# facebook/igl

Intermediate Graphics Library (IGL) is a cross-platform library that commands the GPU. It provides a single low-level cross-platform interface on top of various graphics APIs (e.g. OpenGL, Metal and Vulkan).

Repository: https://github.com/facebook/igl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/igl
Language: C++
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-26T22:18:26+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 71/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 28, longevity 82
- inputs: {"age_days": 1153, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 415, "gap_med": 41, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3229, forks 221 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:50.044339+00:00)

## What it is
Facebook's Intermediate Graphics Library (IGL) is a cross-platform C++ library that provides a single low-level interface for commanding the GPU across multiple graphics APIs including OpenGL, Metal, Vulkan, and WebGL. It is designed for minimal overhead, modern GPU abstractions like command buffers, and production-scale reliability across a wide range of devices.

## Use cases
- write cross-platform rendering code with a single GPU API
- abstract Vulkan, Metal, and OpenGL behind one interface
- render graphics on Android, iOS, desktop, and WebAssembly from one codebase
- build a game or app renderer without managing per-platform graphics backends
- target the long tail of Android devices with reliable GPU rendering
- use modern GPU features like command buffers and bindless resources portably

## When to choose
- you need a low-level, C++-native GPU abstraction with minimal overhead
- you must support many platforms and graphics APIs (Metal, Vulkan, OpenGL, WebGL) with one interface
- you need battle-tested reliability across a broad range of mobile and VR devices
- you want more control than OpenGL's state machine without writing per-API backends

## When to avoid
- you want a high-level scene graph or game engine with built-in asset loading and physics
- your project is web-only and a pure WebGL/WebGPU library suffices
- you need a GPU abstraction in a language other than C++
- you prefer a widely-adopted community standard like bgfx with larger ecosystem tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphics, gpu-computing
- domain: graphics, cross-platform
- platform: cpp, windows, wasm
- tags: gpu-abstraction, rendering, vulkan, metal, opengl, webgl, graphics-api-wrapper, game-development, android, ios, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- facebook/igl (main) score 71

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:50.044339+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 2026-08-29T18:43:56.871355+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/facebook/igl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:50.044339+00:00, sha 671bfc7d144c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.