glfw-skeleton

A skeleton C++20 OpenGL 4.1 app that uses glfw, glad, and glm libraries and builds with CMake to enable rapid cross-platform hacking with OpenGL.

glfw and glm are retrieved and built using CMake's FetchContent. glad uses pre-generated OpenGL loader files committed to the repository.

Requirements

• C++20
• OpenGL 4.1
• CMake 3.21+
• Make (macOS/Linux, optional)
• Modern C++ compiler (GCC 10+, Clang 11+, MSVC 2019+)

To regenerate glad OpenGL loader files (optional):

• Python 3 with jinja2 module (installed automatically in .venv by make regenerate-glad)

Quick Start

Using Make (macOS/Linux)

git clone https://github.com/andystanton/glfw-skeleton.git
cd glfw-skeleton
make run              # Build and run (debug by default)
make release          # Build release version
make help             # Show all available targets

Using CMake directly (all platforms)

git clone https://github.com/andystanton/glfw-skeleton.git
cd glfw-skeleton

# Configure and build (debug)
cmake --preset=debug
cmake --build build/debug

# Run
./build/debug/bin/glfw-skeleton

# Or for release build
cmake --preset=release
cmake --build build/release
./build/release/bin/glfw-skeleton

Windows (Visual Studio)

• Clone the repository
• Open the folder in Visual Studio 2019+ (CMake support required)
• Visual Studio will automatically detect CMakePresets.json
• Select your desired preset (debug/release) from the configuration dropdown
• Build and run using F5

Compatibility

Tested on macOS 11.6, Windows 10, & Ubuntu 20.04.

macOS	Windows	Linux