raygui is an immediate-mode GUI library written in C for building simple user interfaces with minimal overhead.
The library solves the problem of creating lightweight UI tools without retaining state between frames. It uses an immediate-mode approach where GUI elements are declared and rendered each frame, eliminating the need to manage persistent widget state. The library provides over twenty-five controls ranging from basic buttons and sliders to advanced containers and separators, all styled with a simple rectangular aesthetic matching raylib's visual design. A powerful styling system allows customization of colors, fonts, and metrics, while built-in support for a 512-icon set embedded as binary data enables quick icon integration into controls.
raygui is purpose-built for tools development rather than complex application UIs. It works as an auxiliary module for raylib but can be adapted to other graphics frameworks. The library ships with multiple pre-built styles and includes companion tools for style and icon editing. Developers choosing raygui should expect a straightforward API with minimal setup overhead, though they should be aware that the library maintains tight alignment with raylib's master branch and that recent versions introduced breaking API changes where all functions now return result values.
The project maintains active development with regular updates to keep pace with raylib's evolution. The codebase is structured as a single-file header-only library, requiring careful management of the RAYGUI_IMPLEMENTATION macro across compilation units to avoid duplicate definitions. The maintainer provides dedicated tooling for customizing styles and icons, indicating investment in the developer experience around the core library.
