Wombat

Wombat is a scientific calculator for GNU/Linux using Numbat programming language. It keeps a live Numbat interpreter session in memory and shows the full output history in a scrollable log. Written in Rust, it uses GTK4+libadwaita and fully supports desktop and mobile devices running GNU/Linux.

For Android and iOS, also see Numbat-app, a cross-platform app by Numbat's creator, providing similar functionality.

Features

• High-precision scientific calculations powered by Numbat
• Physical units and dimensional analysis, including natural unit conversions
• Persistent live interpreter session for variables, functions, and imports
• Scrollable, syntax-highlighted calculation history
• Automatic completion suggestions for variables, functions, units, and constants
• Tappable/clickable suggestions for touch and pointer workflows
• Quick operator buttons for +, -, *, /, and ^
• Quick-insert buttons for common physical constants
• Units, constants, and functions browsers with click-to-insert entries
• Custom startup definitions for your own variables, units, and functions
• Sidebar actions for syntax help, examples, reset, clear, fullscreen, and shortcuts
• Mobile-friendly responsive layout with touch-friendly controls
• Flatpak-friendly GTK/libadwaita interface for Linux desktops

Planned features

See Planned features.

How to install?

Arch Linux

Available on the AUR:

yay -S wombat

Other distros (Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, and more)

Published on the Flathub app store:

Here is how to set up Flathub on your distro so that you can install this app.

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How to build from source?

You need:

• Rust stable toolchain
• GTK 4 development files
• libadwaita development files
• pkg-config
• git

On Debian/Ubuntu, this is usually enough:

sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libgtk-4-dev libadwaita-1-dev git

If you are using GNOME Builder, install it first and let it pull the platform dependencies it needs. For Builder/Flatpak, open the Flatpak manifest and use its simple buildsystem.

Important: Cargo vs System Libraries

Cargo can install Rust crates, but it does not install native C libraries like GTK4 and libadwaita. The Rust crates (gtk4, libadwaita) are bindings and still require the platform development packages through pkg-config.

So you have two practical options:

• Native host build (APT packages plus Cargo)
• Flatpak/Builder build (GNOME runtime provides newer GTK/libadwaita)

For Debian packaging, this repository also includes a debian/ directory that builds against the system librust-numbat-dev crate when packaged there.

Build And Run

From the project directory:

cargo run

If you want a release build:

cargo run --release

Test Without GNOME Builder

You can test entirely from terminal in two ways.

Option A: Native host run (fastest)

If your host has compatible GTK/libadwaita dev packages:

cargo run

If build fails with pkg-config errors (missing gtk4.pc or graphene-gobject-1.0.pc), use Option B.

Option B: Flatpak terminal run (Builder-free, newer stack)

Install runtimes once:

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Platform//50 org.gnome.Sdk//50 org.freedesktop.Sdk.Extension.rust-stable//25.08

Build and install locally:

flatpak-builder --user --install --force-clean .flatpak-build io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat.json

Run it:

flatpak run io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat

If you modify code and want a rebuild:

flatpak-builder --user --install --force-clean .flatpak-build io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat.json
flatpak run io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat

GNOME Builder

1. Open GNOME Builder.
2. Choose Open Project.
3. Select this folder.
4. Open the Flatpak manifest io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat.json.
5. Build and run from inside Builder.

The manifest uses org.gnome.Platform + org.gnome.Sdk, a Rust SDK extension, and a simple buildsystem module that runs Cargo directly. That lets Builder build against the GNOME runtime even if your host APT versions are older.

If needed, install the runtimes manually:

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Platform//50 org.gnome.Sdk//50 org.freedesktop.Sdk.Extension.rust-stable//25.08

You can also build from terminal with Flatpak tools:

flatpak-builder --user --install --force-clean .flatpak-build io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat.json
flatpak run io.github.archisman_panigrahi.wombat

Builder-friendly app metadata files are included in data/ and installed by the manifest.

Module Paths

At startup the app looks for Numbat modules in:

• NUMBAT_MODULES_PATH if it is set
• $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/numbat/modules or ~/.config/numbat/modules
• /usr/share/numbat/modules
• Numbat’s built-in module set

The environment variable follows Numbat’s own convention and can contain a colon-separated list of directories on Linux.

Example:

export NUMBAT_MODULES_PATH="$HOME/.config/numbat/modules:/opt/numbat/modules"
cargo run