Rendering Engine
- Vulkan 1.2+ GPU backend
- 2D + 3D plotting pipelines
- Depth buffer + MSAA + high-quality text
Feature Map
Spectra spans rendering, interaction, animation, desktop workflows, and Python interoperability.
Interactive Workflows
- Multi-window tabs + docking + split view
- Crosshair, markers, linked axes, shared cursor
- Undo/redo, command palette, configurable shortcuts
Animation + Automation
- Frame callbacks and real-time streaming
- Timeline editor + keyframe interpolation
- PNG/GIF/MP4 export and Python IPC bridge
Architecture Diagrams
Visual maps for runtime topology, GPU pipeline, and live topics.
Multiproc Runtime
Python and C++ clients, backend daemon, window agents.
Explore diagrams
Render Pipeline
From figure state to SPIR-V shaders on the GPU.
Read pipeline
Live Topics
Publisher-first streams into any open window.
Topics guideBrowse by Topic
Prefer smaller pages? Use these focused guides.
Getting Started
Install, build, and run your first C++ and Python plots.
Open guide →Feature Guide
Complete capability matrix with APIs and key use cases.
View features →Examples
Recipe-style entry points mapped to repository examples.
Browse examples →Architecture
Rendering pipeline, window model, and IPC runtime modes.
Read architecture →Architecture Diagrams
Core runtime, adapters, plugins, embed, and WebGPU.
View diagrams →ROS2 Adapter
GPU-accelerated ROS2 visualization — topic monitor, live plotting, bag tools, TF tree, node graph, and more.
View ROS2 docs →PX4 / ULog Adapter
Standalone spectra-px4 for offline ULog browsing and live MAVLink telemetry.
Qt Embedding
Embed Spectra's Vulkan rendering inside a Qt6 application via QtRuntime.
WebGPU / WASM
Experimental WebGPU backend — same C++ code runs natively or in the browser.
View WebGPU docs →Easy Embed (Headless)
One-liner offscreen rendering for web services, batch reports, and notebooks.
Open guide →Plugin Developer Guide
Write shared-library plugins for commands, transforms, overlays, data sources, and export formats.
Open guide →Topics (Live Streams)
ROS-style named topics published into spectra-backend and plotted from any window.
Core Rendering
GPU Pipeline
- Explicit Vulkan resource and frame management
- Asynchronous uploads and multi-buffered rendering
- Depth-tested rendering with optional 4x MSAA
2D Plot Quality
- Anti-aliased lines with SDF smoothing
- 18 marker types and dash pattern support
- MATLAB-style format strings (e.g.,
"r--o")
3D Visualization
Series + Shading
LineSeries3D,ScatterSeries3D,SurfaceSeries,MeshSeries- Blinn-Phong lighting and material controls
- Colormaps: Viridis, Plasma, Inferno, Magma, Jet, Coolwarm, Grayscale
Camera + Scene
- Quaternion-based orbit camera with pan/zoom
- Wireframe mode and transparency sorting
- 3D axes, grids, bounding box, depth-aware tick labels
Easy API (MATLAB-style)
Start with one-liners, scale to full object control when needed.
2D + Statistical
plot(),scatter(),subplot()histogram(),bar(),box_plot(),violin()- Axis titles, labels, limits, legends, and styling helpers
3D + State Access
plot3(),scatter3(),surf(),mesh()- Window + tab helpers (
figure(),tab()) - MATLAB-like accessors (
gcf(),gca(),cla())
Animation & Recording
Real-time Engine
- Frame callbacks with configurable FPS
- Stable frame scheduling + delta-time updates
- Live streaming append paths
Timeline Tools
- Timeline editor with play/pause/scrub
- 7 keyframe interpolation modes
- Curve editor with tangent controls
Output Formats
- PNG sequences
- GIF export with built-in quantization
- MP4 export through ffmpeg pipeline
UI & Productivity
Workflow Acceleration
- Command palette (Ctrl+K)
- Custom shortcuts with JSON persistence
- Undo/redo with grouped operations
Workspace Management
- Multi-figure tabs and tab context operations
- Docking + split panes + drag-to-dock
- Workspace save/load with backward compatibility
Data Interaction
Exploration
- Nearest-point hover tooltips
- Crosshair overlays with axis labels
- Persistent data markers
Coordination
- Multi-axis linking across subplots
- Shared cursor + interpolated Y readout
- Linked zoom/pan/auto-fit behaviors
Transform Pipeline
- 14 built-in data transforms
- Chained transform pipelines
- Custom transform registration
Themes & Accessibility
Theme System
- Dark and light themes
- Design tokens for spacing, color, typography
- Theme export/import in JSON
Accessible Visualization
- 8 colorblind-safe palettes
- CVD simulation modes
- WCAG contrast utilities
Multi-Window & Multi-Process
Window Runtime
- Independent OS windows with per-window swapchains
- Tab tear-off into new windows
- Stable figure ownership with
FigureId
Dual Runtime Modes
- In-process mode for local app workflows
- Multi-process mode: backend daemon + window agent
- Protocol-driven state sync and diffs
Python API
Core API
- Figure/Axes/Series proxy model over IPC
- Easy one-liners:
spectra.plot(),spectra.scatter(),spectra.show() - 3D support:
plot3(),scatter3(),surf(),mesh()
Performance + Streaming
- Thread-safe live streaming API
- NumPy fast path for array transfer
- Automatic backend launch and session management
Export & Integration
Headless Rendering
- Offscreen rendering for CI and servers
- Deterministic image output workflows
Packaging
- CMake install +
find_package(spectra) - Linux, macOS, Windows release artifacts
- AppImage, Homebrew, AUR, Python wheels
Optional Extensions
- FFmpeg-backed MP4 export flag
- Optional Eigen adapters
- Plugin API for external command extensions
Quality & Reliability
Verification
- 1,200+ unit tests
- Golden image regression tests for 2D and 3D
- Integration tests + benchmarks
CI + Release
- Cross-platform CI (Linux/macOS/Windows)
- Sanitizer jobs and release packaging
- Automated artifact publishing workflows
Quick Start (C++)
#include <spectra/easy.hpp>
int main() {
std::vector<float> x = {0.f, 1.f, 2.f, 3.f};
std::vector<float> y = {0.f, 1.f, 0.5f, 1.5f};
spectra::plot(x, y, "c-o").label("example");
spectra::title("Spectra Feature Demo");
spectra::xlabel("X");
spectra::ylabel("Y");
spectra::show();
}For deeper usage, see the repository README and docs directory.