MobileGL

A desktop OpenGL implementation

MobileGL is a free and open-source project that implements a desktop OpenGL API. The goal is to provide a complete desktop OpenGL implementation with a state management layer and multi-backend support.

Note

Status: In development. Parts of the codebase are incomplete. Current short-term target: OpenGL 3.3 (Core Profile).

Project positioning

MobileGL is an implementation of a desktop OpenGL library. It aims to provide:

• Full OpenGL state management.
• A front-end that exposes OpenGL functions.
• Multiple independent backend implementations, where each backend targets a specific graphics API and remains fully isolated from others.

This project is intended as an implementation/translation layer.

Key components

The repository is organized into following top-level modules:

1. MG_State — state tracking and management logic for Graphics APIs.
2. MG_Impl — front-end implementations of Graphics APIs that interact with MG_State and MG_Backend.
3. MG_Backend — per-backend translation layer that maps front-end Graphics APIs' semantics and state into concrete backend API calls (e.g. OpenGL ES, Vulkan).
4. MG_Util and other utility modules.

Third-party components

MobileGL reuses several open-source projects:

• SPIRV-Cross by KhronosGroup - Apache License 2.0: github
• glslang by KhronosGroup - Various Licenses: github
• DiligentCore by Diligent Graphics - Apache License 2.0: github

Refer to each component's repository for exact license texts. Any bundled third-party code in this repository is included under the upstream project's license.

Compatibility & target

• Short-term target: OpenGL 3.3 (Core Profile).
• Current development focus:
  • MG_State and MG_Impl for OpenGL 3.3 (Core Profile)
  • Direct (Vulkan) backend
  • Direct (OpenGL ES) backend

Build Instructions

We currently provide no releases and no precompiled binaries.
If you want to try the project right now, you’ll need to build it yourself:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MobileGL-Dev/MobileGL.git

2. Initialize and update all submodules recursively:

   git submodule update --init --recursive

3. Follow glslang’s own documentation for its required initiation.

4. Configure and build the project with CMake:

   cmake -B build
   cmake --build build

   or do it in a modern way:

   cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++
   cmake --build build

   Alternatively, you can use platform-specific build commands as needed.

Build For macOS

On macOS, MobileGL can be built as a dylib that exposes the normal OpenGL/CGL/NSOpenGL entry points and routes them to the DirectVulkan backend. This is useful for running applications such as Minecraft through their stock GLFW/LWJGL OpenGL path while MobileGL is injected before context creation.

Prerequisites:

• macOS with Clang and Ninja.
• Vulkan loader and MoltenVK installed. With Homebrew, the MoltenVK ICD is commonly located at /opt/homebrew/etc/vulkan/icd.d/MoltenVK_icd.json.

Configure and build:

cmake -S . -B build-macos-magma \
  -G Ninja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DMOBILEGL_BACKEND_TYPE=DirectVulkan \
  -DMOBILEGL_BUILD_TEST=OFF \
  -DMOBILEGL_BUILD_BENCHMARK=OFF

cmake --build build-macos-magma --target MobileGL -j8

The dylib will be generated at:

build-macos-magma/libMobileGL.dylib

To run Minecraft by MobileGL from a launcher like PrismLauncher, keep the stock LWJGL/GLFW natives and add a wrapper command to the instance settings:

env DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES=/absolute/path/to/MobileGL/build-macos-magma/libMobileGL.dylib MOBILEGL_BACKEND_TYPE=DirectVulkan VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/opt/homebrew/etc/vulkan/icd.d/MoltenVK_icd.json

Also make sure the JVM arguments include:

-XstartOnFirstThread

DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES must be active before GLFW creates its OpenGL context. After startup, the Minecraft F3 screen should report MobileGL and the Direct (Vulkan) backend if the injection worked.

Build Options

Option	Description	Default
MOBILEGL_BUILD_TEST	Build MobileGL tests (requires Clang)	ON
MOBILEGL_BUILD_BENCHMARK	Build MobileGL benchmarks (requires Clang)	ON
MOBILEGL_FORCE_RELEASE_OPT	Enable O3 and LTO in Debug build	ON
MOBILEGL_ENABLE_TRACY	Enable Tracy profiler for performance analysis	OFF

Notes:

• The project requires C++23.
• MG_Test and MG_Benchmark can only be built with Clang, not GCC. To enforce Clang, add -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ to your command.
• On Android, tests and benchmarks are always disabled.

Environment Variables

MobileGL supports runtime configuration via environment variables.

Supported Keys

Variable	Description	Allowed Values	Default
MOBILEGL_BACKEND_TYPE	Select active backend implementation at startup.	DirectGLES, DirectVulkan	DirectGLES
VK_ICD_FILENAMES	Select the Vulkan ICD used by the Vulkan loader.	Path to an ICD JSON file	Loader default

Notice

• MobileGL is not production-ready currently.
• Some OpenGL 3.3 (Core Profile) features are still missing or under development.

License

This project is distributed under GNU LGPL v3.0. See the LICENSE file in the repository for detailed information.