Using SDL2 with CMake

Question

I\'m trying to use CLion to create a SDL2 project. The problem is that the SDL headers can\'t be found when using #include\'s.

My CMakeLists.txt file:

Answer 1

Don't set the path to SDL2 by hand. Use the proper find command which uses FindSDL. Should look like:

find_file(SDL2_INCLUDE_DIR NAME SDL.h HINTS SDL2)
find_library(SDL2_LIBRARY NAME SDL2)
add_executable(ChickenShooter main.cpp)
target_include_directories(ChickenShooter ${SDL2_INCLUDE_DIR})
target_link_libraries(ChickenShooter ${SDL2_LIBRARY})    

If SDL2 is not found, you have to add the path to SDL2 to CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH, that's the place where CMake looks for installed software.

If you can use Pkg-config, its use might be easier, see How to use SDL2 and SDL_image with cmake

If you feel more comfortable to use a FindSDL2.cmake file similar to FindSDL.cmake provided by CMake, see https://brendanwhitfield.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/using-cmake-with-sdl2/