sdl3-ttf-sys

sdl3-ttf-sys: Low level Rust bindings for SDL3_ttf

These are low level Rust bindings for SDL3_ttf, an add-on library for SDL 3 for rendering text. This version of sdl3-ttf-sys has bindings for SDL_ttf versions 3.2.0 to 3.2.2, inclusive.

Most of the docs are generated directly from the C headers and document how SDL works in C. Using it from Rust might work differently in some cases. For example, macros in C are usually translated to constants or constant functions in Rust. Documentation specific to these Rust bindings are tagged with sdl3-sys.

Browse the API at docs.rs!

Usage

sdl3-ttf-sys is compatible with SDL_ttf version 3.2.0 or later. Some APIs require later versions; you can check availability in the documentation. The latest available stable release is recommended.

By default, sdl3-ttf-sys will attempt to link to a dynamic/shared library named SDL3_ttf in the default library search path, using the usual platform specific naming convention for libraries. You can change this behaviour with the following feature flags.

Feature	Description
use-pkg-config	Use pkg-config to find and link the SDL_ttf library.
use-vcpkg	Use vcpkg to find and link the SDL_ttf library.
build-from-source	Build and link SDL_ttf from source. You have to install any dependencies SDL needs to build for your target first. See below for build related features.
build-from-source-static	Shortcut for enabling both the build-from-source and link-static features. This should no longer be necessary.
build-static-vendored	Build and link SDL_ttf from source, use vendored libraries (see below), and link it all statically.
link-framework	Link to a framework on Apple targets. This currently requires SDL3_ttf.xcframework to be located at ~/Library/Frameworks or /Library/Frameworks. The built executable has to be put in a signed app bundle to be able to run.
link-static	Link SDL_ttf statically.
no-link	Don't link anything, and provide linking flags via Cargo metadata so you can do manual linking if desired.

Building from source

When building from source with the build-from-source feature flag, you can use features to configure which backends and image formats to support. Features marked with "(cmake)" below all have an sdlttf- prefix and correspond to SDL_ttf's cmake variables. They're autodetected if not set. You can use a no- prefix to disable a cmake feature, for example no-sdlttf-harfbuzz disables harfbuzz support. Activated features override features disabled with the no- prefix.

Linking and vendoring

Feature (cmake)	Description
vendored	Build dependencies from source as part of building SDL_ttf

Rendering

Feature (cmake)	Description
harfbuzz	Use harfbuzz to improve text shaping
plutosvg	Use plutosvg for color emoji support

Other features

Feature	Description
debug-impls	Implement the Debug trait for most SDL_ttf types.
metadata	Enable metadata.
only-metadata	Shortcut for enabling both the metadata and no-link features.

Recent changes

• 0.3.0 WIP:

  • Update sdl3-sys to 0.6.0
  • Add metadata
  • Remove deprecated aliases

• 0.2.0:

  • Update sdl3-sys to 0.5.0
  • Add no-link feature
  • On Apple targets, look for frameworks in ~/Library/Frameworks too

See ChangeLog.md for older changes