Hello fellow Kotliners. I was tasked to research m...

# compose-desktop

[Matej Hlatky]

Hello fellow Kotliners.
I was tasked to research migration of existing open source Java desktop app that is using JavaFX for UI into KMP and Compose Multiplatform. From the UX perspective, the look and feel should be “modern and fresh” but still for desktop. Target is Windows / MacOS / Linux.

Personally I am afraid, that the “default” Material3 is not a good choice for the desktop, mainly because of the
minimumInteractiveComponentSize - the components are unnecessary huge for the desktop. This would require a lot of custom components.

I found
• Compose Unstyled that looks okay
• and also Compose Fluent that has Windows 10 like design
Do you have experience with any other Compose Multiplatform design libraries, that are well maintained?
Thank you

[Michael Paus]

A further option for you may be https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-community/tree/master/platform/jewel

[Matej Hlatky]

Thank you Michael.

[Alexander Maryanovsky]

Not to detract from the other good options mentioned, implementing your own desktop widgets is easier than you’d think.
Check out my app: https://theorycrafter.pro/
It uses a combination of adapted material and handwritten widgets.

[Konstantin Tskhovrebov]

Take a look at https://www.rikkaui.dev/ too

[Kirill Grouchnikov]

https://github.com/kirill-grouchnikov/aurora is for Compose desktop apps

[Alex Styl]

heads up. creator of unstyled here.

the most sane approach is to not use component libraries directly in your code base. ie make your own Button for example and as the impl use any kind of component library you think it's best right now.

This way you separate the API you use and the looks of your app. This is cool because you can even start using Material to get you started, and eventually swap out the components that don't fit your usecase with anything else.

PS: unstyled is not a component library. it's what you use to build your design system. it gives you a token based theming API and component primitives with accessibility, keyboard nav and ux nightmares done for you out of the box. but the styling/looks is your responsibility.

[Alex Styl]

PS2: There is now https://composables.com/ui