# wxWidgets/wxWidgets

Cross-Platform C++ GUI Library

Repository: https://github.com/wxWidgets/wxWidgets
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/wxwidgets
Homepage: https://www.wxwidgets.org/
Language: C++
License Family: other
Topics: c-plus-plus, gui-framework, gui, desktop, win32, gtk, cocoa, x11, portable, cross-platform, cross-platform-desktop, wxwidgets, linux, windows, macos
Last push: 2026-08-26T21:10:38+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 93/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 80, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5586, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 57, "gap_med": 40.0, "n_releases_24m": 11}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7258, forks 1960 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:57.867401+00:00)

## What it is
wxWidgets is a mature, open-source cross-platform C++ framework for building native-looking GUI desktop applications using each platform's native controls. It also abstracts non-GUI aspects like networking, multithreading, file handling, and clipboard across Windows, macOS, and Linux/Unix.

## Use cases
- build a desktop app with one C++ codebase for Windows, macOS, and Linux
- create GUI applications with a truly native look and feel
- port a Windows-only C++ app to Linux and macOS
- use native widgets instead of emulated or skinned UI
- write cross-platform C++ apps with Python or Ruby bindings
- develop commercial desktop software with a permissive LGPL-exception license

## When to choose
- you need native platform controls and appearance rather than custom-drawn widgets
- you want a single C++ codebase targeting Windows, macOS, and GTK/Linux
- you need a mature, well-documented toolkit with decades of stability
- you want to ship proprietary apps without open-sourcing them (LGPL with static-linking exception)
- you need bindings for Python, Ruby, Lua, Rust, or Dart

## When to avoid
- you want a modern retained-mode or web-technology-based UI (e.g., Electron, Qt Quick)
- you target mobile platforms primarily - wxWidgets is desktop-focused
- you prefer a pure C++ modern API style; wxWidgets has older idiomatic patterns
- you need a toolkit with a large commercial vendor support contract
- you want pixel-identical UI across platforms rather than native look

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: gui, ui-components, desktop-framework, internationalization, image-processing, concurrency
- domain: cross-platform, desktop-applications, web-development, developer-tools
- platform: cpp, windows, cross-platform
- tags: native-controls, c-plus-plus, gtk, cocoa, win32, gui-toolkit, language-bindings, lgpl-exception, linux, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- wxWidgets/wxWidgets (main) score 93

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:57.867401+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 2026-08-29T17:39:42.898457+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/wxWidgets/wxWidgets (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:57.867401+00:00, sha 669856ace94f)
  - homepage: https://www.wxwidgets.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.895127+00:00, sha 597342fe7dd8)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/docs/book (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.916487+00:00, sha b761b24b9ef7)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/about/Ukraine (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.904337+00:00, sha 6617739ff953)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.906015+00:00, sha b48bef37e273)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/about/screenshots (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.908512+00:00, sha a6d99205af6e)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/about/translations (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.910577+00:00, sha 11e7efc6e7a4)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/about/team (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.912961+00:00, sha 0138611071be)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/about/licence (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.914809+00:00, sha 4982943c010e)
  - site_page: https://wxwidgets.org/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:34:30.918418+00:00, sha 8960026ede53)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.