# jashkenas/ruby-processing

Code as Art, Art as Code. Processing and Ruby are meant for each other.

Repository: https://github.com/jashkenas/ruby-processing
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ruby-processing
Homepage: http://github.com/jashkenas/ruby-processing/wikis
Language: Ruby
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2020-08-31T18:22:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6716, "days_push": 2193, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- 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 1280, forks 89 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:13.627023+00:00)

## What it is
A Ruby wrapper around the Processing creative coding environment, letting users write Processing sketches in Ruby and run them via the 'rp5' command-line tool. The project is explicitly deprecated and unsupported, with JRubyArt and propane named as its maintained successors for Processing 3 and 4.

## Use cases
- write processing sketches in ruby
- creative coding with ruby
- make generative art and animations using ruby
- run ruby graphics sketches from the command line
- learn programming through drawing and visuals with ruby
- export ruby processing sketches as standalone applications

## When to choose
- maintaining or running an existing legacy ruby-processing sketch
- you specifically need Processing 2.2.1 compatibility with Ruby syntax
- studying how a Ruby DSL over a Java creative-coding API was built

## When to avoid
- starting any new creative coding project - use JRubyArt or propane instead
- you need current Processing 3/4 or JDK 11+ support
- you want an actively maintained tool with community support
- you need Android or shader features from newer Processing versions

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: abandoned
- function: graphics, animation, cli
- domain: graphics, education
- platform: cross-platform, jvm, cli, windows
- tags: creative-coding, processing, jruby, generative-art, sketches, dsl, deprecated, visual-arts, desktop, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- jashkenas/ruby-processing (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:13.627023+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 2026-08-30T05:02:37.512187+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/jashkenas/ruby-processing (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:13.627023+00:00, sha 891b69716284)
  - homepage: http://github.com/jashkenas/ruby-processing/wikis (fetched 2026-08-29T12:13:09.398881+00:00, sha 027832cba64b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.