Roadmap

Nucleus 2.0 provides the runtime and packaging foundation. Later releases add OS-integration modules for capabilities that JVM desktop apps otherwise reach through JavaScript or hand-written native code. This page lists what has shipped, what is planned, and what is still speculative.

Shipped in 2.0

• nucleusApplication { } unified entry point — single-instance, deep links, AOT, GraalVM init, AutoLaunch priming, Windows AUMID — all automatic.
• Tao backend — Wayland-native, multi-touch, pen pressure + tilt, native popups, embedded NativeView, drag-and-drop with diagnostics.
• 18 packaging formats from one Gradle DSL.
• updater-runtime — electron-builder-compatible auto-update, channels, post-update detection.
• GraalVM Native Image — end-to-end packaging pipeline (DMG, NSIS, DEB), static bytecode reflection analyzer, per-library reachability metadata.
• macOS Liquid Glass on SDK 26 — vtool patching means any JDK works.
• 40+ runtime modules: notifications, system tray, global hotkeys, media controls, taskbar progress, energy manager, system info, scheduler, autolaunch, dark mode, system color, native SSL, native HTTP, filesystem watcher, decorated windows with four toolkits.

Shipped in 2.1

Tooling and native-image work, no new runtime modules:

• GraalVM Community Edition is the default toolchain (from 2.1.7) — auto-downloaded and cached; no redistribution-for-a-fee clause. Opt into Oracle GraalVM for PGO, -O3, ML-inferred profiles, and advanced obfuscation. Only the deprecated AWT backend still needs a local BellSoft Liberica NIK install for AWT/Swing native-image support.
• Compose Hot Reload — works out of the box. Apply the org.jetbrains.compose.hot-reload plugin and run hotRun; Nucleus resolves the entry point from nucleus.application.mainClass. Supported on the AWT and Tao backends.
• Profile-Guided Optimization — record a profile with runWithPgoInstrument, commit it, and later full native builds apply it automatically. Oracle GraalVM only.
• Smaller native images — optimization = NativeImageOptimization.SIZE (-Os), type-safe march, automatic executable stripping, desktop-appropriate max heap, and advanced obfuscation (Oracle).
• CPU-portable AOT cache by default (metadata-only) with an explicit aotCache { } block.
• CompressionLevel.Ultra — extra post-processing recompression (LZMA DMG, xz -9e DEB) for smaller installers.
• --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED in default JVM args and native images for JDK 24+ (JEP 472).

Shipped in 2.2

Window chrome, accessibility, and tooling parity:

• Window scaffold and chrome primitives — WindowScaffold with TitleBarPlacement.Docked / Overlay, windowDragArea / noWindowDrag, WindowControls, macOS windowGlassRegion, Windows 11 WindowsBackdrop (Mica / Acrylic / MicaAlt), WindowBackground, WindowAppearance. See Window scaffold.
• Full-window transparency on Tao — DecoratedWindow(transparent = true) for ghost overlays (pair with undecorated).
• AccessKit on Windows — Windows and Linux share the AccessKit accessibility path (UIA + AT-SPI).
• GraalVM task surface aligned with the JVM pipeline — runGraalvmNative (quick-build), createGraalvmNativeDistributable, runGraalvmNativeDistributable, packageGraalvmNativeDistributionForCurrentOS.
• Type-safe garbage collector selection — GarbageCollector on the JVM path and NativeImageGarbageCollector for native images.
• NucleusApplicationScope implements Compose ApplicationScope — libraries scoped to plain ApplicationScope resolve inside nucleusApplication { }.
• Scheme-only deep links (myapp:?query=…), consistent macOS .app bundle names, native GTK CSD shadow.

Coming next

Security and identity modules (still planned; not part of the 2.2.0 window/tooling release):

OS-level events and IO:

Under consideration

Speculative — no commitment, no ETA. Open an issue if you want one of these earlier:

Influence the order

Open an issue describing your use case, link a sample app that needs the module, or sponsor a specific platform's implementation. Native modules are bounded mostly by JNI bridge complexity per OS — the more people that need one, the sooner it ships.

What's next

• Changelog — released versions and what each one contains.
• Modules — how runtime modules are structured and added to a build.
• Ecosystem — the modules available today.