When to Use
- Choose Makepad widgets or diagnose widget properties, list virtualization, dialogs or custom drawing in an existing Makepad project.
- Establish the exact dependency revision and DSL first; these imported dev-branch notes are not a stable 2.0 API contract or a compiled example suite. Check the matching official Makepad source before changing a working project.
Makepad 2.0 Widget Catalog Skill
Version: makepad-widgets (dev branch) | Last Updated: 2026-03-03
Overview
Makepad 2.0 provides a rich set of built-in widgets for building UIs. These notes describe a Splash/script_mod-style project; do not assume they apply to every released or older Live DSL project.
Documentation
Refer to the local files for detailed documentation:
./references/widget-catalog.md - Complete widget list with properties
./references/widget-advanced.md - Advanced patterns: PortalList, Dock, custom widgets, MapView
IMPORTANT: Documentation Completeness Check
Before answering questions, Claude MUST:
- Read the relevant reference file(s) listed above
- Incorporate reference content into the answer
Widget Categories Quick Reference
Containers (Layout)
Text Widgets
Buttons
Toggles
Input Widgets
Media
Layout Helpers
Lists
Navigation
Dock System
The snippets are illustrative and omit app registration/event wiring. Numeric input and password masking are presentation controls, not validation, encryption or authorization. Treat external Markdown/HTML, SVG, image URLs and map tiles as untrusted resources; restrict allowed schemes/hosts, bound decoding, honor asset licenses/attribution and verify privacy before enabling network fetches. Do not log text-input contents. Test keyboard navigation, focus return/trapping for modals, readable contrast and touch behavior.
Critical Rules
1. height: Fit on Containers
// Possible Fill/Fit constraint mismatch; inspect the parent chain
View{ flow: Down Label{text: "Invisible"} }
// CORRECT
View{ height: Fit flow: Down Label{text: "Visible"} }
2. new_batch for Colored Containers with Text
// WRONG - text behind background
RoundedView{ draw_bg.color: #333 Label{text: "Invisible"} }
// CORRECT
RoundedView{ new_batch: true draw_bg.color: #333 Label{text: "Visible"} }
3. Named Children with :=
// Named (addressable, overridable)
title := Label{text: "Hello"}
// Static (not addressable)
Label{text: "Hello"}
4. Label Default Color is White
// Default text is white (#fff) - set color for light backgrounds
Label{text: "Dark text" draw_text.color: #333}
5. MapView MUST Have Fixed Height
// WRONG
MapView{ width: Fill height: Fill }
// CORRECT
View{ new_batch: true width: Fill height: 400
MapView{ width: Fill height: 400 center_lat: 40.7 center_lon: -73.9 zoom: 14.0 }
}
6. Label Does NOT Support Animator
// WRONG (silently ignored)
Label{ animator: Animator{...} }
// CORRECT - wrap in View
View{ animator: Animator{...} Label{text: "Animated"} }
Common Widget Patterns
Card
RoundedView{
width: Fill height: Fit
padding: 16
new_batch: true
draw_bg.color: #2a2a3d
draw_bg.border_radius: 8.0
flow: Down spacing: 8
title := Label{text: "Title" draw_text.color: #fff draw_text.text_style.font_size: 16}
body := Label{text: "Content" draw_text.color: #aaa}
}
Form Input
View{
width: Fill height: Fit
flow: Down spacing: 4
Label{text: "Email" draw_text.color: #aaa draw_text.text_style.font_size: 11}
email_input := TextInput{
width: Fill height: 36
empty_text: "Enter email..."
}
}
Scrollable List
ScrollYView{
width: Fill height: Fill
flow: Down spacing: 4
new_batch: true
on_render: || {
for i, item in items {
ItemTemplate{label.text: item.name}
}
}
}
Best Practices
- Use
height: Fit on every container unless you want Fill or fixed pixels
- Use
new_batch: true on any View with background color + text children
- Use
:= for children you need to reference or override
- Use theme colors (
theme.color_*) instead of hardcoded colors
- Use
PortalList for large lists (virtualizes rendering)
- Use
ScrollYView for scrollable content areas
- Use
RoundedView for cards and containers (has border_radius)
Examples
User: Apply this skill to my current task.
Assistant: Follow the workflow in this skill, cite limitations, and ask before risky steps.
Limitations
- Imported upstream skill; verify credentials, permissions, and safety boundaries before execution.
- Does not replace environment-specific validation, testing, or maintainer review.