lorca

Build cross-platform modern desktop apps in Go + HTML5

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Quick Overview

Lorca is a lightweight Go library for building cross-platform desktop applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It leverages the locally installed Chrome browser as a UI layer, allowing developers to create native-feeling desktop apps using web technologies while keeping the binary size small.

Pros

Small binary size (typically under 3MB) as it doesn't bundle a web engine
Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Utilizes the user's installed Chrome browser, ensuring up-to-date web standards
Simple API for Go developers to create desktop applications

Cons

Requires Chrome to be installed on the user's system
Limited to Chrome's capabilities and features
Not suitable for applications requiring deep system integration
May have security concerns due to using the user's browser instance

Code Examples

Creating a simple window:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()

// Bind Go function to JavaScript
ui.Bind("add", func(a, b int) int { return a + b })

// Load HTML
ui.Load("data:text/html,<html><body><h1>Hello World</h1></body></html>")
<-ui.Done()

Executing JavaScript from Go:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()

// Execute JavaScript
result := ui.Eval(`
    const name = "Lorca";
    console.log("Hello, " + name);
    name;
`)
fmt.Println(result) // Prints: Lorca

Binding Go functions to JavaScript:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()

ui.Bind("greet", func(name string) string {
    return fmt.Sprintf("Hello, %s!", name)
})

ui.Load("data:text/html,<html><body><script>alert(greet('World'))</script></body></html>")
<-ui.Done()

Getting Started

To use Lorca in your Go project, follow these steps:

Install Lorca:
```
go get github.com/zserge/lorca
```
Import Lorca in your Go file:
```
import "github.com/zserge/lorca"
```

Create a new UI instance:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 800, 600)
defer ui.Close()

Load your HTML content and start the application:
```
ui.Load("http://localhost:8080")
<-ui.Done()
```

Make sure Chrome is installed on your system before running the application.

Competitor Comparisons

electron

113,668

:electron: Build cross-platform desktop apps with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS

Pros of Electron

Extensive ecosystem and community support
Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Rich set of APIs for native OS integration

Cons of Electron

Large application size due to bundled Chromium and Node.js
Higher memory usage compared to native applications
Potential security concerns due to full Node.js access

Code Comparison

Electron:

const { app, BrowserWindow } = require('electron')

function createWindow () {
  const win = new BrowserWindow({ width: 800, height: 600 })
  win.loadFile('index.html')
}

app.whenReady().then(createWindow)

Lorca:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()

ui.Bind("add", func(a, b int) int { return a + b })
ui.Load("data:text/html,<html><body><h1>Hello World</h1></body></html>")
<-ui.Done()

Key Differences

Lorca uses the system-installed Chrome/Chromium browser, resulting in smaller app sizes
Electron provides a more comprehensive set of APIs for desktop integration
Lorca is Go-based, while Electron uses JavaScript/Node.js
Electron has a larger learning curve but offers more flexibility for complex applications
Lorca is lightweight and suitable for simpler applications with minimal native integration needs

tauri

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Build smaller, faster, and more secure desktop applications with a web frontend.

Pros of Tauri

Multi-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux) out of the box
Smaller bundle sizes due to native system webviews
Robust security features and customizable permissions

Cons of Tauri

Steeper learning curve, especially for developers new to Rust
Slower development cycle compared to Lorca's simplicity
Limited to using system webviews, which may have inconsistencies across platforms

Code Comparison

Lorca (Go):

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()
ui.Bind("add", add)
<-ui.Done()

Tauri (Rust):

fn main() {
  tauri::Builder::default()
    .setup(|app| {
      // Setup code here
      Ok(())
    })
    .run(tauri::generate_context!())
    .expect("error while running tauri application");
}

Both Lorca and Tauri aim to create desktop applications using web technologies, but they differ in approach and features. Lorca focuses on simplicity and ease of use, leveraging Go and Chrome/Chromium. Tauri offers a more comprehensive framework with Rust, emphasizing security and performance. While Lorca is quicker to get started with, Tauri provides more robust features for production-ready applications.

