nozzle.unity

This codebase is currently in its AI-slob prototyping phase: the code runs on momentum, vibes, and plausible intent. Proper debugging will be introduced once demand graduates from hypothetical to measurable.

Unity plugin for nozzle GPU texture sharing.

Send and receive textures between Unity and other nozzle-compatible applications (openFrameworks, Max/MSP, TouchDesigner, etc.) on macOS and Windows. GPU-side texture copy — no CPU readback.

Features

• NozzleSender: Publish Unity textures to the nozzle network via GPU copy
• NozzleReceiver: Subscribe to textures from nozzle senders via GPU copy
• NozzleDiscovery: Enumerate available senders at runtime
• macOS (Metal/IOSurface) and Windows (D3D11) backends
• Unity Package Manager compatible

Requirements

• Unity 2021.3+
• macOS 12+ (Metal) or Windows 10+ (D3D11)
• Built nozzle native library (libnozzle.a / nozzle.lib)

Installation

From Git URL (Unity Package Manager)

1. Open Unity Package Manager (Window > Package Manager)
2. Click "+" > "Add package from git URL..."
3. Enter: https://github.com/nozzle-io/nozzle.unity.git

Manual

1. Clone this repository recursively: git clone --recursive https://github.com/nozzle-io/nozzle.unity.git
2. Build the nozzle native library
3. Place the built library in your Unity project's Assets/Plugins/Nozzle/

Building the Native Library

git clone --recursive https://github.com/nozzle-io/nozzle.unity.git
cd nozzle.unity/nozzle
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=12.0
cmake --build build --config Release

Place libnozzle.a (macOS) or nozzle.lib (Windows) in your Unity project under Assets/Plugins/Nozzle/.

Usage

Sending Textures

1. Add a NozzleSender component to any GameObject
2. Set the sender name (used by receivers to find this sender)
3. Assign a Texture (Texture2D or RenderTexture) as the source
4. The texture is published every frame via GPU copy while the component is enabled

Receiving Textures

1. Add a NozzleReceiver component to any GameObject
2. Set the sender name to connect to
3. A RenderTexture is automatically created and updated each frame via GPU copy
4. Read LastFrameInfo for metadata (resolution, frame index, timestamp)

Discovery

1. Add a NozzleDiscovery component to any GameObject
2. Call Refresh() to enumerate available senders
3. Access AvailableSenders for the list of sender info

Scripting Example

// Receive a texture and apply it to a material
var receiver = gameObject.AddComponent<Nozzle.NozzleReceiver>();
receiver.senderName = "MyOFApp";

// Later, in Update or a coroutine:
if (receiver.IsConnected && receiver.TargetTexture != null)
{
    GetComponent<Renderer>().material.mainTexture = receiver.TargetTexture;
}

Architecture

Unity C# (MonoBehaviour)  ←→  P/Invoke  ←→  nozzle (C ABI — libnozzle)

The C# plugin calls nozzle's C ABI (nozzle_c.h) directly. Native texture pointers (MTLTexture* / ID3D11Texture2D*) from Unity's Texture.GetNativeTexturePtr() are passed to nozzle_sender_publish_native_texture and nozzle_frame_copy_to_native_texture for GPU-side texture copy. No intermediate C++ bridge layer.

License

MIT

Third-party dependencies:

• nozzle — MIT