# zserge/lorca

Build cross-platform modern desktop apps in Go + HTML5

Repository: https://github.com/zserge/lorca
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lorca
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2024-08-19T06:48:40+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2859, "days_push": 744, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8204, forks 539 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:19.565404+00:00)

## What it is
Lorca is a small pure-Go library for building cross-platform HTML5 desktop apps that use an installed Chrome/Chromium browser as the UI layer instead of bundling it like Electron. It lets Go code and JavaScript call each other seamlessly via Chrome's DevTools protocol.

## Use cases
- build a desktop app in Go with an HTML5 UI
- lightweight Electron alternative for Go apps
- call Go functions from JavaScript in a desktop app
- create small cross-platform GUI apps without cgo
- run headless Chrome UI tests from Go
- package a Go desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux

## When to choose
- you want tiny (5-10MB) desktop binaries in pure Go
- users already have Chrome/Chromium installed
- you need simple two-way Go/JavaScript bindings
- you want to package for all three OSes from one machine

## When to avoid
- you need control over window chrome, borders, transparency, or native menus
- you can't guarantee Chrome >= 70 on the target machine
- you need a fully self-contained app that bundles its browser runtime
- you're not using Go - consider webview or Electron instead

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: desktop-framework, gui, web-framework
- domain: desktop-applications, cross-platform, web-development, developer-tools
- platform: windows, go, cross-platform
- tags: chrome-devtools-protocol, html5-ui, electron-alternative, go-bindings, lightweight, linux, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- zserge/lorca (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:19.565404+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:29:33.306154+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zserge/lorca (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:19.565404+00:00, sha eaabf647be44)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.