Dev tools · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to An interactive creative coding project in p5.js
(space = reset) Fluid mechanics is an extremely interesting topic and I have been creative coding for a couple of months now. Therefore I started working on flow fields in processing. It had so much fun playing around with the different parameters in this project, I decided to rewrite in p5.js an added a control panel. You can change most of the parameters (within some constraints I thought to be reasonable), randomize the values and export and import settings. Hopefully some coders here get inspired and also join the great creative coding community.
This p5.js project lets users explore fluid mechanics through interactive flow field visualizations. Built by a creative coder, it features a control panel for adjusting parameters, randomizing values, and exporting or… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. An interactive creative coding project in p5.js launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
- 1IM
Hi HN! I made many small web games in the past with Unity or Phaser. But this time I wanted to make something completely on my own. So I coded a basic game framework in plain JavaScript, and used it to make Almost Pong. This was a really fun project that taught me a lot about JavaScript, and I plan to make more minimalist games with this framework. Interesting fact: Almost Pong doesn't load any assets, all sprites and sounds are generated with code. Happy to answer questions, and please let me know if you have any feedback on the game. Thanks!
2022 · lessmilk.com · its alternatives →
- 2
Once UI 1.5▲299When I started my career and built my first design system, I was beyond excited. It took a lot of iterations, learning and 6 months of work to launch it internally. In the next job, I did it again, then at the following job, again… And no matter which company I worked for, 80% of the design system was the same. I’ve decided to work full-time on the design system I’ve always wanted, and today I’m launching and open-sourcing it. You can use it to build Next.js apps faster, and I’ve designed it in a way that it’s hard to go wrong with it: you can choose any settings, and you’ll end up with a…
Dec 2025 · once-ui.com · its alternatives →
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Flow▲409Animate Sketch designs and generate production-ready code.
2017 · createwithflow.com · its alternatives →
- 4FP
Hello HN users, This is a CAD by code project I have been working on on my free time for more than year now. I built it with 3 goals in mind: - It should be familiar to CAD designers who have used other programs. Same workflow, same terminology. - Reduce the mental effort required to create models as much as possible. This is achieved by: - Provide live rendering and visual guidance as you type. - Allow the user to reference existing edges/faces on the scene instead of having to calculate everything. - Provide interactive mouse helpers for features that are hard to write by code: Only 3…
Apr 2026 · fluidcad.io · its alternatives →
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Trickle - Magic Canvas ▲1,064Hey HN! Introducing Trickle Magic Canvas: the world’s first Agentic Canvas, where you can visually co-create apps and websites with AI, from idea to production. Why is a canvas better? Most AI tools today rely on linear chats or text prompts. We believe that limits creativity and clarity. Canvas changes the game. 1. Every version & page at a glance. Each page and sub-page lives on a timeline. You can quickly browse, edit, and preview progress like a living, visual document — no more digging through chat logs or scattered states. 2. The canvas is the context. Unlike linear chats, you can…
2025 · trickle.so · its alternatives →
- 6

Pts is a javascript library for visualization and creative-coding.
2018 · ptsjs.org · its alternatives →
- 7
p5.js▲202JS library for creating graphic and interactive experiences
2015 · p5js.org · its alternatives →
- 8

Hello HN, It has been a while since I contributed to the web, so I decided to get back in shape and publish "something". This app is a POC of "what if diagrams were more dynamic". I'm a software engineer by trade, and with conventional tools, I often times struggle to explain flows of data in complex software systems. I got inspired by video games like The Incredible Machine and Factorio, as in some ways, software systems tend to become Rube Goldberg-esque machines ;) As a side quest, I also wanted to craft diagrams faster than text-based tools (ex: mermaid), as I am always forgetting their…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 9

In the past I've used declarative diagram generation tools like Mermaid.js a lot for quickly drawing up things but for presentations or deliverables I find that I have to then move the generated diagrams over to a tool like Lucidchart which allows full control of the organization and customization. Therefore I am now working on this to combine the benefits of both into just one tool which can do both functions. The project is certainly in the early stages but if you find yourself making architecture diagrams I'd love to hear your thoughts on the idea or even a Github issue for a feature…
Oct 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 10

