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Building Movian on Windows

This guide covers building Movian from source on Windows systems.

Prerequisites

Required Software

  • Visual Studio 2019 or later (Community Edition is sufficient)
  • Install "Desktop development with C++" workload

  • Include Windows 10 SDK

  • Git for Windows

  • Download from git-scm.com

  • CMake (3.15 or later)

  • Download from cmake.org

  • Add to PATH during installation

  • Python 3.7+

  • Download from python.org
  • Add to PATH during installation

Optional Tools

  • Ninja Build System (recommended for faster builds)
  • Download from ninja-build.org
  • Add to PATH

Build Steps

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/andoma/movian.git
cd movian
git submodule update --init --recursive

2. Install Dependencies

Movian uses vcpkg for dependency management on Windows:

git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
bootstrap-vcpkg.bat
vcpkg integrate install

Install required libraries:

vcpkg install openssl:x64-windows
vcpkg install curl:x64-windows
vcpkg install sqlite3:x64-windows
vcpkg install freetype:x64-windows

3. Configure Build

Using Visual Studio:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64 ^
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=path\to\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake

Using Ninja (faster):

mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -G Ninja ^
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ^
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=path\to\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake

4. Build

Visual Studio:

cmake --build . --config Release

Ninja:

ninja

5. Run Movian

cd Release
movian.exe

Build Configuration Options

Debug Build

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake --build . --config Debug

Custom Install Location

cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:\Movian
cmake --build . --target install

Enable/Disable Features

cmake .. ^
  -DENABLE_WEBSERVER=ON ^
  -DENABLE_LIBAV=ON ^
  -DENABLE_VMIR=ON

Troubleshooting

CMake Configuration Fails

Problem: CMake cannot find dependencies

Solution: - Verify vcpkg integration: vcpkg integrate install - Check CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE path - Ensure all dependencies are installed

Build Errors

Problem: Compilation errors in C/C++ code

Solution: - Update Visual Studio to latest version - Clean build directory: rmdir /s /q build - Verify Windows SDK is installed - Check for missing dependencies

Missing DLLs at Runtime

Problem: Application fails to start due to missing DLLs

Solution: - Copy DLLs from vcpkg installed directory - Add vcpkg bin directory to PATH - Use static linking: -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x64-windows-static

OpenGL Issues

Problem: Graphics rendering problems

Solution: - Update graphics drivers - Check OpenGL version: glxinfo or GPU-Z - Verify GPU supports OpenGL 3.0+

Development Setup

Visual Studio Integration

  1. Open build/movian.sln in Visual Studio
  2. Set movian as startup project
  3. Configure debugging:
  4. Right-click project → Properties
  5. Debugging → Working Directory: $(OutDir)
  6. Debugging → Command Arguments: --debug

Debugging

Enable debug logging:

movian.exe --debug --trace

Set breakpoints in Visual Studio and press F5 to debug.

Code Formatting

Install clang-format:

vcpkg install llvm:x64-windows

Format code:

clang-format -i src/**/*.c src/**/*.h

Performance Optimization

Release Build Optimizations

cmake .. ^
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ^
  -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="/O2 /GL" ^
  -DCMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS="/LTCG"

Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO)

  1. Build with instrumentation
  2. Run typical workload
  3. Rebuild with profile data

Cross-Compilation

Building for ARM64

cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A ARM64

Packaging

Create Installer

Using NSIS:

cmake --build . --target package

Portable Build

Copy required files:

mkdir movian-portable
copy Release\movian.exe movian-portable\
copy Release\*.dll movian-portable\
xcopy /E /I resources movian-portable\resources

Continuous Integration

GitHub Actions Example

name: Windows Build

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: windows-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Setup vcpkg
        run: |
          git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
          .\vcpkg\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat
      - name: Build
        run: |
          mkdir build
          cd build
          cmake .. -G Ninja
          ninja

Next Steps

See Also