Installation

This article explains how to install GFX-Next and prepare a project for development. It guides you through the required prerequisites, supported platforms, and available installation methods, whether you are building from source or using prebuilt packages. The article also covers initial project setup, directory structure, and configuration steps needed to get a development environment up and running. By the end, readers will have a working GFX-Next project, understand the recommended setup workflow, and be ready to start writing and experimenting with code.

GFX-Next is distributed exclusively as a NuGet package.
There are no standalone installers, binaries, or templates.

Requirements

Before installing GFX, make sure you have:

  • .NET SDK (latest stable recommended)
  • A supported IDE:
    • Visual Studio
    • Rider
    • VS Code (with C# tooling)
  • A system with OpenGL support

Basic knowledge of:

  • C#
  • NuGet
  • project configuration
    is assumed.

Installing via NuGet

GFX-Next is available on NuGet:

👉 https://www.nuget.org/packages/GFX

Using the NuGet Package Manager (Visual Studio)

  1. Open your project
  2. Right-click the project → Manage NuGet Packages
  3. Search for GFX
  4. Install the package

Using the .NET CLI

Code
dotnet add package GFX

This is the recommended approach for:

  • CLI-based workflows
  • CI pipelines
  • editor tooling
  • reproducible builds

Project Type

GFX-Next is designed to be used with:

  • Console applications
  • Desktop applications
  • Custom launchers
  • Editor tools

There is no enforced project template.

A minimal project reference is sufficient.

First Reference Test

After installation, verify the setup by referencing the core namespace:

C#
using LibGFX;
using LibGFX.Core;

If the project builds successfully, GFX-Next is installed correctly.

Platform Notes

  • GFX-Next uses OpenGL
  • Window and context creation are handled internally
  • No platform-specific setup is required beyond GPU driver support