Content
# Photonic
A vector graphics editor built in Rust with a native GPU-accelerated GUI and an integrated MCP server for AI-assisted design via Claude.
## Features
- **Native GUI** using egui and wgpu (GPU-accelerated, cross-platform)
- **MCP server** — Claude can create and edit vector art through a JSON-RPC API
- **Full vector toolset** — shapes, bezier paths, boolean operations, gradients, transforms
- **Undo/redo history** with named checkpoints for time-travel
- **SVG / PNG / JPEG export**
- **Lua scripting** for automation
## Quick Start
### Building
```sh
cargo build --release
```
### Running (GUI mode)
```sh
cargo run --release
# or open a saved document:
cargo run --release -- path/to/file.photonic
```
### Running the MCP server (headless)
```sh
cargo run --release -- mcp --port 7842
```
The MCP server listens on `http://localhost:7842` and accepts JSON-RPC 2.0 requests.
### Lua REPL
```sh
cargo run --release -- repl
```
## Project Layout
```
photonic/
├── crates/
│ ├── photonic-core/ # Data structures & business logic
│ ├── photonic-render/ # GPU rendering (wgpu + lyon)
│ ├── photonic-gui/ # egui GUI
│ ├── photonic-mcp/ # MCP server & JSON-RPC handlers
│ └── photonic-app/ # Binary entry point
├── docs/
│ ├── architecture.md # Crate design and internals
│ ├── mcp-api.md # MCP tool reference
│ └── file-format.md # .photonic file format
└── ROADMAP.md # Planned features
```
## Documentation
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
| [docs/architecture.md](docs/architecture.md) | Crate breakdown, data model, concurrency model |
| [docs/mcp-api.md](docs/mcp-api.md) | Every MCP tool with parameters and examples |
| [docs/file-format.md](docs/file-format.md) | `.photonic` JSON schema reference |
## Crates at a Glance
| Crate | Role |
|---|---|
| `photonic-core` | `Document`, `SceneNode`, `Transform`, `Fill`, `CommandHistory` |
| `photonic-render` | `PhotonicRenderer` (wgpu), `HeadlessRenderer`, tessellator |
| `photonic-gui` | `PhotonicApp`, panels, tool implementations |
| `photonic-mcp` | JSON-RPC server, 20+ handler functions |
| `photonic-app` | `main()`, logging, mode dispatch |
## Key Technologies
| Area | Library |
|---|---|
| GPU rendering | wgpu |
| Path tessellation | lyon |
| Bezier geometry | kurbo |
| GUI | egui + egui-wgpu |
| Async runtime / HTTP | tokio + axum |
| Boolean path ops | geo |
| Serialization | serde_json |
| Scripting | mlua (Lua 5.4) |
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for how to set
up, the coding conventions, and the pull-request workflow. Please also read our
[Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md). To report a security issue, see
[SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).
## License
Photonic is licensed under the [MIT License](LICENSE).
It bundles third-party open-source components under their own permissive
licenses; their notices are reproduced in
[THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md](THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md).
