GLFW
Introduction
GLFW is an Open Source, multi-platform library for OpenGL, OpenGL ES and Vulkan
application development. It provides a simple, platform-independent API for
creating windows, contexts and surfaces, reading input, handling events, etc.
GLFW natively supports Windows, macOS and Linux and other Unix-like systems. On
Linux both X11 and Wayland are supported.
GLFW is licensed under the zlib/libpng
license.
You can download the latest stable release
as source or Windows binaries, or fetch the latest
branch from GitHub. Each
release starting with 3.0 also has a corresponding annotated
tag with source and binary archives.
The documentation is available online and is
included in all source and binary archives. See the release
notes for new features, caveats and
deprecations in the latest release. For more details see the version
history.
The master
branch is the stable integration branch and should always compile
and run on all supported platforms, although details of newly added features may
change until they have been included in a release. New features and many bug
fixes live in other branches until
they are stable enough to merge.
If you are new to GLFW, you may find the
tutorial for GLFW 3 useful. If
you have used GLFW 2 in the past, there is a transition
guide for moving to the GLFW
3 API.
Compiling GLFW
GLFW itself requires only the headers and libraries for your OS and window
system. It does not need the headers for any context creation API (WGL, GLX,
EGL, NSGL, OSMesa) or rendering API (OpenGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan) to enable
support for them.
GLFW supports compilation on Windows with Visual C++ 2010 and later, MinGW and
MinGW-w64, on macOS with Clang and on Linux and other Unix-like systems with GCC
and Clang. It will likely compile in other environments as well, but this is
not regularly tested.
There are pre-compiled Windows binaries
available for all supported compilers.
See the compilation guide for
more information about how to compile GLFW yourself.
Using GLFW
See the documentation for tutorials, guides
and the API reference.
Contributing to GLFW
See the contribution
guide for
more information.
System requirements
GLFW supports Windows XP and later and macOS 10.8 and later. Linux and other
Unix-like systems running the X Window System are supported even without
a desktop environment or modern extensions, although some features require
a running window or clipboard manager. The OSMesa backend requires Mesa 6.3.
See the compatibility guide
in the documentation for more information.
Dependencies
GLFW itself needs only CMake 3.1 or later and the headers and libraries for your
OS and window system.
The examples and test programs depend on a number of tiny libraries. These are
located in the deps/
directory.
The documentation is generated with Doxygen if CMake can
find that tool.
Reporting bugs
Bugs are reported to our issue tracker.
Please check the contribution
guide for
information on what to include when reporting a bug.
Changelog
- Added
glfwInitAllocator
for setting a custom memory allocator (#544,#1628,#1947)
- Added
GLFWallocator
struct and GLFWallocatefun
, GLFWreallocatefun
and
GLFWdeallocatefun
types (#544,#1628,#1947)
- Added
GLFW_RESIZE_NWSE_CURSOR
, GLFW_RESIZE_NESW_CURSOR
,
GLFW_RESIZE_ALL_CURSOR
and GLFW_NOT_ALLOWED_CURSOR
cursor shapes (#427)
- Added
GLFW_RESIZE_EW_CURSOR
alias for GLFW_HRESIZE_CURSOR
(#427)
- Added
GLFW_RESIZE_NS_CURSOR
alias for GLFW_VRESIZE_CURSOR
(#427)
- Added
GLFW_POINTING_HAND_CURSOR
alias for GLFW_HAND_CURSOR
(#427)
- Added
GLFW_MOUSE_PASSTHROUGH
window hint for letting mouse input pass
through the window (#1236,#1568)
- Added
GLFW_FEATURE_UNAVAILABLE
error for platform limitations (#1692)
- Added
GLFW_FEATURE_UNIMPLEMENTED
error for incomplete backends (#1692)
- Added
GLFW_ANGLE_PLATFORM_TYPE
init hint and GLFW_ANGLE_PLATFORM_TYPE_*
values to select ANGLE backend (#1380)
- Added
GLFW_X11_XCB_VULKAN_SURFACE
init hint for selecting X11 Vulkan
surface extension (#1793)
- Added
GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE
CMake variable for overriding the library type
(#279,#1307,#1497,#1574,#1928)
- Added
GLFW_PKG_CONFIG_REQUIRES_PRIVATE
and GLFW_PKG_CONFIG_LIBS_PRIVATE
CMake
variables exposing pkg-config dependencies (#1307)
- Made joystick subsystem initialize at first use (#1284,#1646)
