RetroArch VS GLFW

Compare RetroArch vs GLFW and see what are their differences.

RetroArch

Cross-platform, sophisticated frontend for the libretro API. Licensed GPLv3. (by libretro)

GLFW

A multi-platform library for OpenGL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan, window and input (by glfw)
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RetroArch GLFW
265 78
9,130 12,091
2.7% 3.2%
9.9 9.3
1 day ago 1 day ago
C C
GNU General Public License v3.0 only zlib License
The number of mentions indicates the total number of mentions that we've tracked plus the number of user suggested alternatives.
Stars - the number of stars that a project has on GitHub. Growth - month over month growth in stars.
Activity is a relative number indicating how actively a project is being developed. Recent commits have higher weight than older ones.
For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.

RetroArch

Posts with mentions or reviews of RetroArch. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2023-12-08.

GLFW

Posts with mentions or reviews of GLFW. We have used some of these posts to build our list of alternatives and similar projects. The last one was on 2024-03-16.
  • macOS 14.4 causes JVM crashes
    2 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 16 Mar 2024
    Minecraft runs on various Javas.

    And there's a known issue with an interaction between minecraft, Java, and the video drivers that crashes out and it can be traced back all the way to here: https://github.com/glfw/glfw/issues/1997

    It's not fixed.

  • Technical Considerations for GUI Toolkits [Discussion]
    2 projects | /r/learnprogramming | 11 Dec 2023
    Types of tools for creating a gui (and how those tools approximately work): 1. Utilize the native _graphical interface API_, and depending on the platform, they have specific layers to interface: * Wayland, X11, for Linux * [GDI](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/gdi/windows-gdi) for windows * [Quartz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartz\_(graphics\_layer)) for macOS Example - GTK uses [wayland](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/blob/main/docs/reference/gdk/wayland.md) ([source code](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/tree/main/gdk/win32)) [X11](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/blob/main/docs/reference/gdk/x11.md) ([source code](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/tree/main/gdk/x11)) GDI ([source code](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/tree/main/gdk/win32)) Quartz ([source code](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/tree/main/gdk/macos)) [How to use wayland display server](https://bugaevc.gitbooks.io/writing-wayland-clients/content/black-square/the-wayland-client-library.html) (TODO missing "animation" section) 2. Utilize opengl _or other low level graphics api's_ with window context, use GPU to render widgets * Window context manager - [glfw](https://github.com/glfw/glfw), [sdl](https://www.libsdl.org/) * contexts and surfaces, reading input, handling events Example: ImGui, NanoVG, Nuklear, raylib Why? Mainly used for game development, but also good for gui's. _(i haven't seen any examples that uses this method that are used for developing general-use graphical user interfaces.)_
  • Exploring Computer Graphics: Weekly Chronicle #1
    5 projects | dev.to | 16 Oct 2023
    GLFW: A library for window creation and managing user input.
  • New Vulkan Documentation Website
    10 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 11 Oct 2023
    Not SDL2, but GLFW has something like that under the tests/ directory:

    https://github.com/glfw/glfw/blob/master/tests/triangle-vulk...

  • LWJGL = SFML vs Allegro vs SDL vs Ogre vs ???
    2 projects | /r/opengl | 5 Jul 2023
    I'm not familiar with LWJGL, my 5 seconds on their website makes me think you might be looking for something like GLFW https://www.glfw.org/ to handle I/O and window creation/management.
  • I have spent two whole work days trying to install GLEW
    6 projects | /r/GraphicsProgramming | 3 Jul 2023
    Consider GLFW3 for windowing and GLAD for function loading. I've used this combination myself successfully. Granted, that is "two things" you need, but OTOH it'll work well.
  • OpenGL (GLFW and GLAD) not linking with cmake
    2 projects | /r/cmake | 30 May 2023
    There is a pattern to it which is usable with every GitHub repository. For example, GLFW v3.3.8 can be fetched from: https://github.com/glfw/glfw/archive/refs/tags/3.3.8.tar.gz
    2 projects | /r/cmake | 30 May 2023
    What exactly would I fetch with this method? He's fetching a raylib url, but I don't really see a pattern in it I can follow when fetching glfw. I assume I can use this repository? https://github.com/glfw/glfw
  • Curseforge Minecraft running on M2?
    2 projects | /r/macgaming | 1 Apr 2023
    I'm not sure how to fix it, sorry. I searched for some of the messages and found this bug: . I think overriding the LWJGL library might fix the issue, but I don't see any way to do that with the CurseForge launcher.
  • GLFW has merged proper support for client-side window decorations on Wayland!
    4 projects | /r/linux | 28 Mar 2023

What are some alternatives?

When comparing RetroArch and GLFW you can also consider the following projects:

SDL - Simple Directmedia Layer

batocera.linux - batocera.linux

bgfx - Cross-platform, graphics API agnostic, "Bring Your Own Engine/Framework" style rendering library.

glad - Multi-Language Vulkan/GL/GLES/EGL/GLX/WGL Loader-Generator based on the official specs.

libretro-thumbnails - Thumbnails for RetroArch

arkos - Another rockchip Operating System

EmulationStation - A Fork of Emulation Station for RetroPie. Emulation Station is a flexible emulator front-end supporting keyboardless navigation and custom system themes.

docker-emulatorjs - Web based retro emulation frontend with rom scanning and automated art ingestion.

Skia - Skia is a complete 2D graphic library for drawing Text, Geometries, and Images.

mame - MAME

351ELEC - Handheld firmware optimized for the Anbernic RG351P/M/V devices.

duckstation - Fast PlayStation 1 emulator for x86-64/AArch32/AArch64