p5py-vibe 0.2.2

A Pythonic creative coding package inspired by p5.js.

p5-py

p5-py is a Pythonic creative-coding package inspired by p5.js.

It keeps the familiar p5 sketch lifecycle and many p5-style APIs while staying native to Python, backend-agnostic, typed, and testable.

Status

The current package supports a strong 2D-first workflow, a deterministic headless renderer, a native Pyglet interactive backend, optional WEBGL-style/3D APIs, optional media extras, and optional Rust acceleration for a few compute-heavy paths.

The public API is intentionally Python-first:

• canonical APIs use snake_case, such as create_canvas() and frame_rate()
• p5.js-style aliases such as createCanvas() and frameRate() delegate to the same implementations
• excluded browser-only APIs fail with explicit p5 exceptions instead of failing indirectly

Installation

Install the published package with pip:

pip install p5-py

Install optional media support when you need camera/video helpers:

pip install "p5-py[media]"

For local development in this repository, use uv:

uv sync --dev

Quick start

import p5


def setup() -> None:
    p5.create_canvas(320, 240)
    p5.no_stroke()


def draw() -> None:
    p5.background(245)
    p5.fill(255, 80, 80)
    p5.circle(160, 120, 80)


p5.run(setup=setup, draw=draw)

Run a sketch headlessly for deterministic tests or export flows:

uv run python examples/basic_shapes.py --backend headless --frames 1

Backends

p5-py keeps the user-facing API backend-agnostic.

• headless renders deterministically with Pillow and is ideal for tests, CI, and export.
• pillow is currently an alias of headless.
• pyglet opens a native interactive window and presents frames with HiDPI support.

For backend details, see docs/user/backends.md.

Examples

Examples live in examples/.

A few useful entry points:

• examples/basic_shapes.py
• examples/bouncing_ball.py
• examples/transforms.py
• examples/image_text_data.py
• examples/pixels_blend_export.py
• examples/plugin_hooks.py
• examples/webgl_primitives_gallery.py

See examples/README.md for the full index.

Documentation map

User docs:

• docs/user/getting_started.md
• docs/user/lifecycle.md
• docs/user/backends.md
• docs/user/compatibility.md
• docs/user/images_and_pixels.md
• docs/user/events.md
• docs/user/plugins.md

Technical docs:

• docs/technical/testing.md
• docs/technical/releasing.md
• docs/technical/hidpi_rendering.md
• docs/technical/native_pyglet_renderer.md
• docs/technical/rust_acceleration.md
• docs/technical/p5_canvas_rust_backend.md
• docs/technical/canvas_migration_release.md
• docs/technical/advanced_3d_media_strategy.md
• docs/technical/project_plan.md

Development workflow

Common local commands:

uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .
uv run mypy src
uv run pytest
uv run python examples/basic_shapes.py --backend headless --frames 1
cargo test --manifest-path crates/p5_canvas/Cargo.toml
uv build

Equivalent shortcuts are available in Makefile:

make lint
make test-fast
make test
make typecheck
make build

Compatibility policy

p5-py aims to keep the p5 mental model while remaining idiomatic Python.

• Use the snake_case APIs as the canonical interface.
• Use camelCase aliases when porting or teaching from p5.js material.
• DOM and browser-only features are excluded.
• Unsupported compatibility stubs raise explicit package-specific errors.

See docs/user/compatibility.md for details.