Modular architecture: separate core logic from PixiJS renderer to enable React Native / headless use

[guillempuche]

The SDK is a single package where timeline logic, clip management, history, and events are all inside the Studio class, tightly coupled to PixiJS. This means:

• React Native / Expo: Can't use the SDK at all. PixiJS requires HTML canvas + WebGL. Teams building cross-platform editors need to rewrite everything except the JSON format.
• Headless / server-side: Can't run timeline logic, validate projects, or compute durations without a browser.
• Alternative renderers: Can't swap PixiJS for Skia, Three.js, or WebGPU without forking the entire package.

What works cross-platform today

Only the data layer: IClip, ProjectJSON, ClipJSON, clipToJSON(), jsonToClip(). Everything else requires a browser.

Proposal

Split into composable packages:

@openvideo/core          Pure logic: timeline, clips, tracks, history, events
                         No browser deps. Runs anywhere (web, native, server).

@openvideo/types         Shared TypeScript interfaces (IClip, ProjectJSON, etc.)

@openvideo/renderer-pixi PixiJS renderer (current rendering, effects, transitions)
                         Depends on @openvideo/core

@openvideo/video         Full bundle (core + pixi) — backwards compatible

This would let teams:

• Use @openvideo/core + react-native-skia for native apps
• Use @openvideo/core on the server for validation, duration calc, headless export
• Build custom renderers without forking

Example: what @openvideo/core would own

• Timeline: clip scheduling, track ordering, duration calculation
• ClipManager: add/update/remove clips (data operations)
• History: undo/redo stack
• EventBus: clip:added, selection:created, currentTime, etc.
• Serialization: clipToJSON, jsonToClip, loadFromJSON, exportToJSON
• Effects/Transitions registry: type definitions (not GL shaders)

Use case

Building a cloud video editor with an Effect Platform server + Expo app (web + iOS + Android). OpenVideo handles web rendering today. For native, we have to rebuild timeline logic, history, events, and clip management from scratch, the only thing we can reuse is project.json.

[xo-o]

Makes sense. I will take a look on mobile support once I get some time. But this refactoring approach makes sense.