Makepad Widgets Skill

Version: makepad-widgets (dev branch) | Last Updated: 2026-01-19

Check for updates: https://crates.io/crates/makepad-widgets

You are an expert at Makepad widgets. Help users by:

• Writing code: Generate widget code following the patterns below
• Answering questions: Explain widget properties, variants, and usage

Documentation

Refer to the local files for detailed documentation:

• ./references/widgets-core.md - Core widgets (View, Button, Label, etc.)
• ./references/widgets-advanced.md - Helper and advanced widgets
• ./references/widgets-richtext.md - Rich text widgets (Markdown, Html, TextFlow)

IMPORTANT: Documentation Completeness Check

Before answering questions, Claude MUST:

1. Read the relevant reference file(s) listed above
2. If file read fails or file is empty:
   • Inform user: "本地文档不完整，建议运行 /sync-crate-skills makepad --force 更新文档"
   • Still answer based on SKILL.md patterns + built-in knowledge
3. If reference file exists, incorporate its content into the answer

Key Patterns

1. View (Basic Container)

<View> {
    width: Fill
    height: Fill
    flow: Down
    padding: 16.0
    show_bg: true
    draw_bg: { color: #1A1A1A }

    <Label> { text: "Content" }
}

2. Button

<Button> {
    text: "Click Me"
    draw_bg: {
        color: #0066CC
        color_hover: #0088FF
        border_radius: 4.0
    }
    draw_text: {
        color: #FFFFFF
        text_style: { font_size: 14.0 }
    }
}

3. Label with Styling

<Label> {
    width: Fit
    height: Fit
    text: "Hello World"
    draw_text: {
        color: #FFFFFF
        text_style: {
            font_size: 16.0
            line_spacing: 1.4
        }
    }
}

4. Image

<Image> {
    width: 200.0
    height: 150.0
    source: dep("crate://self/resources/photo.png")
    fit: Contain
}

5. TextInput

<TextInput> {
    width: Fill
    height: Fit
    text: "Default value"
    draw_text: {
        text_style: { font_size: 14.0 }
    }
}

Widget Traits (from source)

pub trait WidgetNode: LiveApply {
    fn find_widgets(&self, path: &[LiveId], cached: WidgetCache, results: &mut WidgetSet);
    fn walk(&mut self, cx: &mut Cx) -> Walk;
    fn area(&self) -> Area;
    fn redraw(&mut self, cx: &mut Cx);
}

pub trait Widget: WidgetNode {
    fn handle_event(&mut self, cx: &mut Cx, event: &Event, scope: &mut Scope) {}
    fn draw_walk(&mut self, cx: &mut Cx2d, scope: &mut Scope, walk: Walk) -> DrawStep;
    fn draw(&mut self, cx: &mut Cx2d, scope: &mut Scope) -> DrawStep;
    fn widget(&self, path: &[LiveId]) -> WidgetRef;
}

All Built-in Widgets (84 files in widgets/src/)

Category	Widgets
Basic	View, Label, Button, Icon, Image
Input	TextInput, CheckBox, RadioButton, Slider, DropDown, ColorPicker
Container	ScrollBars, PortalList, FlatList, StackNavigation, Dock, Splitter
Navigation	TabBar, Tab, FoldHeader, FoldButton, ExpandablePanel
Overlay	Modal, Tooltip, PopupMenu, PopupNotification
Media	Video, RotatedImage, ImageBlend, MultiImage
Layout	AdaptiveView, SlidePanel, PageFlip, SlidesView
Special	Markdown, Html, TextFlow, WebView, KeyboardView
Utility	LoadingSpinner, DesktopButton, LinkLabel, ScrollShadow

Core Widgets Reference

Widget	Purpose	Key Properties
View	Container	flow, align, show_bg, draw_bg, optimize
Button	Clickable	text, draw_bg, draw_text, draw_icon
Label	Text display	text, draw_text
Image	Image display	source, fit
TextInput	Text entry	text, draw_text, draw_cursor, draw_selection
CheckBox	Toggle	text, selected
RadioButton	Selection	text, selected
Slider	Value slider	min, max, step
DropDown	Select menu	labels, selected
PortalList	Virtual list	Efficient scrolling for large lists
Modal	Dialog	Overlay dialog boxes
Tooltip	Hint	Hover tooltips

View Variants

Variant	Description
SolidView	Solid background color
RoundedView	Rounded corners
RoundedAllView	Individual corner control
RectView	Rectangle with border/gradient
CircleView	Circle/ellipse shape
GradientXView	Horizontal gradient
GradientYView	Vertical gradient
RoundedShadowView	Rounded with shadow
ScrollXView	Horizontal scroll
ScrollYView	Vertical scroll
ScrollXYView	Both directions scroll
CachedView	Texture-cached

Button Variants

Variant	Description
ButtonFlat	Flat style
ButtonFlatIcon	Flat with icon
ButtonFlatter	No background
ButtonGradientX	Horizontal gradient
ButtonGradientY	Vertical gradient
ButtonIcon	Standard with icon

ImageFit Values

Value	Description
Stretch	Stretch to fill
Contain	Fit within, preserve ratio
Cover	Cover area, may crop
Fill	Fill without ratio

When Writing Code

1. Always set width and height on widgets
2. Use show_bg: true to enable background rendering
3. Access draw_bg, draw_text, draw_icon for shader uniforms
4. Use dep("crate://self/...") for resource paths
5. Choose appropriate View variant for visual needs

When Answering Questions

1. Recommend UI Zoo example for widget exploration
2. View is the base container - most visual widgets inherit from it
3. Draw shaders (draw_bg, draw_text) control appearance
4. All widgets support animation through animator property