Camera Functions

Overview

Camera functions enable viewport transformation for 2D and 3D rendering, as well as coordinate space conversions.

2D Camera

Camera2D Type

The Camera2D class defines a 2D camera with offset, target, rotation, and zoom.

import "raylib" for Camera2D, Vector2

var camera = Camera2D.new(
  Vector2.new(400, 225),   // offset (screen center)
  Vector2.new(0, 0),       // target (world position to look at)
  1.0,                     // zoom
  0.0                      // rotation in degrees
)

Camera2D Properties

target

Gets or sets the camera target position in world space. Type: Vector2

import "raylib" for Raylib, Camera2D, Vector2, Rectangle, Color, KeyCode

var screenWidth = 800
var screenHeight = 450

Raylib.initWindow(screenWidth, screenHeight, "2D Camera")

var player = Rectangle.new(400, 280, 40, 40)
var camera = Camera2D.new(
  Vector2.new(screenWidth / 2.0, screenHeight / 2.0),
  Vector2.new(player.x + 20.0, player.y + 20.0),
  1.0,
  0.0
)

var speed = 2

Raylib.setTargetFPS(60)

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Update player position
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_RIGHT)) player.x = player.x + speed
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_LEFT)) player.x = player.x - speed
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_UP)) player.y = player.y - speed
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_DOWN)) player.y = player.y + speed
  
  // Camera follows player
  camera.target = Vector2.new(player.x + 20, player.y + 20)
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  Raylib.beginMode2D(camera)
  
  // Draw world
  Raylib.drawRectangle(-6000, 320, 13000, 8000, Color.DarkGray)
  Raylib.drawRectangleRec(player, Color.Red)
  
  Raylib.endMode2D()
  
  // Draw UI (screen space)
  Raylib.drawText("2D Camera Follow", 10, 10, 20, Color.Black)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

Raylib.closeWindow()

rotation

Gets or sets the camera rotation in degrees. Type: Number

import "math" for Math

var camera = Camera2D.new(
  Vector2.new(400, 225),
  Vector2.new(0, 0),
  1.0,
  0.0
)

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Rotate camera with A/S keys
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_A)) {
    camera.rotation = camera.rotation - 1
  } else if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_S)) {
    camera.rotation = camera.rotation + 1
  }
  
  // Clamp rotation
  if (camera.rotation > 40) camera.rotation = 40
  if (camera.rotation < -40) camera.rotation = -40
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  Raylib.beginMode2D(camera)
  // Draw rotated world
  Raylib.endMode2D()
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

zoom

Gets or sets the camera zoom level. Type: Number (1.0 = normal, greater than 1.0 = zoomed in, less than 1.0 = zoomed out)

import "math" for Math

var camera = Camera2D.new(
  Vector2.new(400, 225),
  Vector2.new(0, 0),
  1.0,
  0.0
)

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Zoom with mouse wheel
  var wheel = Raylib.getMouseWheelMove()
  camera.zoom = Math.exp(Math.log(camera.zoom) + (wheel * 0.1))
  
  // Clamp zoom
  if (camera.zoom > 3.0) camera.zoom = 3.0
  if (camera.zoom < 0.1) camera.zoom = 0.1
  
  // Reset with R key
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_R)) {
    camera.zoom = 1.0
    camera.rotation = 0.0
  }
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  Raylib.beginMode2D(camera)
  // Draw world with zoom
  Raylib.endMode2D()
  
  Raylib.drawText("Zoom: %(camera.zoom)", 10, 10, 20, Color.Black)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

Camera2D Methods

beginMode2D

Initializes 2D mode with custom camera (must be called from Raylib class).

Raylib.beginMode2D(camera)
// Draw world-space objects
Raylib.endMode2D()

endMode2D

Ends 2D mode (must be called from Raylib class).

