penpot/render-wasm/README.md
Miguel de Benito Delgado 33602b9114
🔧 Allow skipping renderer build setup via env. var (#12882)
Set PENPOT_WASM_PREPARED=1 to speed up repeated builds
2026-11-09 12:53:18 +01:00

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# Penpot WASM render
This is the canvas-based WebAssembly render engine for Penpot.
## Rust & Emscripten
This project is a Rust crate that targets [Emscripten](https://emscripten.org/) (`wasm32-unknown-emscripten`).
We use `wasm32-unknown-emscripten` compilation target:
* It compiles Rust code into WASM
* It generates the JavaScript code (“glue”) to load and run the WASM code
![How Rust, Emscripten, and WASM are connected](docs/images/rust_wasm_schema.png)
### Skia
We use Skia, an Open Source 2D graphics library. In particular, the render engine uses Skia via [custom binaries](https://github.com/penpot/skia-binaries/releases/) of the [rust-skia crate](https://github.com/rust-skia/rust-skia).
## How to build
With the [Penpot Development Environment](https://help.penpot.app/technical-guide/developer/devenv/) running, create a new tab in the tmux.
```sh
cd penpot/render-wasm
./build
```
You can also use `./watch` to run the build on every change.
The build script compiles the project and copies the `.js` and `.wasm` files to the app that uses each target.
### Render targets
The same Rust source produces two artifacts, which differ only in compiler
options:
| Target | Tuned for | Cargo profile | Consumed by |
| ---------- | --------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `frontend` | speed | `release` (`-O3`) | `frontend/resources/public/js` |
| `export` | size | `size` (`-Oz`) | `exporter/resources/wasm` |
```sh
./build # both targets, frontend first
./build frontend # workspace / viewer renderer
./build export # headless exporter renderer
```
`./watch` still follows a single target (`frontend` unless you pass one),
since watching both would rebuild twice on every keystroke.
Each target keeps its own `CARGO_TARGET_DIR` (`target/<target>`), so switching
between them does not invalidate the other's cache. Set `BUILD_MODE=release`
(or `NODE_ENV=production`) for an optimized build; the default is `debug`.
Set `PENPOT_WASM_PREPARED=1` when the pinned Rust toolchain is selected, its
Emscripten target is installed, and this package's Node dependencies are
installed. `./build` and `./test` then skip `rustup` setup and `pnpm install`.
Benchmark preparation sets this flag for each retained build.
### Serialize builds in one checkout
All targets in one checkout share one `flock` lock stored at
`render-wasm/.render-wasm-build.lock`. The lock covers dependency setup, the
Cargo build, artifact copy, and target cleanup. If another build or cleanup
already holds the lock, the new process prints a waiting message and starts
only after the first process exits.
The watch command takes the lock for each build, then releases it while it
waits for source changes. The lock file stays in the checkout after a build,
but the operating system releases its lock when the process exits, including
after an error or signal.
The lock applies to one checkout and only to commands that use these scripts.
A manual Cargo build can still write to the same target without taking the
lock. Set `RENDER_WASM_LOCK_FILE` to the same path in each process when you
make different checkouts share a `CARGO_TARGET_DIR`. The supported Linux build
environment must provide `flock` from util-linux; `flock --version` checks this
dependency.
Use the target cleanup commands instead of running `cargo clean` on the shared
`target/` directory:
```sh
./clean frontend # remove target/frontend only
./clean export # remove target/export only
```
Each target writes its own generated `shared.js` (the enum discriminants the
CLJS side compiles against) next to the code that imports it — respectively
`frontend/src/app/render_wasm/api/shared.js` and
`exporter/src/app/wasm/shared.js`. Neither build writes to the other's paths.
![Architecture overview](docs/images/architecture_schema.png)
Edit your local `frontend/resources/public/js/config.js` to add the following flags:
- `enable-feature-render-wasm` to enable this render engine.
- `enable-render-wasm-dpr` (optional), to enable using the device pixel ratio.
## How to test
We currently have two types of tests:
- Unit tests
```sh
cd penpot/render-wasm
./test
```
- [Visual Regression Test](./docs/visual_regression_tests.md)
## Technical documentation
- [Rendering Architecture (Live vs Vector/PDF)](./docs/rendering_architecture.md)
- [Serialization](./docs/serialization.md)
- [Tile Rendering](./docs/tile_rendering.md)
- [Texts](./docs/texts.md)