- Made
GLFW_DOUBLEBUFFER
a read-only window attribute
- Updated the minimum required CMake version to 3.1
- Disabled tests and examples by default when built as a CMake subdirectory
- Bugfix: The CMake config-file package used an absolute path and was not
relocatable (#1470)
- Bugfix: Video modes with a duplicate screen area were discarded (#1555,#1556)
- Bugfix: Compiling with -Wextra-semi caused warnings (#1440)
- Bugfix: Built-in mappings failed because some OEMs re-used VID/PID (#1583)
- Bugfix: Some extension loader headers did not prevent default OpenGL header
inclusion (#1695)
- Bugfix: Buffers were swapped at creation on single-buffered windows (#1873)
- Bugfix: Gamepad mapping updates could spam
GLFW_INVALID_VALUE
due to
incompatible controllers sharing hardware ID (#1763)
- [Win32] Added the
GLFW_WIN32_KEYBOARD_MENU
window hint for enabling access
to the window menu
- [Win32] Added a version info resource to the GLFW DLL
- [Win32] Disabled framebuffer transparency on Windows 7 when DWM windows are
opaque (#1512)
- [Win32] Bugfix:
GLFW_INCLUDE_VULKAN
plus VK_USE_PLATFORM_WIN32_KHR
caused
symbol redefinition (#1524)
- [Win32] Bugfix: The cursor position event was emitted before its cursor enter
event (#1490)
- [Win32] Bugfix: The window hint
GLFW_MAXIMIZED
did not move or resize the
window (#1499)
- [Win32] Bugfix: Disabled cursor mode interfered with some non-client actions
- [Win32] Bugfix: Super key was not released after Win+V hotkey (#1622)
- [Win32] Bugfix:
glfwGetKeyName
could access out of bounds and return an
invalid pointer
- [Win32] Bugfix: Some synthetic key events were reported as
GLFW_KEY_UNKNOWN
(#1623)
- [Win32] Bugfix: Non-BMP Unicode codepoint input was reported as UTF-16
- [Win32] Bugfix: Monitor functions could return invalid values after
configuration change (#1761)
- [Win32] Bugfix: Initialization would segfault on Windows 8 (not 8.1) (#1775)
- [Win32] Bugfix: Duplicate size events were not filtered (#1610)
- [Win32] Bugfix: Full screen windows were incorrectly resized by DPI changes
(#1582)
- [Win32] Bugfix:
GLFW_SCALE_TO_MONITOR
had no effect on systems older than
Windows 10 version 1703 (#1511)
- [Win32] Bugfix:
USE_MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY_DLL
had no effect on CMake 3.15 or
later (#1783,#1796)
- [Win32] Bugfix: Compilation with LLVM for Windows failed (#1807,#1824,#1874)
- [Win32] Bugfix: The foreground lock timeout was overridden, ignoring the user
- [Cocoa] Added support for
VK_EXT_metal_surface
(#1619)
- [Cocoa] Added locating the Vulkan loader at runtime in an application bundle
- [Cocoa] Moved main menu creation to GLFW initialization time (#1649)
- [Cocoa] Changed
EGLNativeWindowType
from NSView
to CALayer
(#1169)
- [Cocoa] Changed F13 key to report Print Screen for cross-platform consistency
(#1786)
- [Cocoa] Removed dependency on the CoreVideo framework
- [Cocoa] Bugfix:
glfwSetWindowSize
used a bottom-left anchor point (#1553)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Window remained on screen after destruction until event poll
(#1412)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Event processing before window creation would assert (#1543)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Undecorated windows could not be iconified on recent macOS
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Touching event queue from secondary thread before main thread
would abort (#1649)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Non-BMP Unicode codepoint input was reported as UTF-16
(#1635)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Failing to retrieve the refresh rate of built-in displays
could leak memory
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Objective-C files were compiled as C with CMake 3.19 (#1787)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Duplicate video modes were not filtered out (#1830)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Menubar was not clickable on macOS 10.15+ until it lost and
regained focus (#1648,#1802)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Monitor name query could segfault on macOS 11 (#1809,#1833)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: The install name of the installed dylib was relative (#1504)