Raylib.endMode2D()

2D Coordinate Conversion

getWorldToScreen2D

Converts a 2D world position to screen space.

position

Vector2

required

World position

camera

Camera2D

required

Camera to use for conversion

Returns: Vector2 - Screen position

// Get screen position of a world object
var worldPos = Vector2.new(100, 100)
var screenPos = Raylib.getWorldToScreen2D(worldPos, camera)

// Draw UI element at world position
Raylib.drawText("!", screenPos.x, screenPos.y, 20, Color.Red)

getScreenToWorld2D

Converts a 2D screen position to world space.

position

Vector2

required

Screen position

camera

Camera2D

required

Camera to use for conversion

Returns: Vector2 - World position

// Get world position of mouse click
var mousePos = Raylib.getMousePosition()
var worldPos = Raylib.getScreenToWorld2D(mousePos, camera)

if (Raylib.isMouseButtonPressed(0)) {
  System.print("Clicked world position: (%(worldPos.x), %(worldPos.y))")
  spawnParticle(worldPos)
}

getCameraMatrix2D

Returns camera 2D transform matrix.

camera

Camera2D

required

Camera

Returns: Matrix - Camera transform matrix

var matrix = Raylib.getCameraMatrix2D(camera)

3D Camera Functions

beginMode3D

Initializes 3D mode with custom camera.

camera

Camera3D

required

3D camera

Raylib.beginMode3D(camera3D)
// Draw 3D objects
Raylib.endMode3D()

endMode3D

Ends 3D mode.

getWorldToScreen

Converts 3D world position to screen space.

position

Vector3

required

World position

camera

Camera3D

required

Camera

Returns: Vector2 - Screen position

getScreenToWorldRay

Returns a ray from screen position into 3D world.

position

Vector2

required

Screen position

camera

Camera3D

required

Camera

Returns: Ray - Ray from camera through screen point

getCameraMatrix

Returns camera 3D transform matrix.

camera

Camera3D

required

Camera

Returns: Matrix - Camera transform matrix

Camera Update (3D)

updateCamera

Updates camera position for selected mode.

camera

Camera3D

required

Camera to update (pointer)

mode

Number

required

Camera mode

Raylib.updateCamera(camera3D, CameraMode.CAMERA_ORBITAL)

updateCameraPro

Updates camera movement/rotation with pro parameters.

camera

Camera3D

required

Camera to update (pointer)

movement

Vector3

required

Movement vector

rotation

Vector3

required

Rotation vector

zoom

Number

required

Zoom value

Complete 2D Camera Example

import "raylib" for Raylib, Camera2D, Vector2, Rectangle, Color, KeyCode
import "math" for Math

var MAX_BUILDINGS = 100

var screenWidth = 800
var screenHeight = 450

Raylib.initWindow(screenWidth, screenHeight, "2D Camera System")

var player = Rectangle.new(400, 280, 40, 40)
var buildings = []
var buildColors = []

var spacing = 0
var i = 0

while (i < MAX_BUILDINGS) {
  var height = Raylib.getRandomValue(100, 800)
  var width = Raylib.getRandomValue(50, 200)
  
  buildings.add(Rectangle.new(
    -6000 + spacing,
    screenHeight - 130.0 - height,
    width,
    height
  ))
  
  spacing = spacing + width
  
  buildColors.add(Color.new(
    Raylib.getRandomValue(200, 240),
    Raylib.getRandomValue(200, 240),
    Raylib.getRandomValue(200, 250),
    255
  ))
  
  i = i + 1
}

var camera = Camera2D.new(
  Vector2.new(screenWidth / 2.0, screenHeight / 2.0),
  Vector2.new(player.x + 20.0, player.y + 20.0),
  1.0,
  0.0
)

Raylib.setTargetFPS(60)

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Player movement
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_RIGHT)) player.x = player.x + 2
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_LEFT)) player.x = player.x - 2
  
  // Camera target follows player
  camera.target = Vector2.new(player.x + 20, player.y + 20)
  
  // Camera rotation
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_A)) {
    camera.rotation = camera.rotation - 1
  } else if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_S)) {
    camera.rotation = camera.rotation + 1
  }
  
  if (camera.rotation > 40) camera.rotation = 40
  if (camera.rotation < -40) camera.rotation = -40
  
  // Camera zoom
  camera.zoom = Math.exp(Math.log(camera.zoom) + (Raylib.getMouseWheelMove() * 0.1))
  
  if (camera.zoom > 3.0) camera.zoom = 3.0
  if (camera.zoom < 0.1) camera.zoom = 0.1
  
