{"slug": "wxwidgets", "name": "wxWidgets", "category": "dev-libs", "category_name": "Libraries and frameworks", "description": "", "recommenders": 1, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 1.525, "rising": 1.0, "first": "2026-01-26", "latest": "2026-10-31", "why": "it has enough HTML support for rendering markdown converted to HTML just fine", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 0, "compare": 3, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1], "listed": false, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "it has enough HTML support for rendering markdown converted to HTML just fine", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["wxWidgets"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 805074880, "item_id": 50317180, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50317180", "by": "joshheitzman", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it has enough HTML support for rendering markdown converted to HTML just fine", "excerpt": "I used the wxWidgets C++ GUI for my coding agent ( https://github.com/fluxmoot/fluximp ) not directly in C++ but in Python via wxPython. While wxWidgets doesn't have a full browser level implementation of HTML/CSS/JS it has enough HTML support for rendering markdown converted to HTML just fine. I'd imagine Qt would have no problem with markdown either.", "context": "built a coding agent", "use_case": "coding agent GUI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Prospero: A new coding harness for a more civilized age"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "joshheitzman", "context": "built a coding agent", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50317180", "date": "2026-10-31"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["coding agent gui", "cross-platform gui", "cross-platform gui toolkit", "native gui toolkit"], "compared": [{"slug": "qt", "name": "Qt", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "gtk", "name": "GTK", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315226", "title": "Prospero: A new coding harness for a more civilized age", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48116873", "title": "Zero-native \u2013 Build native desktop apps with web UI", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47906651", "title": "I have officially retired from Emacs", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46753708", "title": "Web-based image editor modeled after Deluxe Paint", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"compare": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"compare": 1}, "2026-05": {"compare": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 805074880, "item_id": 50317180, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50317180", "by": "joshheitzman", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it has enough HTML support for rendering markdown converted to HTML just fine", "excerpt": "I used the wxWidgets C++ GUI for my coding agent ( https://github.com/fluxmoot/fluximp ) not directly in C++ but in Python via wxPython. While wxWidgets doesn't have a full browser level implementation of HTML/CSS/JS it has enough HTML support for rendering markdown converted to HTML just fine. I'd imagine Qt would have no problem with markdown either.", "context": "built a coding agent", "use_case": "coding agent GUI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Prospero: A new coding harness for a more civilized age"}, {"id": 769903088, "item_id": 48118943, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48118943", "by": "SyneRyder", "date": "2026-05-13", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I've been drawn to wxWidgets (actual native controls on each platform)", "excerpt": "I keep coming back to this and not finding / choosing a solution. It sadly feels like people who are doing this are just going with Electron now. I'm mostly coding in Go now, so I seem to be looking for a similar solution to you. This page has a lot of cross-platform GUI toolkits, but it focuses on C++: https://philippegroarke.com/posts/2018/c++_ui_solutions/ I've been drawn to wxWidgets (actual native controls on ea", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform GUI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Zero-native \u2013 Build native desktop apps with web UI"}, {"id": 767042800, "item_id": 47940175, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47940175", "by": "prewett", "date": "2026-04-28", "stance": "compare", "quote": "why he chose wxWidgets instead of Qt; I'd be surprised if it is that much lighter weight than Qt.", "excerpt": "If the author is on, I'm curious why he chose wxWidgets instead of Qt; I'd be surprised if it is that much lighter weight than Qt. (I even wrote my own cross-platform toolkit with \"more lightweight\" as one of the reasons, and if you use all the features, it weighs in about the same size as Qt, I think.) Also, the last time I used wxWidgets, many years ago, it had a clunky MFC style to it, limited feature, along with ", "context": "", "use_case": "cross-platform GUI toolkit", "switched_from": "", "story": "I have officially retired from Emacs"}, {"id": 748260816, "item_id": 46766301, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46766301", "by": "Shorel", "date": "2026-01-26", "stance": "compare", "quote": "wxWidgets is oldschool", "excerpt": "At this point I wish that there was some native alternative to the Web-based everything. wxWidgets is oldschool, QT has license issues, GTK looks so-so except on Linux, TCL/TK looks ugly everywhere. In the modern world we need some GPU accelerated GUI library. Something like the one used in SublimeText. But with BSD or MIT license of course. That would be much more interesting for me.", "context": "", "use_case": "native GUI toolkit", "switched_from": "", "story": "Web-based image editor modeled after Deluxe Paint"}]}