# kaplayjs/kaplay

🦖 A JavaScript/TypeScript Game Library that feels like a game.

Repository: https://github.com/kaplayjs/kaplay
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/kaplay
Homepage: https://kaplayjs.com
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: javascript, game-dev, game-library, kaboom-js, kaboomjs, game-development, game-engine, typescript
Last push: 2026-08-25T01:54:56+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 85/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 83, longevity 59
- inputs: {"age_days": 834, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 113, "gap_med": 8, "n_releases_24m": 32}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1780, forks 113 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:35.560264+00:00)

## What it is
KAPLAY is a fun-first 2D game library for JavaScript and TypeScript, formerly known as Kaboom.js. It uses a component-based game object system with a blocky, imperative API to make building HTML5 games simple, fast, and enjoyable.

## Use cases
- make a 2D browser game with javascript
- build an html5 game without a heavy engine
- teach game programming to beginners
- prototype a 2d game quickly in typescript
- create a chrome dino style game
- add physics and collisions to web sprites
- make a multiplayer web game with colyseus
- learn game development with examples

## When to choose
- you want a lightweight, beginner-friendly 2D game library for the web
- you prefer a component-based API over heavyweight engines like Unity or Godot
- you want strong TypeScript support and instant in-browser experimentation
- you're building small-to-medium 2D games, jams, or educational projects

## When to avoid
- you need 3D rendering or a full editor-driven engine
- you're building a large-scale commercial game requiring advanced tooling
- you need native mobile or console deployment out of the box
- you need guaranteed long-term support for a critical production product

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: game-engine, graphics, animation, gui
- domain: web-development, cross-platform
- platform: browser
- tags: 2d-games, html5-games, component-based, canvas, webgl, physics, game-library, kaboom-js-fork, beginner-friendly, sprites, game-development, javascript, typescript, web, nodejs

## Member repositories
- kaplayjs/kaplay (main) score 85

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:35.560264+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 2026-08-30T03:24:36.031943+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/kaplayjs/kaplay (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:35.560264+00:00, sha ea4cd5e43835)
  - homepage: https://kaplayjs.com (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.018248+00:00, sha a6befa9aa13f)
  - site_page: https://kaplayjs.com/docs/guides (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.027931+00:00, sha 0aeba18d7c97)
  - site_page: https://kaplayjs.com/docs/api (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.029794+00:00, sha 523bc718c609)
  - site_page: https://kaplayjs.com/docs/guides/install (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.031831+00:00, sha e7990d11cac7)
  - site_page: https://kaplayjs.com/docs/guides/starting (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.033551+00:00, sha f5f3d14f7984)
  - site_page: https://kaplayjs.com/docs/guides/components (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.035205+00:00, sha ee50829856ab)
  - site_page: https://kaplayjs.com/docs/guides/contributor-guide-on-guides (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.036865+00:00, sha 46db5d28e4ec)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/kaplay (fetched 2026-08-29T11:03:36.038535+00:00, sha dfc91731dc2c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.