Compiling with GLFW3, linker errors 'undefined reference'

Question

Having a minimal example using GLFW3:

#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>

int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) {
    glfwInit();
}

...results in a ton of linker errors: (small excerpt)

Undefined symbols for architecture x86_64:
  "_CFArrayAppendValue", referenced from:
      _addJoystickElement in libglfw3.a(cocoa_joystick.m.o)
  "_CFArrayApplyFunction", referenced from:
      __glfwInitJoysticks in libglfw3.a(cocoa_joystick.m.o)
      _addJoystickElement in libglfw3.a(cocoa_joystick.m.o)
  "_CFArrayCreateMutable", referenced from:
      __glfwInitJoysticks in libglfw3.a(cocoa_joystick.m.o)

  ...

  "_objc_msgSend_fixup", referenced from:
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_count in libglfw3.a(cocoa_monitor.m.o)
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_objectAtIndex_ in libglfw3.a(cocoa_monitor.m.o)
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_objectForKey_ in libglfw3.a(cocoa_monitor.m.o)
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_alloc in libglfw3.a(cocoa_init.m.o)
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_release in libglfw3.a(cocoa_init.m.o)
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_alloc in libglfw3.a(nsgl_context.m.o)
  l_objc_msgSend_fixup_release in libglfw3.a(nsgl_context.m.o)
  ...

OpenGL.framework and libglfw3.a are both linked.

enter image description here

What is the reason for this? Compiling a glfw2 application before worked like a charm.

glfw3 probably made the switch from Carbon (C) to Cocoa (Objective C) for its render context / window management interface. With each version of OS X, less and less core OS functionality is exposed through the Carbon interface and it gets worse if you are writing a 64-bit Carbon-based application. Try adding the Cocoa framework to your build configuration. — Andon M. Coleman
– Andon M. Coleman, Commented Aug 22, 2013 at 22:19
@FrancescoBoi I had to link to the IOKit, CoreVideo and Cocoa frameworks. See the answers to this question. — Appleshell
– Appleshell, Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 22:29

Valeriy Kliuk · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-29 05:16:52Z

30

If you are using the static library version of GLFW, add it and the Cocoa, OpenGL, IOKit and CoreVideo frameworks to the project as dependencies.

answered Dec 29, 2013 at 5:16

Valeriy Kliuk

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4 Comments

damix911 Over a year ago

Thanks. Just for reference, I'll post the command line that just did the trick on my system:

gcc -Iglfw3/include/ -Lglfw3/lib/ -lglfw3 -framework OpenGL -framework Cocoa -framework IOKit -framework CoreVideo main.c

.

user4513271 Over a year ago

In my case, I only needed -l glfw3 and that solved it.

Valeriy Kliuk Over a year ago

In keys if someone is interesting of using GLFW with Swift 3

wcochran Over a year ago

I added everything suggested except OpenGL (since I am building w Vulkan) and it worked.

Andon M. Coleman · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-22 22:25:58Z

13

In Mac OS X, glfw3 uses Cocoa (NSGL) for its OpenGL context management. glfw2 used Carbon (CGL/AGL, depending on fullscreen or windowed mode).

NSGL is more robust, but it is built upon an Objective C framework (Cocoa). In order for your software to work correctly with glfw3, you should include the Cocoa framework.

answered Aug 22, 2013 at 22:25

Andon M. Coleman

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3 Comments

Appleshell Over a year ago

Hey, thanks for your answer, that did the trick. Additionally to the Cocoa framework, the IOKit framework was also required though.

TrevorPeyton Over a year ago

I also just had this issue and in addition to the Cocoa and IOKit I also had to add the CoreVideo kit and then it was working for me.

Andon M. Coleman Over a year ago

@TrevorPeyton: Ah, I see. When I originally wrote this answer, it was to explain only the unresolved symbols in the original question. It appears there are more dependencies introduced with GLFW3 than I originally thought.

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