For the last 5 years I've been working on a layout engine that targets CSS2 and some more modern properties. Live demo: https://chearon.github.io/dropflow/ It matches browsers in all cases I can find where they agree, and it's fast. It supports `position`, `inline-block`, `z-index`, and complex properties like `float` and `vertical-align`. It doesn't support high-level layout like flexbox or grid yet, but you can get intrinsics to easily divide space yourself and paint multiple layout trees. It has a great text layout implementation, and supporting non-Latin scripts is a…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 11

A minimalist three-dimensional coding environment. Control 8x8x8 dots with a single JavaScript function.
2021 · doersino.github.io · its alternatives →
- 12

I'm enthralled with using pen plotters to make generative art. Last August at SIGGRAPH, I built an interactive experience for others to see how code can be used to make visual art. The linked blog post is my trials and tribulations of linking a MIDI controller to one of these algorithms and sending its output to a plotter, so that people may witness the end-to-end experience.
2024 · lostpixels.io · its alternatives →
- 13

Hi all! A little background: I've been working on natto.dev, a spatial environment for JavaScript. I'm really excited about new interfaces for code (leveraging metaphors we're good at, spatial reasoning, making state visible, design tools, etc). With all the buzz around PyScript, I discovered Pyodide and got it working inside natto. This Python version is a stripped down version of https://natto.dev (eg interactive outputs, multiplayer) so please check that out if this interests you. I'm excited to share this spatial environment for Python. Imagine Jupyter cells arranged on a 2D…
2022 · python.natto.dev · its alternatives →
- 14
Particular Drift▲140Create flowing particle animations out of any image (FOSS)
2025 · collidingscopes.github.io · its alternatives →
- 15

Create fluid and interactive gradient animations with this small javascript library.
2016 · sarcadass.github.io · its alternatives →
- 16

Transform Static Images Into Dynamic Particle Experiences
Aug 2026 · particle-studios.vercel.app · its alternatives →
- 17IR
This weekend's coding session was dedicated to recreating Jeffery Ventrella's "Particle Life". As you can imagine, I had a lot of fun with it. I recently saw this here on Hacker News and found it strange that I’d never come across it before. Source code: https://github.com/vnglst/particle-life The color palette is by Alex Cristache. https://twitter.com/AlexCristache/status/1791122643816431930
2024 · particle-life.koenvangilst.nl · its alternatives →
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Genetic Algorithms, Mutation, Crossover, Mating, Particle Animation, Gaming, Learning, P5JS, Fun Project - dg92/ant_sugar
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 20AA
An ASCII/Node based fluid simulation library built using vanilla JS and CSS Grids.
2020 · batman-nair.github.io · its alternatives →
- 21

Hi! I'm Alan, and I built a website that turns images into flowing particle animations. This javascript / WebGL tool creates particle animations out of any image in real-time within the browser, with particles that dynamically respond to edge detection and flow fields. It uses Sobel edge detection, a Perlin noise flow field, and webGL / GLSL for better performance. The tool is completely free and open source (MIT license). Github repo: https://github.com/collidingScopes/particular-drift Let me know of any feedback or suggestions for improvement.
2025 · particular-drift.netlify.app · its alternatives →
- 22WF
2014 · haxiomic.github.io · its alternatives →
- 23

Hey HN! I just released Puck 0.18 with a new drag-and-drop engine for CSS grid and flexbox support. You can now use Puck to create a page builder that behaves like a design tool, but embedded within your own app and using your own React components. To use it, just add `display: flex` (or grid, etc) to your DropZone and Puck will gracefully handle drag-and-drop across all dimensions. Shout out to the dnd-kit maintainer Claudéric for the collaboration and support (if you’re reading this, I just sponsored you on GitHub!) and as always, a huge thanks to my wonderful community for all the testing…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 24

A minimal Python library for live coding visual scenes using desktop windows. - willmeyers/window-art
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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