Installation

Prerequisites

Draconis++ requires C++26 support. We recommend Clang 21+ or the latest compiler toolchain.

Required tools

Meson ≥1.1
Ninja (build backend)
pkg-config (for dependency discovery)
C++26-capable compiler:
- Clang 21+ (recommended)
- GCC 15+ (experimental)
- MSVC with /std:c++latest (Windows)

Platform-specific dependencies

Linux
macOS
Windows

Required:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install meson ninja-build pkg-config clang-21

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S meson ninja pkgconf clang

# Fedora
sudo dnf install meson ninja-build pkgconfig clang

Optional (for display/window manager detection):

# XCB (X11 support)
sudo apt install libxcb1-dev libxcb-randr0-dev libxau-dev libxdmcp-dev

# Wayland support
sudo apt install libwayland-dev

# pugixml (for Void Linux XBPS metadata)
sudo apt install libpugixml-dev

# Using Homebrew
brew install meson ninja pkg-config llvm@21

# Add LLVM to PATH
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/llvm@21/bin:$PATH"

macOS requires SDK 15.0+ (macOS 14.0+). The build system automatically configures this.

Using vcpkg (recommended):

# Install dependencies
vcpkg install asio curl magic-enum mimalloc

# Install Meson via Python pip
pip install meson ninja

Or using Chocolatey:

choco install meson ninja pkgconfiglite llvm

On Windows, use the windows-clang.ini cross-file for Clang builds.

Installation methods

Method 1: Meson build (recommended)

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/draconis++.git
cd draconis++

Configure the build

meson setup build

Common configuration options:

# Disable examples and tests
meson setup build -Dbuild_examples=false -Dbuild_tests=false

# Enable precompiled configuration
meson setup build -Dprecompiled_config=true

# Build with static plugins (requires plugins repo)
meson setup build -Dprecompiled_config=true -Dstatic_plugins=weather

# Release build with optimizations
meson setup build --buildtype=release

# Disable package counting feature
meson setup build -Dpackagecount=disabled

See Configuration for all available options.

Compile

meson compile -C build

Or using the provided justfile:

just build

Run the CLI (optional)

./build/src/CLI/draconis++

Install system-wide (optional)

meson install -C build

Method 2: vcpkg integration

Draconis++ provides a vcpkg.json manifest for dependency management.

Set up vcpkg

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
./bootstrap-vcpkg.sh  # or bootstrap-vcpkg.bat on Windows

Clone and configure with vcpkg

cd draconis++
meson setup build --wrap-mode=forcefallback

Meson will automatically use vcpkg to fetch dependencies listed in vcpkg.json:

asio
curl
magic-enum
mimalloc

Build

meson compile -C build

Method 3: Nix flake

The Nix flake provides a fully reproducible build environment with all dependencies.

Enter the dev shell

nix develop

This provides:

Clang 21 toolchain
Meson, Ninja, pkg-config
All static dependencies (asio, curl, magic-enum, mimalloc, etc.)
Platform-specific libraries (XCB, Wayland on Linux)

Configure and build

# Clean setup with precompiled config
clean

# Build
build

# Or run directly
run

The flake provides these convenience scripts:

build: Compile the project
clean: Wipe and reconfigure build directory
run: Build and execute the CLI

Build the Nix package

nix build

Result will be in ./result/bin/draconis++

With static plugins:

# Set the plugins source directory
export DRACONIS_PLUGINS_SRC=/path/to/plugins

# Enter dev shell
nix develop

# Configure with static plugins
clean -Dstatic_plugins=weather

build

Precompiled configuration

Precompiled configuration embeds your settings at compile-time for a fully static, portable binary.

When using -Dprecompiled_config=true, you need to create config.hpp from the example:

cp config.example.hpp config.hpp

Edit config.hpp to customize:

Username display
Logo path and protocol (Kitty, iTerm2)
Enabled package managers
UI layout (which system info rows to display)
Static plugin configurations (e.g., weather location)

See the Configuration guide for detailed settings.

Verifying installation

./build/src/CLI/draconis++ --version

Expected output:

Draconis++ v0.1.0
Build date: 2026-03-03
Git hash: abc1234

Build options reference

Option	Type	Default	Description
`build_examples`	boolean	`true`	Build example applications (HTTP/MCP servers)
`build_tests`	boolean	`true`	Build unit tests
`build_cli`	boolean	`true`	Build the CLI application
`packagecount`	feature	`enabled`	Enable package manager counting
`caching`	feature	`enabled`	Enable result caching
`plugins`	feature	`enabled`	Enable plugin system
`precompiled_config`	boolean	`false`	Use compile-time configuration (disables TOML)
`static_plugins`	array	`[]`	List of plugins to statically compile
`xcb`	feature	`enabled`	Use XCB for X11 support (Linux/BSD)
`wayland`	feature	`enabled`	Use Wayland client library (Linux/BSD)
`pugixml`	feature	`auto`	Use pugixml for XBPS metadata (Void Linux)
`default_language`	string	`en`	Default localization language

See meson.options for the complete list.

Troubleshooting

Error: C++26 features not supported

Ensure you’re using a recent compiler:

Clang 21+
GCC 15+ (experimental)
MSVC with /std:c++latest

Set your compiler explicitly:

CXX=clang++-21 meson setup build

Error: 'config.hpp' not found

When using -Dprecompiled_config=true, you must create config.hpp:

cp config.example.hpp config.hpp

Link errors on macOS

Make sure you’re using the Apple SDK 15.0+. The Nix flake handles this automatically:

nix develop

Or set manually:

export SDKROOT=/path/to/MacOSX.sdk

Missing dependencies (magic_enum, glaze, etc.)

Meson will automatically fetch missing dependencies via wrap files in subprojects/. Ensure you have internet access during the first build.Force dependency download:

meson setup build --wrap-mode=forcefallback

Next steps

Quick start guide

Now that Draconis++ is installed, try building your first application

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Configuration

Platform Support

Prerequisites

Required tools

Platform-specific dependencies

Installation methods

Method 1: Meson build (recommended)

Method 2: vcpkg integration

Method 3: Nix flake

Precompiled configuration

Verifying installation

Build options reference

Troubleshooting

Next steps

Quick start guide

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Configuration

Platform Support

​Prerequisites

​Required tools

​Platform-specific dependencies

​Installation methods

​Method 1: Meson build (recommended)

​Method 2: vcpkg integration

​Method 3: Nix flake

​Precompiled configuration

​Verifying installation

​Build options reference

​Troubleshooting

​Next steps

Quick start guide

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

Required tools

Platform-specific dependencies

Installation methods

Method 1: Meson build (recommended)

Method 2: vcpkg integration

Method 3: Nix flake

Precompiled configuration

Verifying installation

Build options reference

Troubleshooting

Next steps