vlc_mlx

A small, easy-to-use wrapper that integrates VLC media playback with mlx. vlc_mlx lets you render video frames and play audio inside an mlx application via a minimal, flag-driven API.

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Features

• Play video with audio while rendering frames into an mlx image.
• Play standalone audio files and control playback speed.
• Simple flag-based API for easy integration into a game loop.
• Explicit init / cleanup functions to avoid leaking resources.

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Requirements

• mlx (MiniLibX)

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Quick start

Include the header:

#include "vlc_mlx/vlc_mlx.h"

Initialize flags before using the library:

init_flags();

Start playback:

play_video("media/intro1.mp4");   // plays video + audio, provides frames to render
play_audio("sfx/footstep.wav");   // plays an audio file
set_play_speed(150);              // 100 == normal speed, 150 == 1.5x

When your program is about to exit, free all library resources:

exit_clear_vlc();

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Public API

void    init_flags(void);                                // Must be called first before using vlc_mlx
void    play_video(char *file);                          // Plays a video with audio and provides its frames.
                                                        // Use should_play_video() and new_frame() to check playback status and frame availability.
                                                        // Use copy_frame() or copy_resized_frame() to copy the frame into a t_data image.
                                                        // After playback, call should_clean_vlc() and clear_vlc() to clean up.
void    play_audio(char *file);                          // Plays an audio file
void    set_play_speed(int speed);                       // Sets playback speed (100 = normal, 200 = double, etc.)
bool    played_audio(void);                              // Returns true if an audio file is currently playing
bool    should_play_video(void);                         // Returns true if a video is currently playing
bool    should_clean_vlc(void);                          // Returns true if vlc_mlx needs cleanup after playing a video
bool    new_frame(void);                                 // Returns true if a new frame is available
void    copy_frame(void *data_img, size_t img_w, size_t img_h);          
                                                        // Copies the current frame into a t_data image
void    copy_resized_frame(void *dt, size_t img_w, size_t img_h);  
                                                        // Copies and resizes the current frame into a t_data image
void	copy_start_end_frame(void *data)                // Copies and resizes the current frame into a t_data image
                                                        // with void set_frame_start_end you set the start, end of the frame in the image
void	set_frame_start_end(int start_x, int start_y, int end_x, int end_y);
                                                        // set start and end of the frame to use it with function copy_start_end_frame
void    clear_vlc(void);                                 // Cleans up vlc_mlx after video playback
size_t  video_h(void);                                   // Returns the current video height
size_t  video_w(void);                                   // Returns the current video width
void    exit_clear_vlc(void);                            // Cleans up vlc_mlx before exiting the program
int     play_speed(void);                                // Returns the current playback speed set by set_play_speed()

Notes

• play_video() plays the video and its audio track and makes frames available via new_frame()/copy_frame().
• copy_frame() copies the current frame into your mlx image buffer. Use video_w() / video_h() to query frame size.
• copy_resized_frame() can be used when destination buffer dimensions differ from the source.
• should_clean_vlc() becomes true when playback finishes; call clear_vlc() to free playback resources.
• set_play_speed(int speed) expects an integer where 100 is normal speed (e.g. 150 == 1.5×).

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Example integration

int render_game(void *param)
{
    (void)param;

    if (new_frame())
    {
        // copy latest video frame into your mlx image and present it
        copy_frame(&g_win_img, 1920, 1080);
        mlx_put_image_to_window(g_mlx, g_win, g_win_img.img, 0, 0);
    }
    else if (!should_play_video())
    {
        // normal game rendering & logic
        set_play_speed(150); // example: 1.5x audio speed
        play_audio(get_audio_file_name());
    }

    if (should_clean_vlc())
        clear_vlc();

    return 0;
}

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    (void)argc; (void)argv;

    // initialize library flags and mlx
    init_flags();
    // ... create mlx context, window, and images ...

    mlx_loop_hook(g_mlx, render_game, NULL);

    // start playback (provides frames to the render loop)
    play_video("media/intro1.mp4");

    mlx_loop(g_mlx);

    // final cleanup in case the loop exits
    exit_clear_vlc();
    return 0;
}

int close_window(void *param)
{
    (void)param;
    exit_clear_vlc();
    exit(0);
    return 0;
}

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How to compile

The repository builds vlc_mlx as a sub-target. Example Makefile snippet to compile your program and build the vlc_mlx static library first:

NAME := my_app
CC   := cc
CFLAGS := -Wall -Wextra -Werror 

SRCS := main.c game.c ...
OBJ  := $(SRCS:.c=.o)

all: mlx_vlc $(NAME)

$(NAME): $(OBJ)
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(OBJ) vlc_mlx/libvlcmlx -o $(NAME)

mlx_vlc:
	@$(MAKE) -C vlc_mlx

clean :
	@$(MAKE) clean -C vlc_mlx
	rm -fr $(OBJ)

fclean : clean
	@$(MAKE) fclean -C vlc_mlx
	rm -fr $(NAME)

or you can use it as external lib and let your make file install it

VLC_MLX_DIR := $(HOME)/vlc_mlx
VLC_MLX_URL := [email protected]:AzzaouiAlae/vlc_mlx.git

NAME := my_app
CC   := cc
CFLAGS := -Wall -Wextra -Werror -I$(VLC_MLX_DIR)

SRCS := main.c game.c ...
OBJ  := $(SRCS:.c=.o)

all: mlx_vlc $(NAME)

$(NAME) : $(OBJ)
	$(CC) $(OBJ) $(mlx) $(VLC_MLX_DIR)/libvlcmlx -o $(NAME)

mlx_vlc:
	@if [ ! -d $(VLC_MLX_DIR) ]; then \
		git clone $(VLC_MLX_URL) $(VLC_MLX_DIR); \
	fi; \
	$(MAKE) -C $(VLC_MLX_DIR); \

clean :
	@$(MAKE) clean -C $(VLC_MLX_DIR)
	rm -fr $(OBJ) $(vlc_OBJ)

fclean : clean
	@$(MAKE) fclean -C $(VLC_MLX_DIR)
	rm -fr $(NAME)

Notes & tips

• Ensure vlc_mlx/libvlcmlx is built before linking your binary (the mlx_vlc target handles this).

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Tips & integration notes

• Call init_flags() once before starting playback.
• Use new_frame() to detect when copy_frame() has fresh frame data to render.
• Always call exit_clear_vlc() for final cleanup before terminating the program.
• Use should_clean_vlc() + clear_vlc() to free playback resources immediately after a playback finishes.

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Contributing

Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome. Please open an issue or submit a pull request with a clear description and a minimal reproduction case when possible.

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