wails

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Pros of Wails

Supports multiple programming languages (Go, JavaScript, TypeScript)
Offers a more comprehensive framework with built-in tooling and CLI
Provides native OS dialogs and menus integration

Cons of Wails

Larger footprint and more dependencies
Steeper learning curve due to more complex architecture
May have slower startup times compared to Lorca

Code Comparison

Lorca:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()
ui.Bind("add", add)
ui.Load("index.html")
<-ui.Done()

Wails:

app := wails.CreateApp(&wails.AppConfig{
    Width:  480,
    Height: 320,
})
app.Bind(add)
err := app.Run()

Key Differences

Lorca uses Chrome/Chromium installed on the system, while Wails bundles a WebView2 runtime
Wails offers more extensive features and customization options
Lorca is lighter and simpler, focusing on quick prototyping and small applications
Wails provides better support for creating production-ready desktop applications

Both projects aim to simplify the creation of desktop applications using web technologies and Go, but they cater to different use cases and development preferences.

neutralinojs

7,410

Portable and lightweight cross-platform desktop application development framework

Pros of Neutralinojs

Cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Built-in API for file system operations, OS-level functions, and more
Smaller application size compared to Electron-based apps

Cons of Neutralinojs

Requires separate installation of the Neutralino runtime
Less mature ecosystem and community support than Go-based solutions
Limited access to native OS features compared to Lorca

Code Comparison

Neutralinojs:

Neutralino.init();
Neutralino.window.setTitle("My App");
Neutralino.os.showMessageBox("Hello", "Welcome to Neutralino!");

Lorca:

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()
ui.Bind("hello", func() string { return "Hello, World!" })
<-ui.Done()

Neutralinojs uses JavaScript for both frontend and backend logic, while Lorca leverages Go for the backend and HTML/CSS/JavaScript for the frontend. Neutralinojs provides a more integrated API for common desktop application tasks, whereas Lorca offers tighter integration with the Go ecosystem and native OS capabilities through CGo.

Both frameworks aim to simplify cross-platform desktop app development, but they cater to different developer preferences and use cases. Neutralinojs is more suitable for web developers looking for a lightweight alternative to Electron, while Lorca is ideal for Go developers who want to create desktop UIs using web technologies.

webview

12,478

Tiny cross-platform webview library for C/C++. Uses WebKit (GTK/Cocoa) and Edge WebView2 (Windows).

Pros of webview

Supports multiple programming languages (C/C++, Go, Rust, Python, etc.)
Provides a native OS window with web content
Smaller binary size and lower memory usage

Cons of webview

Less feature-rich compared to Lorca
Requires more setup and configuration
Limited JavaScript interop capabilities

Code Comparison

webview

package main

import "github.com/webview/webview"

func main() {
    w := webview.New(true)
    defer w.Destroy()
    w.SetTitle("Webview Example")
    w.SetSize(800, 600, webview.HintNone)
    w.Navigate("https://example.com")
    w.Run()
}

Lorca

package main

import "github.com/zserge/lorca"

func main() {
    ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 800, 600)
    defer ui.Close()
    ui.Load("https://example.com")
    <-ui.Done()
}

Key Differences

Lorca uses Chrome/Chromium as the rendering engine, while webview uses the native WebView component
Lorca provides easier JavaScript interop and DOM manipulation
webview offers broader language support and smaller footprint
Lorca focuses on Go, while webview caters to multiple languages
webview provides more control over the native window properties

Both libraries aim to create desktop applications with web technologies, but they differ in their approach, feature set, and target audience.

nativefier

34,838

Make any web page a desktop application

Pros of Nativefier

Cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Extensive customization options for the generated app
Ability to package any web application as a desktop app

