# EricLengyel/Slug

Reference code for the Slug Algorithm.

Repository: https://github.com/EricLengyel/Slug
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/slug
Language: HLSL
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: font-rendering, vector-graphics
Last push: 2026-04-15T17:56:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 49/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 77, release rhythm 35, longevity 12
- inputs: {"age_days": 173, "days_push": 140, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, young, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1506, forks 73 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:55.084920+00:00)

## What it is
Reference shader implementations of the Slug algorithm for rendering vector fonts directly on the GPU using quadratic Bézier curve evaluation. The code is written in HLSL and accompanies a 2017 JCGT paper, with the associated patent dedicated to the public domain.

## Use cases
- render text with GPU-accelerated font rasterization
- draw anti-aliased vector glyphs in a game engine
- implement high-quality font rendering in a custom graphics pipeline
- render scalable vector graphics on the GPU
- avoid CPU-based glyph atlas rasterization
- study GPU font rendering algorithms

## When to choose
- you need high-quality, resolution-independent text rendering on the GPU
- you are building a custom rendering engine and want to avoid SDF or CPU rasterization artifacts
- you want a public-domain font rendering algorithm without patent risk

## When to avoid
- you need a drop-in text rendering solution with font hinting support
- your target platform lacks programmable GPU shader support
- you need a complete font library with layout, shaping, and fallback handling

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: graphics, image-processing
- domain: graphics, web-design
- platform: cross-platform
- tags: font-rendering, vector-graphics, shaders, hlsl, glyph-rasterization, bezier-curves, game-development, gpu

## Member repositories
- EricLengyel/Slug (main) score 49

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:55.084920+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 2026-08-30T04:32:38.187853+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/EricLengyel/Slug (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:55.084920+00:00, sha 830c2491a8b7)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.