raylib — A Simple C Library to Enjoy Video Game Programming

What it is

raylib is a simple, education-focused C library for video game programming. It provides a clean API for 2D and 3D rendering, input handling, audio, textures, and more -- without the complexity of engines like Unity or Unreal. raylib has zero external dependencies, compiles on every major platform, and offers bindings for 60+ languages including Python, Rust, Go, Zig, and C#.

raylib is for beginners learning game programming, educators teaching computer graphics, and hobbyists who want to build games without heavy engine overhead. If you want to draw shapes, handle input, and play sounds with minimal boilerplate, raylib gets you there in under 10 lines of code.

How it saves time or tokens

raylib reduces game development to essential primitives. Creating a window, drawing a circle, and handling keyboard input take 5 lines of C code. No project generators, no asset pipelines, no configuration files. The 500+ included examples cover every feature, so you copy a working example and modify it. For AI coding assistants, raylib's straightforward API means generated game code is usually correct and runnable without complex build system setup.

How to use

1. Install raylib via your package manager: brew install raylib (macOS) or download from the releases page.
2. Write a C file that includes raylib.h.
3. Compile with gcc main.c -lraylib -lm -lpthread -ldl -lrt (flags vary by platform) and run.

Example

#include "raylib.h"

int main(void) {
    InitWindow(800, 450, "raylib example");
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    Vector2 ballPos = { 400, 225 };

    while (!WindowShouldClose()) {
        // Update
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_RIGHT)) ballPos.x += 4;
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_LEFT)) ballPos.x -= 4;
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_DOWN)) ballPos.y += 4;
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_UP)) ballPos.y -= 4;

        // Draw
        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            DrawCircleV(ballPos, 20, MAROON);
            DrawText("Move the ball with arrow keys", 10, 10, 20, DARKGRAY);
        EndDrawing();
    }

    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}

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Common pitfalls

• Trying to use raylib like a game engine with entity-component systems and scene graphs. raylib is a library, not an engine. You write the game loop and architecture yourself. Keep it simple.
• Not checking the examples directory. raylib ships with 500+ examples covering every feature. Before writing code from scratch, search the examples for what you need.
• Linking errors on Linux. raylib depends on system libraries (X11, OpenGL, ALSA) that may not be installed. Install the dev packages: sudo apt install libx11-dev libxrandr-dev libxi-dev libgl-dev libasound2-dev.