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cocopon/tweakpane

4,490TypeScriptAudience · designerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

TLDR

Tweakpane is a zero-dependency JavaScript library that adds a floating control panel to a web page, letting you adjust sliders, color pickers, and toggles in real time without editing code, perfect for creative coding and interactive visualizations.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Tweakpane))
    What it does
      Real-time control panel
      No code reload needed
    Control types
      Sliders
      Color pickers
      Checkboxes
      Buttons
    Organization
      Folders
      Tabs
      Separators
    Advanced
      Plugin system
      JSON export import
      Theming
    Audience
      Creative coders
      Designers
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Code map

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Add real-time sliders to a generative art sketch so you can adjust speed, size, and color without reloading the page.

USE CASE 2

Build a live configuration panel for a WebGL animation where you tune parameters and see the effect instantly.

USE CASE 3

Export a set of tuned parameter values to JSON to save your creative work and restore it later.

USE CASE 4

Monitor a changing counter or sensor value as a live read-only graph in the browser without building custom UI.

Tech stack

TypeScriptJavaScript

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

In plain English

Tweakpane is a small JavaScript/TypeScript library that creates a compact control panel inside a web browser. Developers use it during creative coding projects or interactive visualizations when they want to adjust values in real time without editing code and reloading the page. If you are building an animation and want to try different speeds or colors, Tweakpane lets you add sliders and color pickers directly on the page that feed their values into your running code. The library works by binding to variables in your JavaScript code. You point it at a variable, and it creates a matching control: a slider for numbers, a checkbox for true/false values, a text field for strings, a color picker for colors, and point controls for 2D, 3D, or 4D coordinates. You can also set up read-only monitors that display a value as it changes over time without allowing user edits, which is useful for watching a counter or a sensor output update live. Beyond individual controls, the library includes structural elements: folders to group related controls and collapse them, tabs to switch between sections, buttons to trigger actions, and separators to organize the layout visually. A theming option lets you adjust the pane's appearance, and a plugin system allows adding custom control types that the core library does not include. All current values can be exported and imported as JSON, which makes it easy to save a set of parameters and restore them later. The library has no external dependencies, meaning no other packages are required. It supports mobile browsers and includes TypeScript type definitions. From version 4 onward, the package uses ES modules rather than the older CommonJS format. If you previously used a similar tool called dat.GUI, the README links to a migration guide.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Using Tweakpane, add a control panel to my JavaScript animation that has a number slider for speed, a color picker for fill color, and a checkbox for showing a grid. Show me how to bind each control to a live variable.
Prompt 2
I have a particle system running in the browser. Show me how to use Tweakpane to group particle settings in a folder, add a reset button, and export the current settings to JSON.
Prompt 3
Set up Tweakpane to monitor a variable that updates 60 times per second and display it as a read-only graph so I can watch it change over time.
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