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title: Slint: Creating Reusable UI Libraries with Rust Crates
description: An explanation of how to build reusable UI component libraries for the Slint UI framework using Rust crates. The author, who implemented the underlying...
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og:description: An explanation of how to build reusable UI component libraries for the Slint UI framework using Rust crates. The author, who implemented the underlying...
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# Slint: Creating Reusable UI Libraries with Rust Crates

**[KDAB Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/kdab)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

An explanation of how to build reusable UI component libraries for the Slint UI framework using Rust crates. The author, who implemented the underlying feature, walks through the experimental module build support merged into Slint 1.14 (and carried forward into 1.16), covering how to configure build.rs, export types and components from a library crate, use the exported components via @Import syntax in .slint files, and how Slint global singleton components are instantiated across crate dependencies. Known limitations remain, such as globals from a shared dependency being instantiated multiple times when included by two other crates.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.kdab.com/building-reusable-slint-ui-libraries-with-rust-crates>

## Questions this post answers

### How do I build a reusable UI component library for Slint using a Rust crate?

Enable the experimental module build feature via slint-build/experimental-module-builds, configure build.rs to mark the crate as a library (no MainWindow, with pub types), add the crate as a dependency in Cargo.toml, and import its exported types in a .slint file using an @MyLibrary style import that the slint-compiler resolves through Cargo-set environment variables.

_Developers wiring up Slint crate libraries can track framework changes like this on daily.dev._

### Which Slint release added support for exporting components from a compiled Rust crate to be used by another crate?

Slint 1.14 merged the experimental module build feature, implemented via pull request 9329, allowing exported components and types from previously compiled Rust code to be reused in other Slint applications. The feature must be explicitly enabled and remains experimental as of the 1.16 release.

_Track Slint's evolving crate-based UI tooling on daily.dev as it moves toward stable support._

### What is the current limitation with Slint global singleton components when multiple crates share a common dependency?

When two crates, such as crate A and crate B, both depend on a shared crate C, the Slint global components defined in crate C get instantiated twice instead of once. This edge case in global component creation and initialization has not yet been fully resolved in the experimental module build implementation.

_Rust developers composing Slint UI libraries can follow fixes to this on daily.dev._

---

Tags: [#rust](https://daily.dev/tags/rust), [#build-systems](https://daily.dev/tags/build-systems)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/slint-creating-reusable-ui-libraries-with-rust-crates-09j94j6rj)

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