PlayCanvas Editor Frontend is now Open Source
Today, we are thrilled to announce the open sourcing of the PlayCanvas Editor Frontend!
The PlayCanvas Editor is a powerful visual editing environment for building WebGL, WebGPU, and WebXR applications. It has been the cornerstone of countless incredible projects, many of which you can explore on the PlayCanvas website. While the PlayCanvas Engine has always been open source, the Editor Frontend, a key component of the PlayCanvas ecosystem, has not. That changes today!
The PlayCanvas Editor Frontend is open-sourced under an MIT license on GitHub
✅ Why Open Source the Editor Frontend?
Open sourcing the Editor Frontend brings a host of benefits, not just for us, but for the entire PlayCanvas community:
- Faster Feature Development: Community contributions will accelerate the development of new features and improvements.
- Enhanced Stability: With more eyes on the code, bugs can be identified and resolved more quickly, leading to a more stable and robust editor.
- Customization and Bespoke Use Cases: Developers can now create custom Editor Frontend versions, connecting them to our backend for highly specialized workflows and integrations.
- Improved Understanding: A more transparent codebase will allow developers to better understand how the Editor functions, making it easier to contribute and debug.
🛠️ Local Development & Contributing
We've made it easier than ever to get started with local development and contribute to the Editor Frontend. For detailed setup instructions, please refer to the README in the repository.
Built on Open Source Foundations
The PlayCanvas Editor is built upon a foundation of powerful open-source libraries:
| Library | Details |
|---|---|
| PlayCanvas Engine | Powers the Editor's 3D View and Launch Page |
| Observer | Data binding and history |
| PCUI | Front-end component library |
| PCUI-Graph | PCUI plugin for rendering node-based graphs |
| Editor API | Public API for Editor automation |
We've focused on significant improvements to the codebase to make it more accessible for contributors, including:
- Code Reorganization: A clearer, more efficient file and code structure.
- Improved Typings: Enhanced TypeScript support for better type checking and code integrity.
- Optimized Debugging: Streamlined local debugging processes for a smoother development experience.
- Comprehensive Testing Suite: A new testing suite ensures stability and helps prevent regressions with new contributions.
👨💻 Join Our Open Source Mission
We proudly provide the PlayCanvas Editor Frontend as an open-source project. This is just the beginning of a new chapter for the Editor, and we invite you to be a part of it. The PlayCanvas community has always been at the forefront of innovation, and we believe that this open-source initiative will further accelerate our collective progress.
Join us in shaping the future of the PlayCanvas Editor by submitting issues, creating pull requests, or simply starring our GitHub repo! ⭐
👂 Your Feedback Matters
We're incredibly excited about this new phase for the PlayCanvas Editor. Your feedback is invaluable as we continue this open-source journey. What features are you most excited to contribute to, or what would you love to see next? Share your thoughts on our Forum or ping us on X!