Raylib + ImGui Integration (Proof of Concept)

This repository is a Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstrating how to seamlessly integrate Dear ImGui within a Raylib rendering environment.

This setup allows you to leverage Raylib for drawing graphics (like 2D/3D viewports, render textures, and game states) while using ImGui to provide powerful, dockable developer tools, inspectors, and UI overlays. It is designed as a foundational template for building plugin-based architectures or custom game engines.

Current raylib version: 5.5 - Check release page

Current Imgui version: v1.92.7-docking - Check release page - Remember to use the docking version

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📦 Dependencies & Setup

Before building, ensure your system has the required development libraries. The instructions below are primarily targeted at Linux environments.

1. Raylib System Dependencies

To run Raylib on Linux, you need several display server (X11/Wayland) and OpenGL libraries.

Please follow the official Raylib wiki for your specific Linux distribution:
Working on GNU Linux (Raylib Wiki)

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2. C/C++ Build Tools (ImGui & Core)

You must have a C++ compiler and CMake installed. ImGui does not require external libraries; it compiles directly from source alongside this project.

• CMake: Used to configure the build system
• C++ Compiler: gcc or clang
  • Arch/CachyOS: base-devel
  • Ubuntu: build-essential

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3. Debugging Tools (VS Code)

To enable step-through breakpoint debugging within VS Code:

• GDB: The GNU Debugger
  • Arch: sudo pacman -S gdb
  • Ubuntu: sudo apt install gdb

⚠️ If the build fails during the CMake configuration step, check terminal logs for missing system dependencies.

4. Downloading sources

In order to download all sources you can manually place them within ./external/imgui and ./external/raylib.

There is a script that can be executed to do it in root folder of the repo:

chmod +x ./setup.sh && ./setup.sh

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🚀 Building the Project (Terminal)

Build the project using standard CMake commands:

# 1. Make build directory
mkdir build

# 2. Generate the build directory and cache
cmake -S . -B build

# 3. Compile the project
cmake --build build

The resulting executable will be placed inside the build/ directory.

💻 VS Code Environment Setup

For the best developer experience, you can automate the build and debug process using VS Code.

If they don't exist yet, create a .vscode/ folder in the root of your project and add the following files:

.vscode/tasks.json

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "CMake: build",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "cmake --build ${workspaceFolder}/build",
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            }
        }
    ]
}

.vscode/launch.json

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Debug ImGui App",
            "type": "cppdbg",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/build/ImGuiTemplate",
            "args": [],
            "stopAtEntry": false,
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "environment": [],
            "externalConsole": false,
            "MIMode": "gdb",
            "setupCommands": [
                {
                    "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
                    "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
                    "ignoreFailures": true
                }
            ],
            "preLaunchTask": "CMake: build",
            "miDebuggerPath": "/usr/bin/gdb"
        }
    ]
}