Raylib Basics

Raylib is a free, open-source library for making games, visual experiments, tools, and other interactive programs. It gives us a small, approachable C API for windows, 2D drawing, input, images, text, and sound. We will call that API directly from C++.

These notes target Raylib 6.0, the latest stable release when this module was written. Using a stated version gives every example a clear baseline. Raylib’s official 6.0 release was published on April 23, 2026.

Objectives

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

  • Explain the initialization, update, drawing, and cleanup stages of a Raylib program.
  • Create a window and run a frame-based main loop until the user closes it.
  • Use frame time and elapsed time to animate at a predictable speed.
  • Draw coloured 2D shapes, lines, text, and textures.
  • Store program state and update it using polled mouse and keyboard input.
  • Move objects independently of frame rate and test simple 2D collisions.
  • Load, draw, and unload textures and custom fonts.
  • Initialize audio, control sounds, and release audio resources safely.
  • Animate a sprite sheet using source and destination rectangles.
  • Use a Camera2D to separate screen coordinates from world coordinates.
  • Debug with console output, Raylib logging, on-screen information, and the Visual Studio debugger.
  • Combine these techniques into small, complete interactive programs.

Linked Resources

Linked resources will be identified with the following emoji:

  • 📺: Video.
  • 📜: Official Raylib reference, cheatsheet, or example.
  • 📘: Official guide or wiki page.
  • 🔰: Beginner tutorial or learning resource.
  • 📚: Other online tutorial, guide, or article.
  • 📦: Source code repository.

Raylib’s header file is its most precise API reference. The searchable official cheatsheet and official examples make that reference easier to explore.

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