A graphical user interface builder (or GUI builder), also known as GUI designer or sometimes RAD IDE, is a

software development tool A programming tool or software development tool is a computer program that is used to develop another computer program, usually by helping the developer manage computer files. For example, a programmer may use a tool called a source code editor ...

that simplifies the creation of GUIs by allowing the designer to arrange graphical control elements (often called widgets) using a drag-and-drop

WYSIWYG In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for what you see is what you get, refers to software that allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed document, web ...

editor. Without a GUI builder, a GUI must be built by manually specifying each widget's parameters in the source code, with no visual feedback until the program is run. Such tools are usually called the term RAD IDE. User interfaces are commonly programmed using an

event-driven architecture Event-driven architecture (EDA) is a software architecture paradigm concerning the production and detection of Event (computing), events. Event-driven architectures are Continuous design, evolutionary in nature and provide a high degree of fault to ...

, so GUI builders also simplify creating event-driven code. This supporting code connects

software widget A software widget is a relatively simple and easy-to-use software application or software component, component made for one or more different software platforms. A Desk accessories, desk accessory or applet is an example of a simple, Standalone ...

s with the outgoing and incoming events that trigger the functions providing the application logic. Some graphical user interface builders automatically generate all the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

for a graphical control element. Others, like Interface Builder or Glade Interface Designer, generate serialized object instances that are then loaded by the application.

List of GUI builders

C language based

GTK GTK (formerly GIMP ToolKit and GTK+) is a free software cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs). It is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License, allowing both Free software, free and ...

/ Glade Interface Designer * Motif * XForms (toolkit) fdesign * Intrinsics

C# based

* UWP / Windows Presentation Foundation / WinForms ** Microsoft Visual Studio XAML Editor, XAML based GUI layout ** Microsoft Expression Blend ** SharpDevelop * Xamarin.Forms / .NET Core ** Xamarin Studio

C++ based

* UWP / Windows Presentation Foundation / WinForms ** Microsoft Visual Studio XAML Editor, XAML based GUI layout **

Microsoft Blend Microsoft Blend for Visual Studio (formerly Microsoft Expression Blend) is a User interface builder, user interface design tool developed and sold by Microsoft for creating graphical interfaces for web and desktop applications that blend the fea ...

Qt (toolkit) Qt ( pronounced "cute") is a cross-platform application development framework for creating graphical user interfaces as well as Cross-platform software, cross-platform applications that run on various software and hardware platforms such as L ...

Qt Creator Qt Creator is a cross-platform C++, JavaScript, Python and QML integrated development environment (IDE) which simplifies GUI application development. It is part of the SDK for the Qt GUI application development framework and uses the Q ...

* FLTK **

FLUID In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously motion, move and Deformation (physics), deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are M ...

JUCE JUCE is an open-source software, open-source cross-platform C++ application framework, used for the development of desktop and mobile applications. JUCE is used in particular for its graphical user interface, GUI and Plug-in (computing), plug-in ...

* U++ *

wxWidgets wxWidgets (formerly wxWindows) is a widget toolkit and tools library for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for cross-platform applications. wxWidgets enables a program's GUI code to compile and run on several computer platforms with no s ...

** wxFormBuilder

Objective-C / Swift based

* Cocoa (modern) and

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

(deprecated). **

Xcode Xcode is a suite of developer tools for building apps on Apple devices. It includes an integrated development environment (IDE) of the same name for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. It w ...

GNUstep GNUstep is a free software implementation of the Cocoa (formerly OpenStep) Objective-C frameworks, widget toolkit, and application development tools for Unix-like operating systems and Microsoft Windows. It is part of the GNU Project. GNUst ...

(formerly

OpenStep OpenStep is an object-oriented application programming interface (API) specification developed by NeXT. It provides a framework for building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and developing software applications. OpenStep was designed to be plat ...

) **

Gorm Gorm may refer to: Computing * Gorm (computing), a rapid application development tool * GORM, the "fantastic ORM library" for the Go programming language * Grails Object-Relational Mapping, see People * Gorm the Old (died 958), Danish king * Gor ...

Java based

Android Studio Android Studio is the official integrated development environment (IDE) for Google's Android operating system, built on JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA software and designed specifically for Android development. This is available for download on W ...

, XML-based GUI layout * NetBeans GUI design tool

HTML/JavaScript based

* Adobe Dreamweaver — Obsolete as of 2022

Object Pascal based

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

/ VCL (

Visual Component Library The Visual Component Library (VCL) is a visual component-based object-oriented framework for developing the user interface of Microsoft Windows applications. It is written in Object Pascal. History The VCL was developed by Borland for use i ...

) * Lazarus / LCL ( Lazarus Component Library)

Tk framework based

* Tk (framework) for Tcl ** ActiveState Komodo (No longer has a GUI builder) ** TKproE (TCL/TK Programming Environment)

Visual Basic based

* UWP / Windows Presentation Foundation / WinForms ** Microsoft Visual Studio XAML Editor, XAML based GUI layout ** Microsoft Expression Blend

Other tools

* Adobe Animate * App Inventor for Android * AutoIt * Axure RP * Creately * Embedded Wizard * GEM * Interface Builder * LucidChart * OpenWindows * Resource construction set * Stetic * Scaleform * Wavemaker

List of development environments

IDEs with GUI builders ( RAD IDEs)

* 4D * ActiveState Komodo (No longer has a GUI builder) *

* Anjuta * AutoIt3 *

C++Builder C++Builder is a rapid application development (RAD) environment for developing software in the C++ programming language. Originally developed by Borland, it is owned by Embarcadero Technologies, a subsidiary of Idera. C++Builder can compile ...

* Clarion * Code::Blocks * CodeLite *

dBase dBase (also stylized dBASE) was one of the first database management systems for microcomputers and the most successful in its day. The dBase system included the core database engine, a query system, a Form (programming), forms engine, and a pr ...

* Delphi/RAD Studio * Embedded Wizard *

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

* Gambas * IntelliJ IDEA *

InForm Inform is a programming language and design system for interactive fiction originally created in 1993 by Graham Nelson. Inform can generate programs designed for the Z-machine, Z-code or Glulx virtual machines. Versions 1 through 5 were released ...

JDeveloper JDeveloper is a freeware IDE supplied by Oracle Corporation. It offers features for development in Java, XML, SQL and PL/SQL, HTML, JavaScript, BPEL and PHP. JDeveloper covers the full development lifecycle from design through coding, debug ...

* KDevelop * LabWindows/CVI * LANSA * Lazarus *

Liberty BASIC Liberty BASIC (LB) is a commercial computer programming language and integrated development environment (IDE). It has an BASIC interpreter, interpreter, developed in Smalltalk, which recognizes its own Programming language#Dialects, flavors and ...

* Microsoft Visual Studio * MonoDevelop * MSEide+MSEgui * MyEclipse *

NetBeans NetBeans is an integrated development environment (IDE) for Java (programming language), Java. NetBeans allows applications to be developed from a set of modular software components called ''modules''. NetBeans runs on Microsoft Windows, Windows, ...

* OutSystems * PascalABC.NET * Projucer * Purebasic *

* SharpDevelop * Softwell Maker * U++ * VB6 * WinFBE *

* Xojo