Making games for the Uniplay Hub#
The Uniplay Hub, at play.unikia.es, is a library of browser games that runs in one page. Players pick a game and play it without leaving the Hub, earn achievements across every game, keep their saves in slots they can manage, and play co-op with their buds in a room that stays open from game to game.
A game is a static web build: HTML, scripts and assets, served from its own folder on the Hub's
site. It describes itself in a unihub.manifest.json, and uses the Uniplay SDK,
@unikia/upe-sdk, for achievements, saves, time played, the Hub around it and co-op. Every
part of the SDK is optional, and a game that skips it still runs; this contract is what the SDK
implements, so a game may also port it or write its own.
Installing#
The SDK and the uniplay command are on npm:
| Package | What it is |
|---|---|
@unikia/upe-sdk |
The SDK, imported by the game: achievements, saves, time played, the Hub around the game and co-op |
@unikia/upe-cli |
The uniplay command: validate, pack, submit, status, skill |
npm install @unikia/upe-sdk # or: bun add @unikia/upe-sdk
npx -p @unikia/upe-cli uniplay validate # run the command without installing it
Always name the package (-p @unikia/upe-cli) when running uniplay with npx: a different,
unrelated package on npm is called uniplay, and plain npx uniplay would run that instead.
How a game gets on the Hub#
- Build the game, with a
unihub.manifest.jsonat the root of its folder. - Check it with
npx -p @unikia/upe-cli uniplay validate, the same checks the Hub runs on a submission. - Pack it with
npx -p @unikia/upe-cli uniplay pack, which writes the submission zip. - Ask for a Publisher profile from the Feedback window in the Hub, signed in with your account. An admin creates the publisher, with you as its member.
- Submit the zip from your publisher dashboard, or make a key there and
run
npx -p @unikia/upe-cli uniplay submit --key uk_sub_…(submitting). - Review: an admin plays the game's first version before it goes live, unless you're a verified publisher.
- Live: the game is listed in the Hub. Later versions go through the same steps.
The docs#
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Game manifest | unihub.manifest.json, and what goes in the submission zip |
| Achievements | achievements.json, unlocks and the unlock notification |
| Saves | Save slots the player can manage from the Hub |
| Playing inside the Hub | The Hub shell around a game, and Buds rooms for co-op |
| Time played | How time played is counted |
| Versioning and storage keys | Spec versions, and the keys the Hub keeps for itself |
| Submitting a game | Submission keys, the upload API and review |
| Checklist for adding a game | Everything above, step by step |
The JSON Schemas for the manifest and for achievements are served at
/schema/unihub.manifest.v1.json and
/schema/achievements.v1.json. For
coding agents, /llms.txt lists these pages as Markdown, and
npx -p @unikia/upe-cli uniplay skill copies an agent skill for building Uniplay games into a project.