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: The MoltenVK layer contents scale was updated only after
related events were emitted
- [Cocoa] Bugfix: Moving the cursor programmatically would freeze it for
a fraction of a second (#1962)
- [X11] Bugfix: The CMake files did not check for the XInput headers (#1480)
- [X11] Bugfix: Key names were not updated when the keyboard layout changed
(#1462,#1528)
- [X11] Bugfix: Decorations could not be enabled after window creation (#1566)
- [X11] Bugfix: Content scale fallback value could be inconsistent (#1578)
- [X11] Bugfix:
glfwMaximizeWindow
had no effect on hidden windows
- [X11] Bugfix: Clearing
GLFW_FLOATING
on a hidden window caused invalid read
- [X11] Bugfix: Changing
GLFW_FLOATING
on a hidden window could silently fail
- [X11] Bugfix: Disabled cursor mode was interrupted by indicator windows
- [X11] Bugfix: Monitor physical dimensions could be reported as zero mm
- [X11] Bugfix: Window position events were not emitted during resizing (#1613)
- [X11] Bugfix:
glfwFocusWindow
could terminate on older WMs or without a WM
- [X11] Bugfix: Querying a disconnected monitor could segfault (#1602)
- [X11] Bugfix: IME input of CJK was broken for "C" locale (#1587,#1636)
- [X11] Bugfix: Termination would segfault if the IM had been destroyed
- [X11] Bugfix: Any IM started after initialization would not be detected
- [X11] Bugfix: Xlib errors caused by other parts of the application could be
reported as GLFW errors
- [X11] Bugfix: A handle race condition could cause a
BadWindow
error (#1633)
- [X11] Bugfix: XKB path used keysyms instead of physical locations for
non-printable keys (#1598)
- [X11] Bugfix: Function keys were mapped to
GLFW_KEY_UNKNOWN
for some layout
combinaitons (#1598)
- [X11] Bugfix: Keys pressed simultaneously with others were not always
reported (#1112,#1415,#1472,#1616)
- [X11] Bugfix: Some window attributes were not applied on leaving fullscreen
(#1863)
- [X11] Bugfix: Changing
GLFW_FLOATING
could leak memory
- [Wayland] Added dynamic loading of all Wayland libraries
- [Wayland] Removed support for
wl_shell
(#1443)
- [Wayland] Bugfix: The
GLFW_HAND_CURSOR
shape used the wrong image (#1432)
- [Wayland] Bugfix:
CLOCK_MONOTONIC
was not correctly enabled
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Repeated keys could be reported with
NULL
window (#1704)
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Retrieving partial framebuffer size would segfault
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Scrolling offsets were inverted compared to other platforms
(#1463)
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Client-Side Decorations were destroyed in the wrong worder
(#1798)
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Monitors physical size could report zero (#1784,#1792)
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Some keys were not repeating in Wayland (#1908)
- [Wayland] Bugfix: Non-arrow cursors are offset from the hotspot (#1706,#1899)
- [POSIX] Removed use of deprecated function
gettimeofday
- [POSIX] Bugfix:
CLOCK_MONOTONIC
was not correctly tested for or enabled
- [NSGL] Removed enforcement of forward-compatible flag for core contexts
- [NSGL] Bugfix:
GLFW_COCOA_RETINA_FRAMEBUFFER
had no effect on newer
macOS versions (#1442)
- [NSGL] Bugfix: Workaround for swap interval on 10.14 broke on 10.12 (#1483)
- [NSGL] Bugfix: Defining
GL_SILENCE_DEPRECATION
externally caused
a duplicate definition warning (#1840)
- [EGL] Added platform selection via the
EGL_EXT_platform_base
extension
(#442)
- [EGL] Added ANGLE backend selection via
EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle
extension
(#1380)
- [EGL] Bugfix: The
GLFW_DOUBLEBUFFER
context attribute was ignored (#1843)
Contact
On glfw.org you can find the latest version of GLFW, as
well as news, documentation and other information about the project.
If you have questions related to the use of GLFW, we have a
forum, and the #glfw
IRC channel on
Libera.Chat.
If you have a bug to report, a patch to submit or a feature you'd like to
request, please file it in the
issue tracker on GitHub.
Finally, if you're interested in helping out with the development of GLFW or
porting it to your favorite platform, join us on the forum, GitHub or IRC.
Acknowledgements
GLFW exists because people around the world donated their time and lent their
skills.
