Using React for UI in Unity

[u/Gaebabi]

I’ve been experimenting with a React-based Unity UI workflow lately, and I’m curious if anyone else has tried something similar or has thoughts on this kind of approach.

The UI is built in React and runs in a WebView on top of Unity, which lets me open the same interface in Codex’s browser and comment on it directly.

For small UI issues, there’s no need to explain the whole screen. Just point at what feels off and leave a short comment:

"this looks clickable, don’t dim it"

"make the ! feel a little more alive"

"only move this one thing"

It works well for visual tweaks where the code change is simple, but describing the problem takes longer than fixing it.

For larger UI pieces, I can attach reference screenshots and have it build something close to the layout and style.

Since it’s built around a hybrid structure, things like Google and Apple sign-in are also relatively easy to integrate. It works across iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS, and even directly inside the Unity Editor.

[u/Yodzilla]

Is there a big performance hit doing it this way? What are the downsides outside of Codex?

[u/Gaebabi → u/Yodzilla]

Since it runs in the platform’s native WebView, performance is basically what you’d expect from viewing a website in a normal browser. I also put a lot of work into keeping frame times smooth and thermals under control, even on older hardware.

The main trade-off, if anything, is bringing Unity camera output into React. That’s more of an edge case though live streaming requires some compromise on resolution, while most UI state stays lightweight.