Open-source alternatives to Nannou

Lygia is a GLSL shader library providing a specialized suite of tools for color science, image filtering, noise generation, and implicit surface geometry. It serves as a collection of reusable functions for fragment shaders to handle color space conversion, image processing, and geometric rendering. The project is distinguished by its focus on cross-language shader management, allowing reusable functions to be synchronized across different shading languages to ensure consistent graphics behavior across multiple engines. It also implements a system for remote shader dependency resolution, fetc

LMMS is a digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer designed for composing, arranging, and mixing music. It functions as a comprehensive production environment that integrates a MIDI sequencer, a sample-based synthesizer, and an audio mixing console. The project distinguishes itself through a versatile synthesis engine that includes additive synthesis, wavetable generation, and emulations of vintage hardware such as NES audio and FM chips. It also serves as a VST plugin host, allowing for the integration of third-party virtual instruments and audio effects via a standardized interface. Be

This project is a comprehensive reference guide and directory of web browser capabilities. It serves as a technical map for accessing native operating system functions, hardware interfaces, and standard web APIs to bridge the gap between web applications and desktop or mobile environments. The resource provides detailed guidance on implementing Progressive Web App features, including offline caching, push notifications, and native installation prompts. It also catalogs methods for interacting with hardware peripherals via USB, Bluetooth, and NFC, as well as reading raw data from device sensor

Panda3D is a cross-platform game engine and 3D graphics rendering system developed for Python and C++. It functions as a comprehensive framework for building interactive 3D applications, providing a real-time physics simulator and a specialized 3D asset pipeline tool. The engine distinguishes itself by combining a high-performance C++ core with interoperable Python language bindings. It utilizes a scene graph architecture to organize 3D objects and provides a pipeline-based asset conversion system to optimize models and textures for runtime loading. Its capability surface includes low-level

Tixl is a node-based motion graphics engine and procedural generation tool used to create 3D geometry and shaders. It utilizes a directed acyclic graph of operators and GPU-accelerated compute kernels to generate complex 3D shapes, particularly through the use of signed distance functions and particle simulations. The engine is highly extensible via a C# development framework that supports hot code reloading, allowing custom operator logic to be injected into the active runtime without restarting. It further distinguishes itself as a lighting controller, capable of translating 3D spatial attr

LibGDX is a Java-based framework designed for cross-platform game development, enabling the creation and deployment of 2D and 3D games across desktop, mobile, and web environments from a single codebase. It functions as a comprehensive library that abstracts hardware-accelerated graphics, audio, input, and file system access, providing a unified interface for developers to manage game logic and application lifecycles. The framework distinguishes itself through a high-performance architecture that prioritizes efficiency and native interoperability. It utilizes a batch-oriented graphics pipelin

Pts is a TypeScript creative coding library and data visualization framework designed for building generative art and interactive visuals. It functions as a multi-target graphics engine that outputs visual commands to HTML5 Canvas and SVG through a single unified interface. The toolkit serves as a linear algebra visualization tool, providing mathematical primitives for spatial transforms and geometric calculations. This allows for the creation of algorithmic patterns and the simulation of geometric behaviors. The framework covers a broad capability surface including the design of interactive

p5.js is a JavaScript creative coding library and generative art framework. It serves as a web-based graphics engine and a high-level HTML5 Canvas wrapper designed to produce algorithmic imagery and responsive audio-visual experiences. The project provides a simplified sketching API for rendering 2D and 3D graphics directly in a web browser. It enables the creation of interactive animations, generative art, and digital experiences that respond to user input. The library covers a range of applications including interactive data visualization, browser-based multimedia art, and educational prog

css-doodle is a web component for creative coding that renders live CSS-generated patterns and animations directly in the browser. It creates generative art and visual patterns by applying CSS rules to a grid of cells, using the browser's native layout engine for positioning and styling. The component encapsulates its pattern canvas and styling within a custom element's shadow DOM, isolating it from page styles and enabling reusable instances. The tool distinguishes itself by driving pattern configuration through CSS custom properties, allowing dynamic style changes and real-time updates with

