# letoram/arcan

The owls are not what they seem.

Repository: https://github.com/letoram/arcan
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/arcan
Homepage: http://arcan-fe.com
Language: Zig
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: c, display-server, lua, game-engine, wayland, multimedia-graphic-library, video-processing, audio-processing, visualization, linux, freebsd, openbsd, desktop-environment, virtual-reality
Last push: 2026-07-29T00:15:26+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 75/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 94, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4681, "days_push": 36, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1819, forks 93 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:40.731275+00:00)

## What it is
Arcan is a development framework and multimedia engine for building everything from embedded UIs to full standalone desktop environments, scriptable via a well-documented Lua interface. It includes an IPC system (SHMIF) and bridges for protocols like Wayland, X11, VNC, and its own networking protocol A12.

## Use cases
- build a custom desktop environment
- create UIs for embedded applications
- stream and process multimedia
- build a VR desktop
- make a custom interface for a home automation project
- run industrial computer vision systems for robotic automation
- build a boot splash screen

## When to choose
- you need fine-grained control over display, audio, and input beyond what X11 or Wayland compositors offer
- you want a scriptable multimedia engine for specialized or embedded UIs
- you are building experimental desktop, VR, or networked-overlay OS research projects

## When to avoid
- you just need a conventional Linux desktop that works out of the box
- your team only knows mainstream web or mobile stacks and cannot invest in a niche C/Lua framework
- you need broad third-party ecosystem support or commercial vendor backing

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, video-processing, audio-processing, gui, game-engine, desktop-framework, middleware
- domain: graphics, desktop-applications, developer-tools, media, embedded-systems, simulation
- platform: bsd, cross-platform, cpp, lua
- tags: display-server, wayland, multimedia-engine, lua-scripting, shmif, desktop-environment, windowing-system, vr, linux

## Member repositories
- letoram/arcan (main) score 75

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:40.731275+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:20:01.954314+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/letoram/arcan (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:40.731275+00:00, sha e2363244d531)
  - homepage: http://arcan-fe.com (fetched 2026-08-29T10:59:05.930615+00:00, sha d319a81f7c0a)
  - site_page: https://arcan-fe.com/about (fetched 2026-08-29T10:59:05.944898+00:00, sha 0f1351047d94)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.