Cons of Nativefier

Larger app size due to bundling Electron
Potentially higher resource usage compared to native apps
Limited access to system-level APIs

Code Comparison

Nativefier (JavaScript):

nativefier('https://example.com', {
  name: 'My App',
  icon: 'path/to/icon.png',
  width: 1280,
  height: 800
});

Lorca (Go):

ui, _ := lorca.New("https://example.com", "", 800, 600)
defer ui.Close()
<-ui.Done()

Key Differences

Nativefier is a more feature-rich solution for creating desktop apps from web applications, offering extensive customization options and cross-platform support. However, it results in larger app sizes and potentially higher resource usage due to its reliance on Electron.

Lorca, on the other hand, provides a lightweight alternative using the system's installed browser, resulting in smaller app sizes and potentially better performance. However, it offers fewer customization options and may have limited cross-platform compatibility compared to Nativefier.

Choose Nativefier for a more robust, customizable solution with broader platform support, or Lorca for a lightweight, performance-focused approach that leverages the system's existing browser.

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README

Lorca

A very small library to build modern HTML5 desktop apps in Go. It uses Chrome browser as a UI layer. Unlike Electron it doesn't bundle Chrome into the app package, but rather reuses the one that is already installed. Lorca establishes a connection to the browser window and allows calling Go code from the UI and manipulating UI from Go in a seamless manner.

Features

Pure Go library (no cgo) with a very simple API
Small application size (normally 5-10MB)
Best of both worlds - the whole power of HTML/CSS to make your UI look good, combined with Go performance and ease of development
Expose Go functions/methods and call them from JavaScript
Call arbitrary JavaScript code from Go
Asynchronous flow between UI and main app in both languages (async/await and Goroutines)
Supports loading web UI from the local web server or via data URL
Supports testing your app with the UI in the headless mode
Supports multiple app windows
Supports packaging and branding (e.g. custom app icons). Packaging for all three OS can be done on a single machine using GOOS and GOARCH variables.

Also, limitations by design:

Requires Chrome/Chromium >= 70 to be installed.
No control over the Chrome window yet (e.g. you can't remove border, make it transparent, control position or size).
No window menu (tray menus and native OS dialogs are still possible via 3rd-party libraries)

If you want to have more control of the browser window - consider using webview library with a similar API, so migration would be smooth.

Example

ui, _ := lorca.New("", "", 480, 320)
defer ui.Close()

// Bind Go function to be available in JS. Go function may be long-running and
// blocking - in JS it's represented with a Promise.
ui.Bind("add", func(a, b int) int { return a + b })

// Call JS function from Go. Functions may be asynchronous, i.e. return promises
n := ui.Eval(`Math.random()`).Float()
fmt.Println(n)

// Call JS that calls Go and so on and so on...
m := ui.Eval(`add(2, 3)`).Int()
fmt.Println(m)

// Wait for the browser window to be closed
<-ui.Done()

Also, see examples for more details about binding functions and packaging binaries.

Hello World

Here are the steps to run the hello world example.

cd examples/counter
go get
go run ./

How it works

Under the hood Lorca uses Chrome DevTools Protocol to instrument on a Chrome instance. First Lorca tries to locate your installed Chrome, starts a remote debugging instance binding to an ephemeral port and reads from stderr for the actual WebSocket endpoint. Then Lorca opens a new client connection to the WebSocket server, and instruments Chrome by sending JSON messages of Chrome DevTools Protocol methods via WebSocket. JavaScript functions are evaluated in Chrome, while Go functions actually run in Go runtime and returned values are sent to Chrome.

What's in a name?

There is kind of a legend, that before his execution Garcia Lorca have seen a sunrise over the heads of the soldiers and he said "And yet, the sun rises...". Probably it was the beginning of a poem. (J. Brodsky)

Lorca is an anagram of Carlo, a project with a similar goal for Node.js.

License

Code is distributed under MIT license, feel free to use it in your proprietary projects as well.

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