- Bobyshev Alexander
- Laurent Aphecetche
- Matt Arsenault
- ashishgamedev
- David Avedissian
- Keith Bauer
- John Bartholomew
- Coşku Baş
- Niklas Behrens
- Andrew Belt
- Nevyn Bengtsson
- Niklas Bergström
- Denis Bernard
- Doug Binks
- blanco
- Waris Boonyasiriwat
- Kyle Brenneman
- Rok Breulj
- Kai Burjack
- Martin Capitanio
- Nicolas Caramelli
- David Carlier
- Arturo Castro
- Chi-kwan Chan
- Joseph Chua
- Ian Clarkson
- Michał Cichoń
- Lambert Clara
- Anna Clarke
- Yaron Cohen-Tal
- Omar Cornut
- Andrew Corrigan
- Bailey Cosier
- Noel Cower
- CuriouserThing
- Jason Daly
- Jarrod Davis
- Olivier Delannoy
- Paul R. Deppe
- Michael Dickens
- Роман Донченко
- Mario Dorn
- Wolfgang Draxinger
- Jonathan Dummer
- Ralph Eastwood
- Fredrik Ehnbom
- Robin Eklind
- Siavash Eliasi
- Ahmad Fatoum
- Felipe Ferreira
- Michael Fogleman
- Gerald Franz
- Mário Freitas
- GeO4d
- Marcus Geelnard
- Charles Giessen
- Ryan C. Gordon
- Stephen Gowen
- Kovid Goyal
- Eloi Marín Gratacós
- Stefan Gustavson
- Jonathan Hale
- hdf89shfdfs
- Sylvain Hellegouarch
- Matthew Henry
- heromyth
- Lucas Hinderberger
- Paul Holden
- Warren Hu
- Charles Huber
- IntellectualKitty
- Aaron Jacobs
- Erik S. V. Jansson
- Toni Jovanoski
- Arseny Kapoulkine
- Cem Karan
- Osman Keskin
- Koray Kilinc
- Josh Kilmer
- Byunghoon Kim
- Cameron King
- Peter Knut
- Christoph Kubisch
- Yuri Kunde Schlesner
- Rokas Kupstys
- Konstantin Käfer
- Eric Larson
- Francis Lecavalier
- Jong Won Lee
- Robin Leffmann
- Glenn Lewis
- Shane Liesegang
- Anders Lindqvist
- Leon Linhart
- Marco Lizza
- Eyal Lotem
- Aaron Loucks
- Luflosi
- lukect
- Tristam MacDonald
- Hans Mackowiak
- Дмитри Малышев
- Zbigniew Mandziejewicz
- Adam Marcus
- Célestin Marot
- Kyle McDonald
- David V. McKay
- David Medlock
- Bryce Mehring
- Jonathan Mercier
- Marcel Metz
- Liam Middlebrook
- Ave Milia
- Jonathan Miller
- Kenneth Miller
- Bruce Mitchener
- Jack Moffitt
- Jeff Molofee
- Alexander Monakov
- Pierre Morel
- Jon Morton
- Pierre Moulon
- Martins Mozeiko
- Julian Møller
- ndogxj
- n3rdopolis
- Kristian Nielsen
- Kamil Nowakowski
- onox
- Denis Ovod
- Ozzy
- Andri Pálsson
- Peoro
- Braden Pellett
- Christopher Pelloux
- Arturo J. Pérez
- Vladimir Perminov
- Anthony Pesch
- Orson Peters
- Emmanuel Gil Peyrot
- Cyril Pichard
- Keith Pitt
- Stanislav Podgorskiy
- Konstantin Podsvirov
- Nathan Poirier
- Alexandre Pretyman
- Pablo Prietz
- przemekmirek
- pthom
- Guillaume Racicot
- Philip Rideout
- Eddie Ringle
- Max Risuhin
- Jorge Rodriguez
- Luca Rood
- Ed Ropple
- Aleksey Rybalkin
- Mikko Rytkönen
- Riku Salminen
- Brandon Schaefer
- Sebastian Schuberth
- Christian Sdunek
- Matt Sealey
- Steve Sexton
- Arkady Shapkin
- Ali Sherief
- Yoshiki Shibukawa
- Dmitri Shuralyov
- Daniel Skorupski
- Anthony Smith
- Bradley Smith
- Cliff Smolinsky
- Patrick Snape
- Erlend Sogge Heggen
- Julian Squires
- Johannes Stein
- Pontus Stenetorp
- Michael Stocker
- Justin Stoecker
- Elviss Strazdins
- Paul Sultana
- Nathan Sweet
- TTK-Bandit
- Jared Tiala
- Sergey Tikhomirov
- Arthur Tombs
- Ioannis Tsakpinis
- Samuli Tuomola
- Matthew Turner
- urraka
- Elias Vanderstuyft
- Stef Velzel
- Jari Vetoniemi
- Ricardo Vieira
- Nicholas Vitovitch
- Simon Voordouw
- Corentin Wallez
- Torsten Walluhn
- Patrick Walton
- Xo Wang
- Jay Weisskopf
- Frank Wille
- Andy Williams
- Joel Winarske
- Richard A. Wilkes
- Tatsuya Yatagawa
- Ryogo Yoshimura
- Lukas Zanner
- Andrey Zholos
- Aihui Zhu
- Santi Zupancic
- Jonas Ådahl
- Lasse Öörni
- Leonard König
- All the unmentioned and anonymous contributors in the GLFW community, for bug
reports, patches, feedback, testing and encouragement