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Forum Update on Tuesday, May 27th 2025

Error: Cannot find -lSDL2

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  • jsulmJ jsulm

    @ajcdev said in Error: Cannot find -lSDL2:

    win32:LIBS += C:\Users\admin\Documents\SDL2-2.28.5\i686-w64-mingw32\lib*.lib

    What is this please?! You have to put the file name of your library instead of *.lib...

    Are you using MinGW compiler?

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    ajcdev
    wrote on last edited by
    #7

    @jsulm Yes I am using MinGW compiler. I do apologize since I'm really new when it comes to Qt Creator.

    Also I don't have a .lib file in my SDL2 library and they're all .a files. I downloaded the SDL2 that uses MingW from their repository.

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    • A ajcdev

      @jsulm No. I just downloaded the SDL2 from their Github repository.

      This is what I have done so far. Now it can't detect the SDL2 library itself:

      QT       += core gui
      
      greaterThan(QT_MAJOR_VERSION, 4): QT += widgets
      
      CONFIG += c++17
      
      # You can make your code fail to compile if it uses deprecated APIs.
      # In order to do so, uncomment the following line.
      #DEFINES += QT_DISABLE_DEPRECATED_BEFORE=0x060000    # disables all the APIs deprecated before Qt 6.0.0
      
      SOURCES += \
          main.cpp \
          aerodesk.cpp
      
      HEADERS += \
          aerodesk.h
      
      FORMS += \
          aerodesk.ui
      
      # Default rules for deployment.
      qnx: target.path = /tmp/$${TARGET}/bin
      else: unix:!android: target.path = /opt/$${TARGET}/bin
      !isEmpty(target.path): INSTALLS += target
      
      win32:LIBS += "C:\Users\admin\Documents\SDL2-2.28.5\i686-w64-mingw32\lib\libSDL2.a"
      
      INCLUDEPATH += $$PWD/../../SDL2-2.28.5/i686-w64-mingw32/include/SDL2
      DEPENDPATH += $$PWD/../../SDL2-2.28.5/i686-w64-mingw32/include/SDL2
      
      jsulmJ Offline
      jsulmJ Offline
      jsulm
      Lifetime Qt Champion
      wrote on last edited by
      #8

      @ajcdev said in Error: Cannot find -lSDL2:

      Now it can't detect the SDL2 library itself

      What does this mean? What exactly happens if you try to link the static version?

      https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct

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      • jsulmJ jsulm

        @ajcdev said in Error: Cannot find -lSDL2:

        Now it can't detect the SDL2 library itself

        What does this mean? What exactly happens if you try to link the static version?

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        ajcdev
        wrote on last edited by
        #9

        @jsulm

        win32:LIBS += "C:\Users\admin\Documents\SDL2-2.28.5\i686-w64-mingw32\lib\libSDL2.a"
        

        So this is what I used since there's no .lib files in the SDL2 MingW library. What happens is that my SDL2 codes get an error that they become undefined.

        aerodesk.cpp:16: error: undefined reference to `SDL_Init'
        
        Christian EhrlicherC 1 Reply Last reply
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        • A ajcdev

          @jsulm

          win32:LIBS += "C:\Users\admin\Documents\SDL2-2.28.5\i686-w64-mingw32\lib\libSDL2.a"
          

          So this is what I used since there's no .lib files in the SDL2 MingW library. What happens is that my SDL2 codes get an error that they become undefined.

          aerodesk.cpp:16: error: undefined reference to `SDL_Init'
          
          Christian EhrlicherC Online
          Christian EhrlicherC Online
          Christian Ehrlicher
          Lifetime Qt Champion
          wrote on last edited by
          #10

          @ajcdev Since your Qt version is 64bit you must also link against the 64bit sdl lib.

          Qt Online Installer direct download: https://download.qt.io/official_releases/online_installers/
          Visit the Qt Academy at https://academy.qt.io/catalog

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          • Christian EhrlicherC Christian Ehrlicher

            @ajcdev Since your Qt version is 64bit you must also link against the 64bit sdl lib.

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            ajcdev
            wrote on last edited by
            #11

            @Christian-Ehrlicher I'm not sure how you do that. Do I need to add another library for SDL2 for this?

            jsulmJ 1 Reply Last reply
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            • A ajcdev

              @Christian-Ehrlicher I'm not sure how you do that. Do I need to add another library for SDL2 for this?

              jsulmJ Offline
              jsulmJ Offline
              jsulm
              Lifetime Qt Champion
              wrote on last edited by
              #12

              @ajcdev You need to download and use 64bit version of that library. From where exactly did you download it?

              https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct

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              • jsulmJ jsulm

                @ajcdev You need to download and use 64bit version of that library. From where exactly did you download it?

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                ajcdev
                wrote on last edited by
                #13

                @jsulm I downloaded from their Github Repository.

                I downloaded the one that comes with the MingW.

                Christian EhrlicherC jsulmJ 2 Replies Last reply
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                • A ajcdev

                  @jsulm I downloaded from their Github Repository.

                  I downloaded the one that comes with the MingW.

                  Christian EhrlicherC Online
                  Christian EhrlicherC Online
                  Christian Ehrlicher
                  Lifetime Qt Champion
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #14

                  There is also a64 bit version in the dev zip file. Adjust your path accordingly.

                  Qt Online Installer direct download: https://download.qt.io/official_releases/online_installers/
                  Visit the Qt Academy at https://academy.qt.io/catalog

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                  • A ajcdev

                    @jsulm I downloaded from their Github Repository.

                    I downloaded the one that comes with the MingW.

                    jsulmJ Offline
                    jsulmJ Offline
                    jsulm
                    Lifetime Qt Champion
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #15

                    @ajcdev Then use the lib in x86_64-w64-mingw32 subfolder. i686-w64-mingw32 is the 32bit version.

                    https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct

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                    • jsulmJ jsulm

                      @ajcdev Then use the lib in x86_64-w64-mingw32 subfolder. i686-w64-mingw32 is the 32bit version.

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                      ajcdev
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #16

                      @jsulm @Christian-Ehrlicher

                      Well, my code doesn't work after but I'll figure it out later.

                      I can say that the linking works properly now. Thanks for your help guys!

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