Raylib
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 2 of 8 game frameworks by recommenders
Simple library that gets out of your way for making 2D games, with reliable cross-platform input, rendering and windowing. Caveat: limited text handling and missing features some need.
Simple library that gets out of your way for making 2D games, with reliable cross-platform input, rendering and windowing. Caveat: limited text handling and missing features some need.
42 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 41
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 98%
Recommended in 12 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 41 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 41 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Easy and fun for making games
“Raylib is one of those libraries that just gets out of your way and lets you make things.”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Raylib: A 12-year adventure as a solo-maintainer [video]” “raylib is how I managed to actually.. start getting proper fun out of programming”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0” “I have developed a few games using Raylib and it was really fun.”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Why don't more developers “use the platform”?” - Comment from 7 Feb 2026 in “I Write Games in C (yes, C)”
- Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0”
- Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0”
Simpler than a full game engine
“Raylib is for hobbyists that want control over everything, but don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with DirectX/OpenGL.”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0” “It strikes a perfect balance for people like me, that don't want to use a game engine”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0” “Things like Raylib, SFML, Love2D and so on are a great compromise.”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Making Video Games in 2025 (without an engine)” Cross-platform input, rendering and windowing
“I used it to generate a high-quality binding for raylib, and damn, now my game works on all platforms raylib supports.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Got into Jai closed beta on March 2026” “raylib gives me cross platform input handling / rendering and window management”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0” Reliable for releasing 2D games
“both it and Raylib are very reliable and will be perfectly good to release a 2D game with”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0” “Raylib is a very good option for 2D games.”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Stride Game Engine 4.3 with .NET 10 Support” “then Raylib is a great option”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Limited text handling and rendering
“they all relate to text (string) manipulation, not text rendering”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0” “the library has no concept of a Text object”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Raylib v6.0”
Other game frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other game frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 8 game frameworks, rankedWhat people said
39 of the 48 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have developed a few games using Raylib and it was really fun.”
“I think you're better off with Raylib, Bevy or plain SDL.”
“raylib might do it in less lines”
“I've used Odin and Raylib for some prototypes, and it's terrific!”
“use SDL or Raylib instead of writing your framebuffer blitter in inline Assembly”
“I used it to generate a high-quality binding for raylib, and damn, now my game works on all platforms raylib supports.”
“they all relate to text (string) manipulation, not text rendering”
“it's a well designed API with high composability”
“both it and Raylib are very reliable and will be perfectly good to release a 2D game with”
“the library has no concept of a Text object”
“I tried raylib and I love it”
“It strikes a perfect balance for people like me, that don't want to use a game engine”
“then Raylib is a great option”
“Raylib is for hobbyists that want control over everything, but don't want to go through the hassle of dealing with DirectX/OpenGL.”
“otherwise its pretty smooth sailing”
“it inspired me to begin learning C this past few months”
“raylib gives me cross platform input handling / rendering and window management”
“this brings me so much joy”
“raylib is how I managed to actually.. start getting proper fun out of programming”
“The new software renderer looks very cool.”
“found Raylib_cs suit very well for that”
“If you're talking about using raylib, that is also a game engine , just a simpler one.”
“I'd love to see integration with raylib at some point”
“let's go all the way down to compiled, low-level language (C) with Raylib!”
“I prefer C and Raylib for game dev.”
“I went with Raylib (with C#), and it worked out pretty well”
“raylib doesn't quite go as far as I would need”
“might be a great choice to have a cross-platform GUI API, including text rendering”
“Things like Raylib, SFML, Love2D and so on are a great compromise.”
“went back to mainly C++ and Raylib”
“it should be amazing for this”
“raylib is one possible starting place”
“it is quite easy to code a game using Raylib”
“Raylib is one of those libraries that just gets out of your way and lets you make things.”
“Many people in or around the community have made great software over the years”
“making it all in Go with Raylib”
“that got me REALLY excited about the possibilities”
“Raylib is a very good option for 2D games.”
“If you want something like SDL but for 3D”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.