Processing is a creative coding environment and Java graphics library designed for writing visual sketches that produce interactive 2D and 3D graphics and animations. It runs on the Java Virtual Machine, using an OpenGL-based hardware-accelerated rendering pipeline, and operates on a sketch-based execution model where programs run as continuous loops of setup and draw functions with event-driven input handling for keyboard, mouse, and window interactions. The environment distinguishes itself as a cross-platform sketch tool that runs visual programs unchanged on desktop, web, Android, and Rasp

Overtone is a Lisp audio synthesis library that provides a programmable environment for designing synthesizers and generating real-time audio. It serves as a digital signal processing framework for live sound programming, integrating an audio sample manager for retrieving and caching sounds from remote repositories and a musical sequence generator for composing melodic and rhythmic structures. The project distinguishes itself through its specialized interfaces for hardware and networking, featuring a dedicated system for routing MIDI data and exchanging Open Sound Control messages between sof

Aubio is an audio analysis and digital signal processing library designed for music information retrieval. It provides a suite of tools for extracting musical features, estimating fundamental frequencies, and tracking rhythmic pulses in audio streams. The library specializes in the detection of pitch and beat, enabling the extraction of musical notes and the estimation of overall tempo. It also includes capabilities for automatic onset detection to identify the start of sonic events and the separation of audio signals into percussive transients and steady-state tonal components. The system c

SFML is a cross-platform multimedia framework for C++ designed for creating 2D graphics, audio, and network applications. It functions as a unified set of libraries that provides a 2D graphics rendering engine, an audio processing library, a network socket library, and a cross-platform window manager. The framework allows for the development of interactive software by coordinating real-time 2D graphics rendering, audio playback, and user input handling. It provides a standardized interface for creating and controlling application windows across multiple operating systems. Its capability surf

react-konva is a declarative React canvas graphics library and 2D vector graphics framework. It serves as a rendering engine and interactive canvas toolset that allows for the drawing and management of complex 2D shapes and graphics using a React component model. The library maps reactive component trees to an underlying object-oriented graphics scene graph, enabling the synchronization of visual states with application data. It provides specialized tools for building interactive graphical interfaces, including support for multi-touch gestures, drag-and-drop functionality, and real-time trans

AudioKit is an audio framework for iOS, macOS, and tvOS that provides tools for digital audio synthesis, signal processing, and audio analysis. It functions as a synthesis engine for generating audio waveforms and textures, a processing library for modifying tonal characteristics, and a toolkit for extracting frequency and amplitude data from sonic signals. The framework utilizes a modular node architecture and graph-based signal routing to connect audio generators, processors, and outputs. It wraps low-level audio primitives in high-level classes to facilitate sound generation and modificati

Magenta is a comprehensive toolkit for training, synthesizing, and performing music through neural models and hardware-integrated engines. It functions as a machine learning framework that enables the generation, manipulation, and real-time performance of audio, providing the structural foundations for musical intelligence through hierarchical sequence modeling and symbolic processing. The project distinguishes itself by enabling real-time, low-latency neural audio synthesis that can be integrated directly into professional digital audio workstations. It supports interactive musical jamming a

This project is an open-source 3D game engine designed for building high-fidelity games, simulations, and cinematic environments. It functions as a robotics simulation platform with native integration for ROS 2 to model robot controllers and sensors. The engine features a multi-threaded Forward+ physically based renderer that supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing and global illumination. The system is built on a modular extension architecture using Gems to add or replace features without modifying core binaries. It includes a native SDK for AWS cloud integration, enabling IAM authenticati

