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Pillar 03 · Rive Alternative
Rive Alternative for Product UI: Layout, Physics and Logic in One File
Rive made interactive vector animation mainstream. ExodeUI applies the same idea to whole interface pieces: layout, logic, physics and data, not just the graphic.
Updated October 2026
Is ExodeUI a good Rive alternative?
ExodeUI is a Rive alternative built for product UI rather than characters and games. Like Rive, you design in a visual editor and a runtime plays the file inside your app, with inputs and events your code controls. ExodeUI adds responsive layout with breakpoints, a physics engine, node logic and API data variables, keeps its source in an open .exode JSON file, and has an MCP server for AI coding tools. Rive is more mature, with a bigger community, stronger rigging and game-engine runtimes. We make ExodeUI.
Core Architecture
Why Engineers & Designers Choose ExodeUI
Design, logic and motion in one file that runs inside your app.
Layout that reflows
Responsive breakpoints with per-container overrides, so a component adapts to screen size the way product UI has to.
Physics built in
Gravity, collisions, attractors, fluid zones and effects such as squash and trails, without writing simulation code.
Open, reviewable source
The .exode source is JSON, so you can read it, review changes and run the CLI's semantic diff to catch breaking changes.
State machines, logic and data
States, transitions and inputs like Rive, plus node logic, expressions and API variables that fetch live data.
Objective Evaluation
How ExodeUI Compares to Rive
Where ExodeUI is stronger, and what to weigh before you switch.
ExodeUI
- Responsive layout with breakpoints for whole screens and components
- Built-in physics engine and node logic
- API variables, charts and live data binding inside the file
- Open .exode JSON source, plus an MCP server for AI coding tools
Rive
- Character rigging, bones and meshes are more mature in Rive
- Rive has game-engine runtimes (Unity, Unreal) that ExodeUI does not
- Rive has a much bigger community, more tutorials and a marketplace
- Free Rive exports play a splash screen; Cadet ($9 per seat per month, yearly) removes it
Developer Handoff
Using It in Your Code
Your app loads the compiled file through the ExodeUI runtime and talks to it through inputs and events.
import { ExodeUICanvas } from 'exodeui';
// Springs, states and timing live in the .exode file (designed in the
// editor). Your code passes inputs in and hears events back.
export function AuthWidget() {
return (
<ExodeUICanvas
src="/auth_machine.bexode"
onTrigger={(name) => console.log('ExodeUI event:', name)}
/>
);
}When ExodeUI is the better Rive alternative
Rive is excellent for characters, illustrations and game graphics. Teams look for an alternative when they use it for product UI, such as toggles, tab bars, onboarding, forms and dashboards, and need more than an animated graphic:
- Layout: product UI has to reflow across screen sizes, which ExodeUI handles with breakpoints.
- Logic and data: node logic, expressions and API variables let a component show and react to real data.
- Physics: drag, throw and collisions come from a built-in engine instead of hand-tuned animation.
- Search and accessibility: both tools draw on a canvas. Rive has a semantics mode for screen readers; ExodeUI's optional ExodeSEO layer adds semantic HTML and metadata, and its CLI can audit against WCAG.
How it works in your app
Both tools use the same model: a runtime draws the file on a canvas inside your app, and your code talks to it through inputs and events. With ExodeUI you design in the browser or desktop editor, compile the .exode source to a small .bexode file, and play it with the runtime for your framework.
State machines
Connect idle, hover, pressed, loading and success states with transitions, and drive them from your code.
Inputs and events
Set boolean, number and text inputs from your app, and listen for triggers, clicks and input changes coming back.
When to stay with Rive
Stay with Rive if you animate characters with bones and meshes, ship to Unity or Unreal, rely on Rive scripting, or already have a library of .riv files and a team that knows the editor. ExodeUI is newer, and its React runtime is the most mature of its eight runtimes.
Topic Cluster Network
Explore Connected Concepts & Tooling
Got Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Build living components with real motion.
Start free in the browser or download the desktop app. Compile spring physics and state machines directly to React and SwiftUI.