AI · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to I wrote a C++ ray tracer from scratch without AI
C++ Path Tracer from scratch with zero third-party libraries. - themartiano/luz
A C++ ray tracer implementation available on GitHub. The project demonstrates building a graphics rendering engine from scratch using traditional programming methods. It is for developers and graphics enthusiasts… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.
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A ray-tracer with a simple scene description language for easily generating beautiful images. - diegomacario/Super-Sunshine
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
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I’ve been experimenting with Rust lately and wanted a project that would help me explore some of its lower-level and performance-oriented features. Inspired by Sebastian Lague’s videos, I decided to implement my own ray tracer from scratch. The initial goal was just to render a simple 3D scene in the browser at a reasonable frame rate. It evolved into a small renderer that can: • Run locally or on the web using wgpu and WebAssembly • Perform mesh rendering with a Bounding Volume Hierarchy (BVH) for acceleration • Simulate both direct and indirect illumination for photorealistic results • Be…
Nov 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Monte Carlo ray tracer developed using Rust. Contribute to Dalamar42/rayt development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
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We ported pbrt-v4 to Julia and built it into a Makie backend. Any Makie plot can now be rendered with physically-based path tracing. Julia compiles user-defined physics directly into GPU kernels, so anyone can extend the ray tracer with new materials and media - a black hole with gravitational lensing is ~200 lines of Julia. Runs on AMD, NVIDIA, and CPU via KernelAbstractions.jl, with Metal coming soon. Demo scenes: github.com/SimonDanisch/RayDemo
Feb 2026 · makie.org · its alternatives →
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GPU Raytracer from scratch in C++/CUDA. Contribute to jan-van-bergen/GPU-Raytracer development by creating an account on GitHub.
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Hi HN! Korean high school senior here, about to start CS in college. I built a browser engine from scratch in C++ to understand how browsers work. First time using C++, 8 weeks of development, lots of debugging—but it works! Features: - HTML parsing with error correction - CSS cascade and inheritance - Block/inline layout engine - Async image loading + caching - Link navigation + history Hardest parts: - String parsing(html, css) - Rendering - Image Caching & Layout Reflowing What I learned (beyond code): - Systematic debugging is crucial - Ship with known bugs rather than chase…
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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A path tracer written in Go. Contribute to fogleman/pt development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
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This is a GPU "software" raytracer (i.e. using manual ray-scene intersections and not RTX) written using the WebGPU API that renders glTF scenes. It supports many materials, textures, material & normal mapping, and heavily relies on multiple importance sampling to speed up convergence.
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
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A toy ray tracer in Rust. Contribute to Twinklebear/tray_rust development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Been making this rasterizer engine in C++ for the past few months, now also adding ray-tracing functionality to the system. Simply load a model or generate a mesh, add some lights, and render.
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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All sorts of POV-Ray related stuff by Michael Scharrer indluding a collection of scenes and scc5 re-renderings. Free source code is included for all items.
2015 · mscharrer.net · its alternatives →
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GPU Raytracer from scratch in C++/CUDA. Contribute to jan-van-bergen/GPU-Raytracer development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
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How can you make affine transformations (the only ones SVGs are capable of) resemble perspective transformations?
2025 · seve.blog · its alternatives →
- 14IM
I was fascinated by this [0] and this video [1]. After many struggles, I finally built this app that traces images using circles similar to what these videos had shown. The most challenging part (to me) is to find a way to convert images to vector lines. I had tried Potrace, but its output is not suitable for my use case: too many small elements share the same border. Potrace's goal is to represent the original image faithfully using vector lines. But I want to trace the image edges. After searching and trying some Potrace alternatives in vain, I finally found my keyword. Surprisingly (to…
2022 · phqb.github.io · its alternatives →
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A simple ray tracer. . Contribute to LanJian/godray development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Render 3D models (OBJ, glTF, GLB, STL, .vox) as ASCII art — in the browser, in React or Vue, or straight in your terminal. A three.js-style API with no WebGL and no canvas: just text in a single <pre>.
Jun 2026 · glyphcss.com · its alternatives →
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A simple way to output stack traces when a program crashes in C++, using the new C++23 <stacktrace> header - TylerGlaiel/Crashlogs
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
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A fast, dependency-free traceroute implementation in pure C. - davidesantangelo/fastrace
Oct 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Hi HN, Over the past few months, I've been building `dsc`, a tensor library from scratch in C++/CUDA. My main focus has been on getting the basics right, prioritizing a clean API, simplicity, and clear observability for running small LLMs locally. The key features are: - C++ core with CUDA support written from scratch. - A familiar, PyTorch-like Python API. - Runs real models: it's complete enough to load a model like Qwen from HuggingFace and run inference on both CUDA and CPU with a single line change[1]. - Simple, built-in observability for both Python and C++. Next on the roadmap is…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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Since this is a major new release (three and a half years in development), I think this should be ok for Show HN. This release has lots of new material, fixes, and updates across the three books in this series. All three books are online and free, with accompanying code available from GitHub. Enjoy!
2024 · raytracing.github.io · its alternatives →
- 21
I’ve been working on a project to bridge the gap between AI generation and my AxiDraw, and I think I finally have a workflow that avoids the usual headaches. If you’ve tried plotting AI-generated images, you probably know the struggle: generic tracing tools (like Potrace) trace the outline of a line, resulting in double-strokes that ruin the look and take twice as long to plot. What I tried previously: - Potrace / Inkscape Trace: Great for filled shapes, but results in "hollow" lines for line art. - Canny Edge Detection: Often too messy; it picks up noise and creates jittery paths. -…
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
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A ray-tracer with a simple scene description language for easily generating beautiful images. - diegomacario/Super-Sunshine
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
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A basic GPU pathtracer in unity. Contribute to LGhassen/basic_pathtracer development by creating an account on GitHub.
2018 · github.com · its alternatives →
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A C++ library for debugging purposes that can print any variable, even user-defined types. - philip82148/cpp-dump
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
Also compare
- An easy-to-use ray-tracer written from scratch in C++ alternatives
- a Rust ray tracer that runs on any GPU – even in the browser alternatives
- Monte Carlo ray tracer in Rust alternatives
- A physically-based GPU ray tracer written in Julia alternatives
- Physically-Based GPU Pathtracer with Mitsuba XML Support alternatives
- I built a small browser engine from scratch in C++ alternatives
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →