clay

Project Overview

Clay (short for C Layout) is a high-performance 2D UI layout library using a flex-box layout model for complex, responsive layouts including text wrapping, scrolling containers, and aspect ratio scaling. It is a single-header file (~4.8k LOC) with zero dependencies (no standard library linking), supports Wasm compilation, and uses static arena-based memory with no malloc/free.

Key Features

• Microsecond layout performance
• Flex-box layout model: Supports complex, responsive layouts including text wrapping, scrolling containers, and aspect ratio scaling
• Transition API: Easy layout animations
• Single-header: ~4.8k LOC clay.h with zero dependencies
• Wasm support: Compiles to ~15kb .wasm for browser usage
• Static memory management: Arena-based, no malloc/free, low memory overhead
• Declarative syntax: React-like nested declarative syntax
• Renderer agnostic: Outputs sorted rendering primitives composable in any 3D engine

Target Audience

• C/C++ developers needing high-performance UI layout
• Developers building embedded UI, game UI, or browser apps (via Wasm)
• Users seeking lightweight, dependency-minimal UI layout solutions

Quick Start

1. Download or clone clay.h
2. Define CLAY_IMPLEMENTATION before including clay.h in one file
3. Implement text measurement and error handling functions
4. Initialize Clay and configure the memory arena
5. Build UI layouts using declarative syntax

Core Advantages

• Single-header, zero dependencies for easy integration
• Microsecond layout performance for high-performance scenarios
• Wasm support for browser deployment
• Renderer-agnostic for any rendering backend

System Requirements

• OS: Cross-platform (C environment)