  // Reset camera
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_R)) {
    camera.zoom = 1.0
    camera.rotation = 0.0
  }
  
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)
  
  Raylib.beginMode2D(camera)
  
  // Draw world
  Raylib.drawRectangle(-6000, 320, 13000, 8000, Color.DarkGray)
  
  var i = 0
  while (i < MAX_BUILDINGS) {
    Raylib.drawRectangleRec(buildings[i], buildColors[i])
    i = i + 1
  }
  
  Raylib.drawRectangleRec(player, Color.Red)
  
  // Draw crosshair at camera target
  Raylib.drawLine(camera.target.x, -screenHeight * 10, camera.target.x, screenHeight * 10, Color.Green)
  Raylib.drawLine(-screenWidth * 10, camera.target.y, screenWidth * 10, camera.target.y, Color.Green)
  
  Raylib.endMode2D()
  
  // Draw UI (screen space)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(0, 0, screenWidth, 5, Color.Red)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(0, 5, 5, screenHeight - 10, Color.Red)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(screenWidth - 5, 5, 5, screenHeight - 10, Color.Red)
  Raylib.drawRectangle(0, screenHeight - 5, screenWidth, 5, Color.Red)
  
  Raylib.drawRectangle(10, 10, 250, 113, Color.SkyBlue)
  Raylib.drawRectangleLines(10, 10, 250, 113, Color.Blue)
  
  Raylib.drawText("Free 2D camera controls:", 20, 20, 10, Color.Black)
  Raylib.drawText("- Right/Left to move", 40, 40, 10, Color.DarkGray)
  Raylib.drawText("- Mouse Wheel to Zoom", 40, 60, 10, Color.DarkGray)
  Raylib.drawText("- A/S to Rotate", 40, 80, 10, Color.DarkGray)
  Raylib.drawText("- R to reset", 40, 100, 10, Color.DarkGray)
  
  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

Raylib.closeWindow()

Best Practices

Use beginMode2D() and endMode2D() to separate world-space rendering from screen-space UI.

The camera offset is typically set to the screen center (screenWidth/2, screenHeight/2) for smooth following behavior.

Camera properties must be updated before beginMode2D() to take effect in the current frame.

Use getScreenToWorld2D() to convert mouse clicks to world coordinates for object placement or interaction.

CLI Commands

Raylib Module

Math Module

Core Modules

Data Types

Camera Functions

Overview

2D Camera

Camera2D Type

Camera2D Properties

target

rotation

zoom

Camera2D Methods

beginMode2D

endMode2D

2D Coordinate Conversion

getWorldToScreen2D

getScreenToWorld2D

getCameraMatrix2D

3D Camera Functions

beginMode3D

endMode3D

getWorldToScreen

getScreenToWorldRay

getCameraMatrix

Camera Update (3D)

updateCamera

updateCameraPro

Complete 2D Camera Example

Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

CLI Commands

Raylib Module

Math Module

Core Modules

Data Types

​Overview

​2D Camera

​Camera2D Type

​Camera2D Properties

​target

​rotation

​zoom

​Camera2D Methods

​beginMode2D

​endMode2D

​2D Coordinate Conversion

​getWorldToScreen2D

​getScreenToWorld2D

​getCameraMatrix2D

​3D Camera Functions

​beginMode3D

​endMode3D

​getWorldToScreen

​getScreenToWorldRay

​getCameraMatrix

​Camera Update (3D)

​updateCamera

​updateCameraPro

​Complete 2D Camera Example

​Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

2D Camera

Camera2D Type

Camera2D Properties

target

rotation

zoom

Camera2D Methods

beginMode2D

endMode2D

2D Coordinate Conversion

getWorldToScreen2D

getScreenToWorld2D

getCameraMatrix2D

3D Camera Functions

beginMode3D

endMode3D

getWorldToScreen

getScreenToWorldRay

getCameraMatrix

Camera Update (3D)

updateCamera

updateCameraPro

Complete 2D Camera Example

Best Practices