# How to Build and Run

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Copyright (c) 2014-2026 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0
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## Building

### Python v3.6+ may be required

**If you are building from most repositories:** (specifically, the
OpenXR-SDK-Source repository, the OpenXR-CTS repository, or the internal Khronos
GitLab OpenXR repository) Certain source files are generated at build time from
the `xr.xml` file, utilizing Python scripts. The scripts make use of the Python
`pathlib` module, which is fully supported in Python version 3.6 or later.

You will also need the Python `jinja2` package, available from your package
manager or with something like `pip3 install jinja2`. Most OpenXR repositories
include a bundled copy of this, but if you see errors about Jinja, this would be
one approach to try.

**If you are building the `OpenXR-SDK` repository:** all source files have been
pre-generated for you, and only the OpenXR headers and loader are included.

### CMake

The project is a relatively standard CMake-based project. You
might consider
[the official CMake User Interaction Guide][cmake-user-interaction] if you're
new to building CMake-based projects. The instructions below can mostly be skimmed to find the dependencies

[cmake-user-interaction]:https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/guide/user-interaction/

### Windows

Building the OpenXR components in this tree on Windows is supported using Visual
Studio 2017 and newer. If you are using Visual Studio 2019+, you can simply "Open
folder" and use the built-in CMake support. Other environments, such as VS Code,
that can have CMake support installed and use the Visual Studio toolchains,
should also work.

When generating the
solutions/projects using CMake, be sure to use the correct compiler version
number. The following table is provided to help you:

| Visual Studio        | Version Number |
| -------------------- |:--------------:|
| Visual Studio 2017   |       15       |
| Visual Studio 2019   |       16       |
| Visual Studio 2022   |       17       |

#### Windows 64-bit

First, generate the 64-bit solution and project files using CMake:

```cmd
mkdir build\win64
cd build\win64
cmake -G "Visual Studio [Version Number] Win64" ../..
```

Finally, open the build\win64\OPENXR.sln in the Visual Studio to build the samples.

#### VS2019+

For VS2019+ the above may complain and say to split out the arch into `-A '[arch]'`.  This `-A` parameter must be set to `x64`, *not* `Win64`:

```cmd
mkdir build\win64
cd build\win64
cmake -G "Visual Studio [Version Number]" -A x64 ../..
```

VS2019 includes CMake tools, which can be installed through the Visual Studio
Installer -> Modify -> Individual Components -> C++ CMake tools for Windows. To
get the right paths for `msbuild.exe` and `cmake.exe`, you can launch through
`Start -> Visual Studio 2019 -> x64 Native Tools Command Prompt For VS 2019`.

#### Windows 32-bit

First, generate the 32-bit solution and project files using CMake:

```cmd
mkdir build\win32
cd build\win32
cmake -G "Visual Studio [Version Number]" ../..
```

Open the build\win32\OPENXR.sln in the Visual Studio to build the samples.

#### (Optional) Building the OpenXR Loader as a DLL

The OpenXR loader is built as a static library by default on Windows. To instead
build as a dynamic link library, define the cmake option `DYNAMIC_LOADER=ON`.
e.g. for Win64, replace the CMake line shown above with:

```cmd
cmake -DDYNAMIC_LOADER=ON -G "Visual Studio [Version Number] Win64" ../..
```

Note that even if built as a dynamic library, the loader **should not** be
installed system-wide on Windows or Android.

### Linux

The following set of packages provides all required libs for building for xlib
or xcb with OpenGL and Vulkan support.

- build-essential
- cmake
- libgl1-mesa-dev
- libvulkan-dev
- libx11-xcb-dev
- libxcb-dri2-0-dev
- libxcb-glx0-dev
- libxcb-icccm4-dev
- libxcb-keysyms1-dev
- libxcb-randr0-dev
- libxrandr-dev
- libxxf86vm-dev
- mesa-common-dev

#### Linux Debug

```sh
mkdir -p build/linux_debug
cd build/linux_debug
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ../..
make
```

#### Linux Release (with debug symbols)

```sh
mkdir -p build/linux_release
cd build/linux_release
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo ../..
make
```

### macOS

Building the OpenXR components in this tree on macOS is supported using Xcode
14.0 and newer. You may need to install Xcode Command Line Tools and cmake.

First, generate the Xcode project file using CMake:

```cmd
mkdir -p build/macos
cd build/macos
cmake -G "Xcode" ../..
```

Finally, open the `build/macos/OPENXR.xcodeproj` in Xcode to build the samples.

If you want to build on the command line, you can run the following command to
check available targets and built `ALL_BUILD` target as example:

```shell
# In build/macos directory
xcodebuild -list -project OPENXR.xcodeproj/
xcodebuild -scheme ALL_BUILD build
```

### Android

```sh
cd src/conformance
./gradlew clean && ./gradlew build
```

## Running the HELLO_XR sample

### OpenXR runtime installation

An OpenXR _runtime_ must first be installed before running the `hello_xr`
sample. The runtime is an implementation of the OpenXR API, typically tailored
to a specific device and distributed by the device manufacturer.
Publicly-available runtimes are listed on the main OpenXR landing page at
<https://www.khronos.org/openxr>

### Configuring the OpenXR Loader

On Windows and Android, the OpenXR loader is distributed with the application,
not installed to the system. On Linux, the loader is available from many
distributions already, and may be installed system-wide.

#### `XR_RUNTIME_JSON` environment variable

The OpenXR loader looks in system-specific locations for the JSON file
`active_runtime.json`, which describes the default installed OpenXR runtime. To
override the default selection, you may define an environment variable
`XR_RUNTIME_JSON` to select a different runtime, or a runtime which has not been
installed in the default location.

For example, you might set `XR_RUNTIME_JSON` to
`<build_dir>/test/runtime/my_custom_runtime.json` to select an OpenXR runtime
described by JSON file `my_custom_runtime.json`.

### Running the hello_xr Test

The binary for the hello_xr application is written to the
`<build_dir>/src/tests/hello_xr` directory. Set your working directory to this
directory and execute the `hello_xr` binary.

### hello_xr with a dynamic loader (Windows)

When building a DLL version of the loader, the Visual Studio projects generated
by CMake will copy the loader DLLs to the test application's (hello_xr) binary
directory.
