Blog

This is a bug fix only release to address some issues early adopters stumbled over.

You can download it now from here.

Objo Studio should also check automatically for updates or you can force a check from Settings > General > Updates > Check Now.

Fixes

• Incorrect position of settings menu item corrected
• Menu editor appearance in dark mode fixed
• Can nowclose the Solution Chooser window on macOS
• Fixed a crash with constants in Window objects
• Changing the window size in the designer now updates the bounds rectangle
• Hiding / showing the sidebar remembers the splitter position
• Moving UI controls now updates the inspector values live
• Left & Top properties of controls now accept negative values

Hot on the heels of Objo Studio's debut, I have another announcement to make:

https://feedback.objo.dev

Feedback is a small web app that lists all bugs and feature requests currently being tracked for Objo. It's a way of being transparent about Objo's development.

If there's something you'd like to see in Objo or if you've found a bug please reach out to us so we can implement or fix it. The easiest way to log feedback is by clicking the Feedback button on Objo Studio's toolbar:

This will take you straight to the forums which is the preferred place to log these things. The Feedback web app is deliberately read-only. When you log a bug or feature request on the forum or via email/social media you'll get back a direct URL to the issue so you can track it if you like. No need for logins or any other faff.

Welcome to Objo Studio.

Objo Studio is a new development environment for building desktop and command line apps. It has a visual designer, a debugger, a compiler, and a modern BASIC-like language called ObjoBasic. The aim is simple: make it enjoyable to build real applications for macOS, Windows and Linux without needing to assemble half the internet before you can put a button on a window.

I've been working on Objo in one shape or form form since about 2019. I've always loved tools that let you move quickly from idea to working prototype, that abstract a lot of complexity and get out of your way. Companies have tried this before - VisualBasic (abandoned by Microsoft) and Xojo (bloated, very expensive and buggy) are just two examples. Objo Studio is a personal passion project and seeks to make the art of programming fun and approachable for both newcomers and experienced users.

Somewhere along the way, simple desktop app development became hard to find. Plenty of modern tools are powerful, but they often assume you already want a build pipeline, a package ecosystem, a pile of configuration, and have a strong opinion about tabs versus spaces. Alternatively, there is a growing cult around "vibe coding" which, whilst cool and useful, misses the fact that the world needs programmers who understand what is being written under the hood.

Objo Studio is an attempt to bring back some of simplicity of building apps without pretending the last couple of decades did not happen. ObjoBasic is statically typed. It's IDE has a proper debugger. The goal is not nostalgia for its own sake; it is approachability with modern bones.

In practical terms, Objo Studio is for people who want to build desktop software without turning the process into a ceremony. That might be a small business tool, a school project, an internal utility, a hobby app, a command line tool, or the thing you have been meaning to make for years but never quite found the right environment for.

It is early. Some edges will be sharp. Some features will arrive in the wrong order. Some bugs will have the decency to reveal themselves immediately, and others will wait until the worst possible moment because software enjoys drama.

But our direction is clear:

• Desktop apps should be approachable.
• Readable code still matters.
• Visual design tools are useful, not embarrassing.
• Cross-platform should actually mean cross-platform.
• Your development tool should mostly get out of your way.

If that sounds like your sort of thing then welcome. Download Objo Studio, poke around, break something harmless, and let us know what you find on the forums.

This blog will be where we'll be sharing what is changing, what is coming next, and what we are learning as Objo Studio grows from "promising new tool" into something people can depend on.

For now, go and build something cool 😀