About PicoPixel

What is PicoPixel?

PicoPixel is a browser-based visual design tool purpose-built for embedded user interfaces powered by LVGL. Drag and drop widgets onto a pixel-perfect canvas — buttons, labels, sliders, switches, arcs, charts, dropdowns, rollers, checkboxes, text areas, tabviews, containers, and images — style them visually, wire up event handlers with a visual events editor, manage reusable assets (widgets, images, fonts, and colors), and export production-ready C code for your target platform. Think of it as Figma for embedded UIs.

Key capabilities include real-time collaboration with live cursors and annotations, a live LVGL simulator powered by WebAssembly that renders your design pixel-for-pixel as it will appear on hardware, built-in version control with granular session history, shareable simulator links for stakeholder reviews, and typography management tools. Everything runs in the browser with nothing to install.

PicoPixel generates standard LVGL 8.x C code that runs on any platform with an LVGL port — including ESP32, STM32, Arduino, Raspberry Pi Pico, NXP, Renesas, and Linux-based systems. The exported code works with ESP-IDF, Arduino IDE, and PlatformIO. Whether you are prototyping a smart home panel, building an industrial HMI, or designing the UI for a handheld device, PicoPixel gives you the same visual workflow that web designers take for granted. PicoPixel is free to use — including for commercial projects.

Why We Built It

Building UIs for embedded devices has traditionally meant hand-coding pixel coordinates and wrestling with low-level graphics libraries — write C code, flash, check the display, adjust, flash again. We believe embedded developers deserve the same visual design experience that web and mobile developers enjoy. PicoPixel bridges that gap with a drag-and-drop editor, a live simulator that shows exactly how your UI will render on hardware, and a collaborative workflow that lets teams design together in real time.

How It Works

PicoPixel turns LVGL development from a code-first process into a visual drag-and-drop workflow. The process breaks down into six steps: Design your interface by dragging LVGL widgets onto a pixel-perfect canvas and styling them visually. Wire up interactions using the visual events editor — connect button presses to screen navigation, slider changes to label updates, and more, all without writing C code. Preview your UI in a live LVGL simulator powered by WebAssembly — the actual rendering engine, not a mock-up. Export production-ready LVGL C code (.c and .h files) with no proprietary dependencies. Integrate and flash by adding the exported files to your ESP-IDF, Arduino, or PlatformIO project. Finally, collaborate and iterate with your team in real time using built-in version control. See the full step-by-step walkthrough.

How PicoPixel Compares

The three main visual editors for LVGL are PicoPixel, SquareLine Studio, and EEZ Studio. PicoPixel is browser-based with zero installation, while SquareLine Studio and EEZ Studio are desktop applications. PicoPixel is the only LVGL editor with real-time collaborative editing, built-in version control, and shareable simulator preview links. It is free with no feature restrictions — including for commercial use — compared to SquareLine Studio's paid tiers or EEZ Studio's open-source (GPL-3.0) model.

PicoPixel exports clean LVGL C code without extra boilerplate or proprietary dependencies. It currently supports LVGL 8.x with v9.x planned. Widget coverage is growing as PicoPixel is in open beta — SquareLine Studio and EEZ Studio both have more extensive widget libraries today. EEZ Studio additionally offers visual flow-based programming (EEZ Flow) and is fully open source. SquareLine Studio has a larger established community and more platform-specific documentation. See the full side-by-side comparison.

Open Beta & Limitations

PicoPixel is in open beta and currently built and maintained by a solo developer, Ed. The widget set is growing actively, LVGL v9.x support is planned, and some features like animations and transitions are still on the roadmap. There may be temporary limitations as the infrastructure scales. Your patience and feedback mean the world — if you run into anything, don't hesitate to reach out.

Get in Touch

Have questions, ideas, or want to partner with us? We'd love to hear from you. Reach out via our contact page.