Window handling library in pure Rust

EZAudio is an audio library for Apple platforms that provides standardized interfaces for microphone capture, file playback, and hardware output. It functions as a low-latency audio processor and visualization framework designed to manipulate audio buffers and route signals with minimal delay. The project features a hardware-accelerated waveform renderer for drawing real-time audio amplitudes and rolling plots. It also includes a Fast Fourier Transform analyzer that converts time-domain audio samples into frequency-domain data for spectral analysis. The library covers a broad range of capabi

Macaw is a Swift vector graphics library and animation framework used to create and render scalable geometric shapes and text. It functions as an SVG rendering engine and an interactive vector graphics toolkit for displaying complex artwork while maintaining image quality at any scale. The framework enables the animation of shape properties and node transformations, including the ability to morph one vector path into another. It allows for the integration of external SVG files and the application of linear and radial gradients to fills and strokes. The toolkit covers a range of capabilities

Surge is a polyphonic software synthesizer and VST plugin designed for complex sound generation. It functions as a hybrid synthesis engine, combining subtractive, wavetable, frequency modulation, and physical modeling techniques to produce audio. The project distinguishes itself through extensive microtuning capabilities, supporting non-standard musical scales and intonations via industry-standard tuning files. It also features an Open Sound Control compatible architecture for remote parameter management and hardware synchronization. The system covers a broad range of audio engineering capab

This project is a creative coding showcase and interactive 3D portfolio template. It utilizes JavaScript and ThreeJS to render a navigable browser environment for presenting professional projects and digital artwork. The project implements a WebGL interactive gallery and immersive digital showcases. These environments use hardware-accelerated graphics to provide 3D navigation and creative web animations. The technical implementation includes a 3D scene with camera movement and lighting, supported by GLTF model loading and raycaster-based interaction. The architecture employs an entity-compon

raygui is a C graphics interface toolkit and immediate mode GUI library used for building interactive utility panels. It functions as a themed UI framework that renders interface controls instantly based on application logic without maintaining persistent state. The toolkit includes a visual layout designer for managing icon sets and defining styles. It supports the application of custom themes and font data through binary files or embedded headers to modify the appearance of the interface. The library provides standard interface controls such as buttons, sliders, and color pickers, along wi

Spritejs is a graphics library and cross-platform 2D graphics engine designed for rendering geometric shapes and sprites across web, desktop, and mobile environments. It functions as a canvas-based sprite framework that manages elements using a document object model for positioning and styling. The project provides a web worker rendering engine that distributes graphic layers to offscreen canvases, preventing main thread blocking. It also includes a server-side graphics generator for producing visual elements and images in non-browser environments. The toolkit covers a broad range of graphic

Audacity is a cross-platform digital audio workstation and multi-track audio editor. It serves as a comprehensive suite for capturing live audio input, refining sound files through splicing and effects, and mixing multi-track audio files using a non-destructive waveform interface. The project functions as a VST3 plugin host, providing a software environment to load and execute audio effects and virtual instruments for real-time signal processing. It also includes an audio spectrum analyzer for visualizing frequencies and waveforms to identify specific sonic characteristics. The software cove

Oboe is a native C++ library designed for building high-performance, low-latency audio applications on Android. It serves as a unified wrapper and native API for managing audio streams, sample rates, and hardware routing across different Android operating system versions. The library provides a consistent interface by automatically selecting the most efficient audio backend at runtime, switching between AAudio and OpenSL ES to ensure the lowest possible latency. It enables exclusive-mode hardware access to bypass the system mixer and utilizes a high-priority asynchronous pull model for audio

EasyEffects is a real-time audio processor and system-wide effects manager designed for PipeWire audio streams. It functions as a comprehensive suite for applying filters, equalizers, and limiters to both input and output audio across the entire system. The project distinguishes itself through its use of deep learning for neural network noise suppression and voice isolation, as well as its ability to simulate physical acoustic environments using impulse-response convolution. It includes a sophisticated preset management system that allows users to associate specific audio configurations with