Pure Go 2D Graphics Library with GPU Acceleration: Introducing gogpu/gg

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Update (December 2025): gogpu/gg v0.14.0 released! Alpha masks, fluent PathBuilder, streaming I/O, and io.Closer support. Part of the 214K LOC Pure Go ecosystem.

When I discovered that fogleman/gg — the beloved 2D graphics library for Go — hadn't been updated since 2019, I knew the Go community needed a successor. Today, I'm excited to announce gogpu/gg v0.14.0 — a modern, GPU-accelerated 2D graphics library inspired by fogleman/gg.

The Journey

It all started with a Reddit discussion about the state of graphics and GUI development in Go. The community's frustration was clear: Go deserves better graphics support.

So we built it.

What is gogpu/gg?

gogpu/gg is a Pure Go 2D graphics library designed for:

• IDEs (GoLand, VS Code level performance)
• Browsers (Chrome-level rendering)
• Professional graphics applications

Key Features

Quick Start

package main

import (
    "github.com/gogpu/gg"
    "github.com/gogpu/gg/text"
)

func main() {
    ctx := gg.NewContext(512, 512)
    ctx.ClearWithColor(gg.White)

    // Draw shapes
    ctx.SetColor(gg.Hex("#3498db"))
    ctx.DrawCircle(256, 256, 100)
    ctx.Fill()

    // Load font and draw text
    source, _ := text.NewFontSourceFromFile("arial.ttf")
    defer source.Close()

    ctx.SetFont(source.Face(32))
    ctx.SetColor(gg.Black)
    ctx.DrawString("Hello, GoGPU!", 180, 260)

    ctx.SavePNG("output.png")
}

Fluent PathBuilder (v0.14.0)

// Method chaining for complex paths
path := gg.BuildPath().
    Circle(100, 100, 50).
    Star(200, 100, 40, 20, 5).
    RoundedRect(50, 150, 100, 80, 10).
    Build()

ctx.SetColor(gg.Hex("#e74c3c"))
ctx.DrawPath(path)
ctx.Fill()

Architecture: Sparse Strips

GPU acceleration uses the Sparse Strips algorithm — the same approach used by vello:

Path → CPU Tessellation → Strips → GPU Rasterization → Compositing

• CPU handles complex path math (curves, intersections)
• GPU handles parallel pixel processing
• Minimal data transfer (strips are compact)

The GoGPU Ecosystem

gogpu/gg is part of a larger Pure Go GPU Computing Ecosystem:

Total: ~214K lines of Pure Go — no CGO, no Rust, no C.

wgpu Backends

The Pure Go WebGPU implementation supports multiple backends:

Version History

What's Next?

• v0.15.0: GPU text rendering (glyph atlas, SDF fonts)
• v1.0.0: Production release with stable API
• gogpu/ui: Signals-based GUI toolkit (in planning)

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to:

• @fogleman for the original gg that inspired this project
• The vello team for Sparse Strips research
• The Go community on r/golang

Links

• GitHub: https://github.com/gogpu/gg
• GoGPU Organization: https://github.com/gogpu
• Discussion: Join the conversation
• v0.14.0 Release: gogpu/gg v0.14.0

Star the repo if you find it useful! Contributions welcome.

go get github.com/gogpu/gg@v0.14.0