be a free copy of any single tool. The goal is a local-first motion IDE where designers and engineers can create, verify, export, and automate interactive animation systems without locking their work into a closed editor.

Status: pre-alpha. The repository is being scaffolded. APIs, file schemas, and runtime contracts will change while the MVP is built.

Why Strut

• Open format: .strut files are documented, inspectable, versioned, and designed for long-term portability.
• Desktop only: first-class Windows, macOS, and Linux apps instead of a web SaaS dependency.
• Rust-fast core: parsing, validation, compilation, state machines, and render preparation live in Rust.
• Local GPU support: viewport/rendering architecture is designed around wgpu, WebGPU, Metal, DirectX 12, and Vulkan paths with CPU fallback where needed.
• AI first, BYOK: users can bring OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter, Ollama, LM Studio, Azure OpenAI, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
• Agent compatible: Strut can orchestrate local coding agents such as Codex, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Kiro, Copilot CLI, OpenCode, Cursor-style agents, and custom adapters.
• Mockup to model: SVGs are parsed deterministically; raster mockups use vision plus classical geometry extraction to create editable Strut scenes.
• Plan Mode: when there is no mockup, Strut sketches multiple 2D directions first, waits for review, then builds the full animation.
• Runtime ready: exported components are designed to be controlled by app code through stable inputs, bindings, and events.

Product Shape

Strut Studio       desktop editor and AI workspace
Strut Format       open .strut project/runtime format
Strut Runtime      embeddable playback libraries
Strut Agent Engine BYOK provider router and local agent orchestration
Strut Verifier     render, state-machine, export, and performance checks
Strut MCP          controlled project access for external agents

MVP

The first real milestone is a narrow but complete vertical slice:

Prompt: Create an animated login button with idle, hover, pressed, loading, success, and error states.

Expected result:
- Strut creates an artboard.
- Strut creates editable vector layers.
- Strut creates timelines and easing.
- Strut creates a state machine with named inputs.
- Studio previews the interaction.
- The verifier checks reachability and render snapshots.
- The exporter writes a .strut file.
- The React runtime can control the component.

Repository Layout

apps/
  studio/                 Tauri desktop app
crates/
  strut-core/             scene graph, timelines, state machines
  strut-format/           .strut read/write/validate
  strut-renderer/         GPU renderer abstraction
  strut-compiler/         editable project -> optimized runtime artifact
  strut-agent/            provider router and agent orchestration
  strut-verifier/         snapshot, export, and state checks
packages/
  runtime-web/            browser runtime
  runtime-react/          React wrapper
docs/                     architecture, format, roadmap, review guides
assets/                   brand and documentation assets

Manual Review Checkpoints

The project intentionally ships in reviewable increments. At each checkpoint, run the commands in docs/MANUAL_REVIEW.md and inspect the listed files before moving to the next milestone.

Current checkpoints:

1. Docs and repository identity
2. Rust/Tauri scaffold
3. Open .strut format
4. Runtime preview
5. AI provider and local agent adapters
6. Mockup/SVG to Strut
7. Plan Mode

Development

The current scaffold uses:

Rust 1.93+
Node.js 25+
npm 11+
Tauri v2
TypeScript
React
wgpu
SQLite

Standard commands:

npm install
npm run check
npm run test
npm run studio:dev

License

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE.