What is PicoPixel?
A browser-based visual design tool purpose-built for embedded user interfaces powered by LVGL.
Drag and drop widgets onto a pixel-perfect canvas, style them visually, wire up event handlers with a visual events editor, manage reusable assets, and export production-ready C code for your target platform. Think of it as Figma for embedded UIs.
Everything runs in the browser with nothing to install. PicoPixel is free to use.
Buttons, sliders, switches, arcs, charts, dropdowns, rollers, checkboxes, text areas, tabviews, containers, images
Wire up interactions without writing C code
WebAssembly-powered, pixel-for-pixel hardware preview
Live cursors, annotations, shareable simulator links
Granular session history with one-click rollback
Clean LVGL 8.x code for ESP32, STM32, RP2040, and more
Standing on the shoulders of giants
None of this would exist without LVGL and the incredible work of the LVGL team in making the library fully open-source. Their decision to keep LVGL free and accessible is what made it possible for tools like PicoPixel to exist in the first place.
We're deeply grateful to everyone who contributes to the LVGL ecosystem: the core maintainers, the community members filing issues and writing drivers, and every developer who chooses to build with it. Thank you.
The LVGL team reached out with nothing but kind words and congratulations when PicoPixel launched.
They welcomed the project as a positive addition to the ecosystem and expressed genuine excitement about more tooling being built around LVGL.
We received a nasty email from one of their staff recently.
We won't reproduce the contents here, but felt it was worth noting the contrast in how different members of the community chose to respond.
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
From canvas to hardware in six steps.
Design
Drag LVGL widgets onto a pixel-perfect canvas and style them visually.
Wire interactions
Connect button presses to screen navigation, slider changes to label updates. No C code.
Preview
See your UI in a live LVGL simulator powered by WebAssembly. The actual rendering engine, not a mock-up.
Export
Generate production-ready LVGL C code (.c and .h files) with no proprietary dependencies.
Flash
Add exported files to your ESP-IDF, Arduino, or PlatformIO project and flash to hardware.
Iterate
Collaborate with your team in real time using built-in version control.
A note from Ed
I'm currently building an instrument display cluster and spend a good chunk of my time between Tokyo and Shenzhen. If you're building hardware or happen to be in either city, I'd love to grab a drink and talk shop.
Before PicoPixel, I spent a few years at one of the largest brokerage firms. I also spent some time at an Apple-acquired startup where I worked on a couple of Watch prototypes. That's where the itch to get back closer to hardware started, and eventually led to building this.
I'd love to hear about what you're building and the changes you'd like to see in PicoPixel. Don't be a stranger.
Open beta
Honest about where we are.
PicoPixel is in open beta and currently built and maintained by a solo developer. The widget set is growing actively, LVGL v9.x support is planned, and new features ship regularly, including the recently launched Animation mode with timeline-based keyframing.
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.
Start Building Your LVGL Interface, for Free
Design embedded UIs visually, preview in a live LVGL simulator, and export production-ready C code. No installation. No credit card. Open PicoPixel in your browser and start designing.
Get Started. It's Free!