January 29, 2026
Art vs. Compile Time: Choose Your Fighter
Nannou – A creative coding framework for Rust
Rust art toolkit sparks joy—and compile-time chaos
TLDR: Nannou brings a Rust-powered toolkit for digital art, with examples and tutorials to help creators get started. The community loves the docs but clashes over slow compile times, debating instant creativity versus reliability—making it a big question for artists who want speed without losing power.
Nannou is pitching itself as a friendly, open-source toolkit to help artists make digital art with Rust—think visuals, sound, lasers, and slick UI, all bundled in one creative playground. Inspired by classics like Processing, OpenFrameworks, and Cinder, it offers tons of examples (even ports from p5.js and Processing) and invites the community to jump in because it’s still early days. The vibe is: big dreams, lots of toys, bring your imagination. But the comments turned this into a soap opera.
The loudest cheer came from fans praising the documentation and tutorials—one reader shouted out the schotter tutorial like it’s a cult classic. Meanwhile, the comparison brigade rolled in with: “This is Rust’s version of OpenFrameworks!” Cue the split-screen debate. The spiciest drama? Compile times. Critics claim Rust (and C++) make creative coding feel like waiting for paint to dry, with jokes about “order a latte while cargo (Rust’s build tool) finishes.” On the other side, true believers swear the speed and reliability are worth the wait, calling it “art with seatbelts.” It’s a classic internet showdown: instant feedback versus industrial-grade tooling. Nannou’s feature list screams potential; the community’s hot takes scream “fix the workflow.” Either way, everyone’s watching to see if this toolkit can make code feel like canvas.
Key Points
- •Nannou is an open-source creative coding framework for Rust, inspired by Processing, OpenFrameworks, and Cinder.
- •The project provides a comprehensive Guide covering setup, tutorials, references, and governance (FOSS licensing, code of conduct).
- •Examples include general demos plus ports from Generative Gestaltung (p5.js) and Nature of Code (Processing).
- •Examples can be run via Cargo using `cargo run --release --example <example_name>`, with initial builds taking longer.
- •The repository includes multiple libraries (graphics, audio, UI, shaders, laser, meshes, OSC, WGPU) and tools (project generator, packaging), with noted issues in tools.