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What is Raylib Container?

Raylib Container is a Docker-based development environment designed for game development using Raylib. It provides a consistent and isolated development environment that minimizes configuration issues on your host system.
The pre-built container image is available on Docker Hub: gmaia325/raylib_container

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Why Use Raylib Container?

Developing graphical applications like games often requires specific library versions, graphics drivers, and system dependencies. Setting these up can be challenging and error-prone across different operating systems and configurations. Raylib Container solves these problems by:

Consistent Environment

Every developer gets the exact same development environment, regardless of their host operating system

Zero Configuration

Pre-configured with GCC, Raylib libraries, and all necessary dependencies ready to use

Isolated Development

Keep your host system clean while having access to all required development tools

Latest Raylib

Built from the official Raylib GitHub repository to ensure you always have the latest version

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Architecture Overview

Raylib Container uses a multi-stage Docker build process based on Alpine Linux for a minimal footprint:

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Stage 1: Build

The builder stage compiles Raylib from source: 
FROM alpine:latest AS builder

RUN apk update && apk upgrade && \
    apk add --no-cache \
    git \
    cmake \
    make \
    gcc \
    g++ \
    linux-headers \
    mesa-dev \
    alsa-lib-dev \
    libx11-dev \
    libxrandr-dev \
    libxinerama-dev \
    libxcursor-dev \
    libxi-dev

RUN git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/raysan5/raylib.git && \
    cd raylib && \
    mkdir build && cd build && \
    cmake .. \
    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
    -DPLATFORM=Desktop \
    -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON \
    -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local && \
    make -j$(nproc) && \
    make install

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Stage 2: Runtime

The runtime stage creates a lean environment with only what’s needed to run and develop games: 
FROM alpine:latest

RUN apk update && apk upgrade && \
    apk add --no-cache \
    mesa-gl \
    alsa-lib \
    libx11 \
    mesa-dev \
    libx11-dev \
    libxrandr \
    libxinerama \
    libxcursor \
    libxi \
    xeyes \
    gcc \
    g++ \
    make

COPY --from=builder /usr/local /usr/local

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Key Features

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X11 Display Forwarding

The container uses X11 socket mounting to display graphical applications from inside the container on your host system’s screen. This enables you to develop and test games with full graphics support.

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Hardware Acceleration Support

Raylib Container supports GPU hardware acceleration through Direct Rendering Infrastructure (DRI) device mapping, providing optimal performance for game rendering. A software rendering fallback is also available for systems where hardware acceleration is not available.

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Shared Code Directory

Your source code lives in a user_code directory on your host system, which is mounted into the container. This means:
  • You can edit code with your favorite IDE on your host system
  • Changes are immediately available inside the container
  • Compiled binaries are accessible from both host and container

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Pre-installed Development Tools

The container comes with:
  • GCC and G++ compilers
  • Raylib library (latest version from GitHub)
  • All required OpenGL and audio dependencies
  • X11 utilities like xeyes for testing graphics

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Platform Support

Raylib Container works on Linux and macOS. For macOS users, additional setup with XQuartz is required. See the MacOS Compatibility Guide for detailed instructions.

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Next Steps

Ready to get started? Check out the Prerequisites to prepare your system, then follow the Quickstart Guide to run your first Raylib game in minutes.

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