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Yarn Spinner

Free plan Open source APIExtensionLinuxMacWebWindows

What Yarn Spinner is

Yarn Spinner is a toolkit for planning, writing, integrating, and testing dialogue for games. Its human-readable Yarn language supports interactive conversations and branching narratives, with official integrations for Unity, Godot using C# or GDScript, and Unreal Engine using Blueprint or C++. The free, open-source Visual Studio Code extension offers syntax highlighting, error checking, a graph view, and an in-editor dialogue preview. Dialogue strings can be exported with unique IDs, languages can be switched at runtime, and Unity Localization can be used. Voice-over features cover audio asset management, localization synchronization, and playback timing. Ready-made add-ons include speech bubbles and dialogue wheels; Text Animator is part of Yarn Spinner+. Try Yarn Spinner is a browser tool for writing and running scripts without setup, but it keeps scripts in browser localStorage rather than backing them up or synchronizing them. The core is licensed under MIT. The Free plan costs nothing. Yarn Spinner+ for Unity costs 75.00 USD or more, once, and includes Text Animator integration, dialogue presenters, priority support and bug fixes, and early access.

Who it suits

Yarn Spinner suits writers, programmers, and game designers creating branching dialogue for Unity, Godot, or Unreal Engine projects. It also offers a browser-based option for trying scripts without setup.

What it does well

Free plan includes Unity, Godot, and Unreal integrations.
VS Code extension includes preview and error checking.
Supports runtime language switching and localization workflows.
Includes voice-over tools and audio asset management.

What to know first

Browser scripts are not backed up or synchronized.
Text Animator is included in Yarn Spinner+, not the Free plan.
Yarn Spinner+ for Unity costs 75.00 USD or more, once.

Limits

The Free plan is listed as free and includes open-source tools and engine integrations. Text Animator integration, dialogue presenters, priority support and bug fixes, and early access are listed with Yarn Spinner+ for Unity at $75, paid once.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Free	free forever · Yarn language support · engine integrations · VS Code extension · documentation and community support	Free
Yarn Spinner+ for Unity	one-time minimum price · Text Animator integration · Classic RPG and Snaaake presenters · priority support and bug fixes · early access	$75, paid once

As yarnspinner.dev lists them, read 15 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Open the Yarn Spinner website or use the Try Yarn Spinner browser tool
Choose the Free plan or Yarn Spinner+ for Unity
Install the free Visual Studio Code extension for authoring
Connect Yarn Spinner to Unity, Godot or Unreal Engine using its official integration

Verdict

Yarn Spinner brings dialogue authoring, engine integrations, localization, and voice-over tools together. Its browser tool keeps scripts only in localStorage, so it is not a backup or sync option.

Questions

Is Yarn Spinner free?

Yes. Its Free plan is listed as free and includes open-source tools and Unity, Godot and Unreal Engine integrations.

Which game engines does Yarn Spinner support?

Official integrations support Unity, Godot with C# or GDScript, and Unreal Engine with Blueprint or C++.

Is Yarn Spinner open source?

The core is provided under the MIT License. The Visual Studio Code extension is free and open source.

What does Yarn Spinner+ for Unity cost?

It is listed at $75, paid once, billed at $75.00 USD or more.

Can I write Yarn scripts in a browser?

Yes. Try Yarn Spinner is a zero-setup browser tool for writing and running scripts. Its scripts stay in browser localStorage and are not backed up or synchronized.

Facts from Yarn Spinner's own pages

Browser data limit: Scripts in Try Yarn Spinner remain in browser localStorage, are not sent to the team and are not backed up or synchronized. · yarnspinner.dev, 1 Oct 2026
Browser data limitation: Browser scripts are not synchronized or backed up, so users are told to save work to disk regularly. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Browser privacy: Browser tools compile and run locally, keep scripts in localStorage and do not send script contents to Yarn Spinner servers. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Browser tool: Try Yarn Spinner runs Yarn scripts and dialogue directly in a browser with no installation. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Commands and game integration: Commands can trigger game events, update variables and control game state from Yarn scripts. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Company headquarters: The company is based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Company legal identity: The maker identifies itself as Yarn Spinner Pty. Ltd., an Australian private company. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Company size listing: LinkedIn lists Yarn Spinner Pty. Ltd. as privately held with 51–200 employees. · au.linkedin.com, 15 Oct 2026
Core licence: The core Yarn Spinner repository is published under the MIT License. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Dialogue preview: Writers can play through dialogue inside VS Code and preview scripts in the browser without installing an engine. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Dialogue UI: Built-in and customizable dialogue views can show lines, character names and options, while custom views can be created. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Documentation depth: Documentation covers beginner scripting, fundamentals, advanced scripting, engine guides, add-ons, samples, API reference, FAQ and migration. · docs.yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Editor: The free open-source Visual Studio Code extension provides syntax highlighting, error checking, graph view and in-editor dialogue preview. · yarnspinner.dev, 1 Oct 2026
Engine integrations: Official integrations support Unity, Godot with C# or GDScript, and Unreal Engine with Blueprint or C++. · yarnspinner.dev, 1 Oct 2026
Function extensibility: The Library API lets developers register, import, query and remove functions callable from Yarn programs. · docs.yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Godot integration: Godot support includes C# and an early-access GDScript implementation. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Graph view: The editor displays node relationships in file-level and project-wide interactive graphs. · marketplace.visualstudio.com, 15 Oct 2026
Headquarters: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia · yarnspinner.dev, 28 Sept 2026
Independent editor praise: Reddit users repeatedly describe Yarn Spinner as easier to use than more advanced alternatives and especially suitable when localization is needed. · reddit.com, 15 Oct 2026
Installation options: Unity users can install through Itch.io, the Unity Asset Store, GitHub or OpenUPM. · docs.yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
License: The core of Yarn Spinner is provided under the MIT License. · yarnspinner.dev, 1 Oct 2026
Limit: engine maturity: The official install page labels Unreal support alpha and GDScript support early access, indicating those integrations are less mature than Unity. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: feature depth: In a Reddit comparison, users say Ink offers more advanced or powerful built-in scripting options than Yarn Spinner. · reddit.com, 15 Oct 2026
Localization: Localization exports dialogue strings with unique IDs, supports runtime language switching and can use Unity Localization. · yarnspinner.dev, 15 Oct 2026

Where Yarn Spinner stands on Freedom251

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