GPUI Mobile

A research project exploring the feasibility of running Blade graphics library on mobile platforms, with a focus on Android support.

Overview

This project investigates the current state of Rust on Android and explores the technical requirements for porting Blade - a lean GPU abstraction library - to mobile platforms. Blade is currently used in projects like Zed editor and provides cross-platform graphics capabilities across Vulkan, Metal, and OpenGL ES3.

Project Structure

gpui-mobile/
├── vendor/
│   ├── blade/        # Blade graphics library
│   └── zed/          # Zed editor source
├── research/         # Research documentation
│   └── rust-on-android.md
└── README.md         # This file

Goals

1. Research Rust on Android: Deep dive into the current state of Rust development for Android
2. Blade Mobile Compatibility: Assess what's needed to get Blade running on mobile platforms
3. Technical Feasibility: Document challenges and potential solutions
4. Proof of Concept: Create a working example if feasible

Current Status

• Research Rust on Android ecosystem
• Analyze Blade's architecture for mobile compatibility
• Identify required modifications
• Create proof of concept

Key Considerations

Blade's Current Platform Support

According to Blade's documentation:

• Vulkan: Supported on desktop Linux, Windows, and Android
• Metal: Supported on desktop macOS and iOS
• OpenGL ES3: Supported on the Web

This suggests that Blade already has some level of mobile support through Vulkan (Android) and Metal (iOS).

Technical Requirements

For Android specifically:

• Rust toolchain with Android targets
• Android NDK
• JNI bindings for Android integration
• Surface management for rendering
• Input handling

Research Topics

See the research/ directory for detailed investigations on:

• Rust on Android - Current state, tooling, and best practices
• Blade mobile adaptation requirements
• Performance considerations
• Platform-specific challenges

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust toolchain (1.65+)
• Android Studio and NDK (for Android development)
• Xcode (for iOS development)

Setup

1. Clone the repository with submodules:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/yourusername/gpui-mobile.git
cd gpui-mobile

2. Install Rust Android targets:

rustup target add aarch64-linux-android
rustup target add armv7-linux-androideabi
rustup target add x86_64-linux-android

3. Set up Android development environment:

export ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/Sdk
export NDK_HOME=$ANDROID_HOME/ndk/[version]

Contributing

This is a research project. Contributions in the form of:

• Additional research
• Code experiments
• Documentation improvements
• Bug reports

are all welcome!

License

This research project follows the licensing of its vendored dependencies:

• Blade is licensed under MIT
• Zed is licensed under multiple licenses (check vendor/zed for details)

References

• Blade Graphics
• Rust on Android
• Android NDK