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.

Screenshots And Generations

Studio home	AI chat with editable preview
Gemini CLI generated mascot states	Runtime game animation

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

Documentation

Start with the public docs:

• What Is Strut?
• Quick Start
• Create Your First Animation
• Motion Language
• Plan Mode
• Generate A Character
• AI And Providers

Contributor and milestone review notes live in docs/internal.

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/                     public docs, guides, reference, maintainer notes
assets/                   brand and documentation assets

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

Maintainer review commands live in docs/internal/manual-review.md.

Generation Troubleshooting

Test animation generation through Strut Studio, not through an external Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT chat. Studio supplies the Strut router prompt, generation schema, project context, and repair prompts that external chats do not have.

If Studio reports Provider did not return valid Strut animation JSON, check the selected provider, API key or local adapter setup, endpoint/model configuration, and try a direct generation prompt such as Make me 3d rolling die. For the full workflow, see Testing Animation Generation.

License

Apache-2.0. See LICENSE.