Show HN: Generate Web Interfaces from Data
Syntux is a new generative UI library for React and Next.js that leverages large language models to dynamically create web interfaces from data. Instead of generating source code, it produces a consistent, cacheable "React Interface Schema" (RIS), which enables streamable and reusable UIs. This project appeals to Hacker News's interest in innovative AI applications for developer tools, offering a novel approach to frontend development challenges.
The Lowdown
Syntux is presented as a novel generative UI library for web development, specifically tailored for React and Next.js environments. Developed by puffinsoft, this library aims to streamline UI creation by using large language models (LLMs) to dynamically generate user interfaces based on provided data, emphasizing consistency and flexibility.
- Generative Approach: Syntux doesn't generate raw source code; instead, it outputs a "React Interface Schema" (RIS), a JSON-DSL, which defines the UI structure. This schema is then hydrated and rendered by the library.
- LLM Integration: It integrates with various LLM providers via the Vercel AI SDK, allowing developers to use models like Anthropic's Claude to interpret data and design appropriate UIs.
- Key Features: The library boasts features like streamable UI generation, enabling progressive display; support for custom React components for enhanced flexibility; and cacheability of generated UIs based on the RIS, promoting reusability and efficiency.
- API Usage: Developers primarily interact with a
<GeneratedUI />component, passing data (value), an LLMmodel, and optional hints. It also supports custom actions that bind server-side logic to UI events. - Optimization & Philosophy: Syntux is designed to be token-efficient, minimizing generation costs. It explicitly discourages generating state directly, advocating for wrapping non-stateful components with custom stateful ones.
- RIS Structure: The React Interface Schema is a flat list of JSON objects, allowing for progressive UI construction and streaming. It uses
idandparentIdto reconstruct the UI tree and binds to data properties for reusability.
By offering a structured, LLM-powered approach to UI generation that prioritizes schema-based output over source code, syntux provides a unique tool for developers looking to automate and standardize their frontend workflows while maintaining control and performance.