The p5.js Web Editor — the browser-based tool thousands of students, teachers, and artists use to write and run p5.js sketches without installing anything — is switching its entire backend. Instead of storing sketches and accounts on its own servers, the editor will run on OpenProcessing’s API and infrastructure, the Processing Foundation announced in a forum post on October 22.
The announcement, posted by a Foundation staffer using the handle “Kit,” frames the move as a partnership rather than a shutdown: “the Editor will look and work exactly as it did before.” Editor accounts and OpenProcessing accounts stay separate by default, with an optional merge feature planned for later.
Why hand the servers to someone else
OpenProcessing is a social creative-coding platform founded in 2008, built around Processing and p5.js sketches that run and remix in the browser. The Foundation already works with it on the Art + Code K-12 curriculum and relies on its sponsorship of Processing Community Day. The pitch for this migration is that offloading server maintenance frees Foundation staff and volunteers to work on what users actually notice: bug fixes, accessibility improvements, better support for teachers and learners, and an easier path for new contributors to propose features.
Three phases, one firm deadline
The migration is rolling out carefully:
- Open testing (now): Anyone with a free OpenProcessing account can log into the alpha site and try the new editor. Testers are asked to create new sketches rather than relying on existing OpenProcessing content, since tutorials and older sketches may not display correctly yet.
- Staff and maintainer testing (upcoming): A small set of accounts gets migrated internally. The public can’t join this phase, and most users don’t need to do anything.
- Full switch (no earlier than December 15, 2026):
editor.p5js.orgmoves onto the new backend, and every account and sketch migrates automatically. Users who want out can download their content and host it elsewhere before that date — doing nothing means an automatic move.
A reply posted November 3 from a tester using the handle “quark” already reports two bugs worth knowing about: image uploads fail with an AWS error unless the sketch is saved first, and duplicating a sketch doesn’t carry over its folders or uploaded files.
What else changes
The privacy policy and terms of service are being rewritten to reflect that OpenProcessing now stores sketches and account data. The editor is also switching its analytics provider to Fathom Analytics, which the Foundation says doesn’t use cookies for web tracking. Feature requests are likely to move slowly for now — the team says it’s prioritizing backend stability over new functionality during the transition.
Anyone who wants to test the new editor can log in at the alpha site with an OpenProcessing account and file issues on GitHub (processing/p5.js-editor-op), in the Discourse thread, or in the #editor-new-backend channel on the p5.js Discord.