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:video_game: Discord Chat
Got a question about Ultralight? Chat with us on Discord! 
:star: About
Ultralight makes it easy for C/C++ developers to seamlessly integrate web-content into games and desktop apps.
Use our lightweight, high-performance renderer to display HTML/JS/CSS on a variety of platforms and hardware targets.
Key Features
- 1. :zap: Modern HTML/JS/CSS Support:
- Based on WebKit, Ultralight enjoys many of the same cutting-edge web features as Apple's Safari browser, simplifying development and reducing production costs.
- 2. :sparkles: Powerful and Lightweight:
- Thanks to its highly-customizable CPU and GPU renderers, Ultralight offers developers unprecedented control over performance and memory usage-- making it the go-to choice for users who demand speed in constrained environments.
- 3. :jigsaw: Cross-Platform Compatibility:
- With support for Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox, PS4, and PS5 (and ARM64 coming in 1.4), Ultralight ensures your content displays smoothly and consistently on a wide range of platforms and hardware targets.
- 4. :repeat: Deep C/C++ and JavaScript Integration:
- Ultralight facilitates seamless C/C++ and JavaScript integration through direct access to the JavaScriptCore API. Expose native state to web pages, extend JavaScript classes, define C/C++ callbacks, and more.
- 5. :wrench: Low-Level Customization:
- Ultralight allows developers the ability to override platform-specific functionality-- granting control over such things as file-system access, clipboard management, font loading, and more to suit the unique needs of each target environment.
:space_invader: For Game Developers
Developed in collaboration with top AAA game studios, Ultralight is engineered to display high-performance web-content across a diverse set of hardware targets and game engine environments.
Choose between our CPU renderer for fast, reliable rendering or our customizable GPU renderer for unparalleled animation performance.
→ Learn more by visiting our Game Integration Guide.
:desktop_computer: For Desktop-App Developers
Get the best of both worlds-- save time by building your front-end with HTML/CSS/JS while retaining the power and performance of C/C++.
Embed the renderer directly within your existing run loop or leverage our AppCore framework to do all the heavy lifting for you, offering convenient native window management and accelerated rendering.
→ Learn more by visiting our Desktop App Guide.
:classical_building: Architecture
Ultralight is a platform-agnostic port of WebKit for games and desktop apps.
Portions of the library are open-source, here's how the library is laid out:
| Description | License | Source Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UltralightCore | Low-level graphics renderer | Proprietary | (Available with license) |
| WebCore | HTML layout engine (WebKit fork) | LGPL/BSD | ultralight-ux/WebCore |
| Ultralight | View, compositor, and event logic | Proprietary | (Avaiable with license) |
| AppCore | :sparkles: Optional, desktop app runtime | LGPL | ultralight-ux/AppCore |
:rocket: Dual High-Performance Renderers
We offer two different renderers for integration into a variety of target environments.
| :sparkle: CPU Renderer | :eight_spoked_asterisk: GPU Renderer |
|---|---|
| * Fast, lightweight, and easy to integrate. * Renders to a 32-bit BGRA pixel buffer. * Based on Skia, accelerated via multi-threaded SIMD. * See the [Game Integration Guide](https://docs.ultralig.ht/docs/integrating-with-games) for more info. | * High-performance, customizable, and portable. * Renders on the GPU to a texture. * Accelerated via tesselated geometry and pixel shaders. * See [Using a Custom GPUDriver](https://docs.ultralig.ht/docs/using-a-custom-gpudriver) for more info. |
:lock: Licensing
It's easy to license Ultralight in projects big and small.
| :heart_eyes: Free License | :crown: Commercial License |
|---|---|
| * __Free__ for non-commercial use. * __Free__ for commercial use by indie companies (< $100K annual revenue). * Full SDK available for all users, download and try now. * See [LICENSE.txt](license/LICENSE.txt) for more info. | * Paid licenses for commercial use. * Enterprise licensing, custom contracts, and volume discounts available. * Performance tools, extra configurations, and source code. * See [our website](https://ultralig.ht) for more info. |
:eyes: Getting the Latest SDK
You can get the latest SDK for each platform below (contact us for Xbox, PS4, and PS5):
Getting Archived Binaries for a Specific Commit
Pre-built binares are uploaded to the following S3 buckets every commit:
- Archived Binaries: https://ultralight-sdk.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/
:hammer_and_wrench: Building the Samples
To build the samples in this repo, please follow the instructions here.
:information_source: Useful Links
| Link | URL |
|---|---|
| Join our Discord! | https://chat.ultralig.ht |
| Docs / Getting Started | https://docs.ultralig.ht |
| Browse C++ API | https://ultralig.ht/api/cpp/1_3_0/ |
| Browse C API | https://ultralig.ht/api/c/1_3_0/ |
| Follow Us on Twitter | https://twitter.com/ultralight_ux |