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Architecture

Kanvas connects an ordinary Kotlin desktop application to a native rendering runtime.

Kotlin / Compose application
            |
            v
      Kanvas Gradle plugin
            |
            +--> runtime provisioning
            +--> diagnostics
            +--> Java/Skiko interception
            +--> capture / takeover
            |
            v
       renderer model
            |
            v
       native C/JNI
            |
   Metal / Vulkan / OpenGL / D3D9

Gradle plugin​

The Gradle plugin is the normal user entry point. It owns setup checks, runtime provisioning, application task integration, packaging, and configuration.

JVM instrumentation​

The integration agent attaches to supported Compose Desktop / Skiko rendering paths.

Modern Skiko support includes capturing the final picture-replay boundary so the final recorded Compose frame can be presented through Kanvas.

Renderer layer​

Kotlin-side renderer/display-list code describes higher-level drawing operations without tying application code directly to Metal, Vulkan, OpenGL, or Direct3D.

Native runtime​

The native C/JNI runtime owns platform-specific presentation, graphics APIs, native window attachment, and related lower-level behavior.

Zero-edit adapter​

The source repository also contains a compatibility adapter for testing Kanvas against another Gradle repository without permanently editing that target project. The Gradle plugin remains the normal integration path.