DEV Community: Hisa Araki

ACR is designed as a printer-independent report rendering service, not just a library.

Hisa Araki — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 14:32:27 +0000

Introduction

I have added an HTTP interface to the report engine ACR (Across Report Renderer).

By making ACR available over HTTP, it can be used as a rendering service independent from the application.

Previously, report systems had to be implemented separately depending on the development environment (Desktop, Web), OS, and runtime environment.
With ACR, you can now generate PDF / PNG / HTML simply by sending a template and data.

What you can do

• Generate reports via HTTP
• Language-independent (HTTP-based)
• Can be called from Node.js / C# / Python / Java
• Output formats: PDF / PNG / HTML (PNG embedded in HTML)
• Test directly from a browser (Web UI included)
• Runs on Windows / Linux / macOS
• Can run as a service (daemon) on all supported OS

⸻

Start

./acr_http

You can also specify port and template directory:

./acr_http --port 9000 --templates /opt/acr/templates

Web UI

Open the following in your browser:

http://localhost:8765/

curl（PDF）

curl -X POST http://localhost:8765/render/pdf \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "template": "invoice",
    "data": {
      "items": [
        { "name": "Apple", "price": 100 },
        { "name": "Orange", "price": 200 }
      ]
    }
  }' \
  --output out.pdf

curl（PNG）

curl -X POST http://localhost:8765/render/png \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "template": "invoice", "data": { "items": [] } }' \
  --output out.png

curl (HTML)

curl -X POST http://localhost:8765/render/html \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "template": "invoice", "data": { "items": [] } }'

Running as a service

Windows

acr_http.exe --install
sc start AcrHttpServer

Linux (systemd)

systemctl enable acr_http
systemctl start  acr_http

macOS

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.acrossreport.acr_http.plist

Architecture

• Rust-based engine
• Rendering with Skia
• Runs as an HTTP server
• Template and data are separated

⸻

Summary

The HTTP version is already released for evaluation.
• Command-line renderer: acr-cli
• Report designer: acr-designer
• RPX converter for ActiveReports: rpx2json
⸻

Roadmap

The following features are planned:
• WebAssembly (WASM) support for browser execution
• Receipt printer support (ESC/POS)
• Support for printer command languages (ZPL / SBPL / TPCL)

This will extend ACR beyond server-side usage to embedded devices, edge environments, and browsers.

Download

https://github.com/acrossreport

I built a pixel-perfect, printer-independent report designer with Avalonia UI

Hisa Araki — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 06:09:25 +0000

I’ve released ACR Designer, a WYSIWYG report designer for the ACR (Across Report Renderer) engine.

It focuses on pixel-perfect layout and printer-independent rendering.

Key features:

WYSIWYG report designer
Pixel-perfect layout (dot-level accuracy)
Printer-independent rendering
Built with C# and Avalonia UI
Runs natively on Windows and macOS

GitHub:
https://github.com/acrossreport/acr-designer

This is my first time building a full cross-platform desktop application with Avalonia, and I was impressed by how smoothly it works across platforms.

Feedback is welcome.

Personal Note

I’ve also released the macOS version of ACR Designer.

At 66, this project has been an incredibly valuable learning experience for me.

I truly appreciate all the support, and I’ll keep improving it whenever I can.

I built a pixel-perfect, printer-independent report designer with Avalonia UI

Hisa Araki — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:17:00 +0000

I’ve released ACR Designer, a WYSIWYG report designer for the ACR (Across Report Renderer) engine.

It focuses on pixel-perfect layout and printer-independent rendering.

Key features:

WYSIWYG report designer
Pixel-perfect layout (dot-level accuracy)
Printer-independent rendering
Built with C# and Avalonia UI
Runs natively on Windows and macOS

GitHub:
https://github.com/acrossreport/acr-designer

This is my first time building a full cross-platform desktop application with Avalonia, and I was impressed by how smoothly it works across platforms.

Feedback is welcome.

Why I built a pixel-perfect report engine with Rust and Skia

Hisa Araki — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 02:23:19 +0000

Introduction

For many years, I have been working on business systems where report generation is a critical component.

However, I repeatedly encountered the same problems:

Layout differences depending on printer drivers
OS-specific rendering inconsistencies
Difficulty achieving true WYSIWYG output

These issues are not new, but they are still not fully solved.

The Problem

In traditional report systems, rendering often depends on external components such as printer drivers or OS-level graphics APIs.

This leads to:

Slight layout shifts
Inconsistent text measurement
Different output between environments

For business reports, even small differences can be unacceptable.

The Approach

To solve this, I designed a report engine with the following principles:

Fully deterministic layout
Pixel-perfect rendering
No dependency on printer drivers
Cross-platform consistency

The engine directly controls rendering using Skia.

Why Rust

I chose Rust for:

Memory safety
Predictable performance
Strong control over low-level behavior

This is important for a rendering engine where consistency is critical.

Technical Highlights

Layout engine with pre-calculated positioning
Pagination control
Consistent font measurement
Rendering abstraction over Skia

Result

The engine produces identical output (PDF / PNG) across environments.

Repository

https://github.com/acrossreport

Closing

If you are interested in rendering engines, Skia, or cross-platform layout systems, I would appreciate your feedback.