# Ray Tracing in One Weekend

Main Web Site (Online Books)

Repository: https://github.com/RayTracing/raytracing.github.io
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ray-tracing-in-one-weekend
Homepage: https://raytracing.github.io/
Language: HTML
License: CC0-1.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: book, raytracing, ray-tracing, markdeep, graphics-rendering
Last push: 2026-08-10T22:10:55+00:00
Link (homepage): https://raytracing.github.io/

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2603, "days_push": 23, "days_rel": 495, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 10608, forks 1006 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:42.539233+00:00)

## What it is
A free online three-book series teaching how to build a path tracer in C++ from scratch, from a simple weekend renderer to a serious ray tracer with BVH, textures, and volumes. The repository hosts the HTML books, figures, and final reference source code for each book.

## Use cases
- learn ray tracing from scratch
- build a path tracer in C++
- learn computer graphics rendering basics
- understand bounding volume hierarchies and global illumination
- find a hands-on graphics course alternative
- get reference code for a ray tracer implementation

## When to choose
- you want to learn ray tracing/path tracing by writing all the code yourself
- you want a free, well-regarded tutorial with reference implementations
- you prefer learning graphics without depending on a graphics API

## When to avoid
- you need a production-ready, full-featured ray tracer or rendering engine
- you want a library to import rather than a tutorial to follow
- you are not comfortable with C++

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: stable
- function: graphics, simulation, documentation
- domain: graphics, tutorials, education
- platform: cross-platform, cpp
- tags: ray-tracing, path-tracing, book-series, c++, rendering, computer-graphics, free-books, markdeep, game-development, web-server

## Member repositories
- RayTracing/raytracing.github.io (main) score 66
- RayTracing/InOneWeekend (mirror) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:42.539233+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 2026-08-29T17:18:28.756078+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/RayTracing/raytracing.github.io (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:42.539233+00:00, sha b63a6ef550f2)
  - homepage: https://raytracing.github.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:17:30.507868+00:00, sha b9693f3d4eed)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.