Show HN: Manim (3Blue1Brown's animation engine) in the browser via WebGPU

[sinaatalay]

Grant Sanderson (3Blue1Brown) created Manim, the Python library he uses to make the math animations in his videos.

We reimplemented Manim with the same Python API, but the implementation underneath is Rust, connected to Python through PyO3. The Rust code uses wgpu, so rendering happens on the GPU.

To run it in the browser, we compiled the Rust parts to WebAssembly so the PyO3 extension loads in Pyodide. In the browser, wgpu targets the WebGPU API, so animations render in real time on your GPU through the browser.

The editor is Monaco (the editor that powers VS Code) with a live preview: write your Manim code on one side, watch the animation update on the other.

There's also a built-in AI agent if you'd rather vibe-code your animations.

[Aurornis]

Looks interesting, but to be honest I'm put off by the idea that you had AI rewrite someone's library and now you're using their name and brand to promote your $20-$100 per month tool based on their work.

Calling it Manim in the browser and using 3Blue1Brown's name is really misleading when you discover that it's none of those things and you're trying to charge for it.

This is a very bad misappropriation of someone else's work and fame for your personal gain.

I can only hope that this inspires some people to vibecode and equivalent service but make it open source and free to all.

[Gathering6678]

This looks really bad.

[rkolodz]

Just to let you know that "Live preview" in Windows on ARM fails to start with the message below. Chrome and Edge, I did not test FF.

animg.app shadertoy.com and glsl.app are working fine at the same time.

--- Live preview couldn't start Your browser supports WebGPU but no compatible GPU was available. Try updating your graphics drivers, enabling hardware acceleration, or using another device or browser.

[sinaatalay]

Thank you for letting us know.

[jjcm]

Yo that homepage zoom from the app screenshot straight into the experience was SMOOTH.

[sinaatalay]

Thank you :)

[cure_42]

Not open source...?

[Aurornis]

Worse: It's a paid tool.

They're trying to ride on top of 3Blue1Brown's code and fame for personal gain.

[westurner]

Some open source resources to add to awesome-manim:

3blue1brown's Manim Python code for teaching transformers: 3b1b/videos videos/_2024/transformers: https://github.com/3b1b/videos/tree/e317d6c5eaa8370a2deb4d14...

Notes re: "Manim: Animation engine for explanatory math videos" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44995308 ; ManimML, manim-web (Typescript), manim-web react ManimScene and/or reactive-manim

"Show HN: I ported Manim to TypeScript (run 3b1B math animations in the browser)" re: manim-web: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47155375

philip-murray/reactive-manim: A component library for ManimCE, supporting component composition and automatic animation. Supports declarative syntax for writing components inspired by React.js. https://github.com/philip-murray/reactive-manim

For stateful sims with a reset button like for example the PHET.colorado.edu exercises; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49053601

> R3F ReactThreeFiber and Drei (ThreeJS) and NextJS with OpenNext

ManimGL: https://github.com/MathItYT/manimgl

Manim + WebGL (PyO3, Rust, wgpu, WASM) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49091703 :

MathItYT/mathlikeanim-rs: A Rust library to create interactive mathematical animations https://github.com/MathItYT/mathlikeanim-rs

[_rousbound]

I was expecting to see the code too.

[mllev15]

So you vibe ported manim to rust, kept it closed source, and you’re selling access to it with a monthly subscription? This isn’t satire?

[apoogdk]

I built the core of the animation engine, and I think our wording may have created the wrong impression about how it was developed.

For the use case we have, we needed a fast animation engine. The engine didn’t begin as a port or rewrite of Manim. We originally built it under a different name as a standalone Rust/WebGPU 3D animation engine for real-time AI tutoring. I spent roughly two months building the renderer and animation system from scratch.

Our original engine had a different interface, different defaults and produced different visual results. Only after the engine was already working did we decide to make part of its Python interface compatible with ManimCE. We did that because many users already know the Manim API, and coding models are already familiar with its classes and common animation patterns. We spent substantial time matching ManimCE’s visual behavior as closely as possible. We believe this compatibility layer makes adoption easier; yet the underlying renderer, scene system, and implementation are our own.

So describing this as vibe coding Manim in Rust and then closing the source is inaccurate. The browser editor, rendering, and video downloads are free. You are free to write code, render and download videos as much as you want. The paid features are the AI-powered functionality, which are priced to cover their cost to us.

We respect that some people would prefer it to be open-source, but choosing not to open-source an independently developed engine is different from taking an open-source project and repackaging it as proprietary software.

[mkl]

In that case you shouldn't call it Manim or "3Blue1Brown's animation engine". At best this has a partly Manim-compatible API, similar to how XY [1] has a partly Matplotlib-compatible API.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49085798

[sinaatalay]

We are fully compatible with Manim CE. Our goal is 1:1 API compatibility, so people can continue using the API they already know.

We never intended to use 3Blue1Brown's name in a negative or misleading way. We simply wanted to communicate that we have made the Manim API created by 3Blue1Brown accessible in the browser with WebGPU, without requiring any installation.

[Aurornis]

> We never intended to use 3Blue1Brown's name in a negative or misleading way

You submitted this with the title “Manim (3Blue1Brown's animation engine) in the browser via WebGPU”

Being misleading is exactly what you intended to do.

[Aurornis]

> So describing this as vibe coding Manim in Rust and then closing the source is inaccurate.

Your team submitted this with the title “Manim (3Blue1Brown's animation engine) in the browser via WebGPU”

If anyone is being misleading, it’s your team.

[jsLavaGoat]

manim mcp is open source and works with your existing agent

[arecsu]

This is very cool!! I'm also mesmerized about the opening animation that transforms the interface of the editor to a complete viewport state. For some reason is pretty laggy on Chrome (macbook air M1) but Firefox is super smooth. Besides that, awesome idea :)

[sinaatalay]

Thank you! We simply mount the entire app inside the landing page, but rotate and scale it down. When the page opens, it smoothly animates into full screen using CSS transitions.

[iamleppert]

All of the examples besides the first one that is itself underwhelming are behind a paywall. For all we know it could be pre-recorded. Hard pass.

[sinaatalay]

You can use the editor however you like without signing up. The examples are simply sample prompts for the AI, but you can paste in any Manim code to editor from ChatGPT or anywhere else, and the preview will render it instantly.

Downloading videos is completely free. Only the AI-powered features are behind the paywall, and there's a 7-day free trial.

We'll put more pre-written examples, thank you!

[farski]

That was also unclear to me, so +1 for more code examples. Also, it seems like maybe this doesn't work in Safari but there's not error message or anything. I was looking for a Run or Render button or something to get things to happen, until I gave up and tried Firefox.

[emrekmz]

Great work! This can go huge

[sinaatalay]

Thank you!