Integrating PrismaEngine via CMake find_package

PrismaEngine ships a standard CMake package config file (PrismaEngineConfig.cmake) inside its cmake/ directory. Once you point CMake at the SDK root, find_package(PrismaEngine REQUIRED) resolves all include paths, library paths, and imported targets automatically. You can also have CMake download the SDK at configure time using the built-in file(DOWNLOAD ...) mechanism — no manual installation required.

Manual integration

The example below shows a complete CMakeLists.txt that downloads the SDK automatically on first configure, then locates and links it using find_package. This is the recommended approach for projects that want reproducible, version-pinned SDK builds without a separate installation step.

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(MyGame VERSION 0.1.0 LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

# Download PrismaEngine SDK
set(PRISMA_SDK_VERSION "1.0.1")
set(PRISMA_SDK_URL "https://github.com/Excurs1ons/PrismaEngine/releases/download/v${PRISMA_SDK_VERSION}-sdk/PrismaEngine-SDK-${PRISMA_SDK_VERSION}-linux-arm64.tar.gz")

set(PRISMA_SDK_DIR "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/PrismaEngine-SDK")
if(NOT EXISTS "${PRISMA_SDK_DIR}/cmake/PrismaEngineConfig.cmake")
    message(STATUS "Downloading PrismaEngine SDK...")
    file(DOWNLOAD "${PRISMA_SDK_URL}" "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/PrismaEngine-SDK.tar.gz" SHOW_PROGRESS)
    execute_process(COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E tar xzf "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/PrismaEngine-SDK.tar.gz"
                    WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}")
    file(REMOVE "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/PrismaEngine-SDK.tar.gz")
    file(RENAME "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/PrismaEngine-SDK-${PRISMA_SDK_VERSION}-linux-arm64" "${PRISMA_SDK_DIR}")
endif()

list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH "${PRISMA_SDK_DIR}")
find_package(PrismaEngine REQUIRED)

add_executable(MyGame src/main.cpp src/MyApp.h)
target_include_directories(MyGame PRIVATE ${PRISMA_SDK_DIR}/include src)
target_link_libraries(MyGame PRIVATE PrismaEngine::Engine)
target_link_directories(MyGame PRIVATE "${PRISMA_SDK_DIR}/lib/linux")

The download only runs when PrismaEngineConfig.cmake is not already present in CMAKE_BINARY_DIR/PrismaEngine-SDK/cmake/. Subsequent configures skip the download entirely.

Using find_package with a pre-installed SDK

If you extracted the SDK manually to a fixed location (for example /opt/PrismaEngine-SDK), you can skip the download block and pass PrismaEngine_DIR at configure time:

cmake -B build -DPrismaEngine_DIR=/opt/PrismaEngine-SDK
cmake --build build

Inside CMakeLists.txt, the minimum integration is:

find_package(PrismaEngine REQUIRED)

add_executable(MyGame src/main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(MyGame PRIVATE PrismaEngine::Engine)

The imported target PrismaEngine::Engine carries include directories, compile options, and library paths — you do not need to call target_include_directories separately unless you have additional local headers.

CMake helper functions

The SDK package config exposes two CMake functions that reduce boilerplate for common project types.

prisma_create_app

prisma_create_app creates a PrismaEngine application target with sensible defaults. It wraps add_executable, sets output directories, and links PrismaEngine::Engine automatically.

prisma_create_app(MyGame
    FOLDER output
    SOURCES src/main.cpp
    LIBRARIES extra_library
)

Parameter	Required	Description
`<name>`	Yes	Name of the executable target
`FOLDER`	No	Output directory for the compiled binary
`SOURCES`	No	Additional source files beyond the defaults
`LIBRARIES`	No	Extra libraries to link against

prisma_create_editor_extension

prisma_create_editor_extension creates a shared library target intended for use as an editor plugin. It links against the editor SDK and configures the correct output path for the editor to discover the extension at runtime.

prisma_create_editor_extension(MyExtension
    SOURCES
        src/Extension.cpp
        src/ExtensionPanel.cpp
)

Parameter	Required	Description
`<name>`	Yes	Name of the extension target
`SOURCES`	No	Source files that implement the extension

CMake variables

These variables control SDK discovery and download behavior. Set them before calling find_package.

Variable	Description	Example
`PRISMA_SDK_DIR`	Path to the extracted SDK root	`${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/PrismaEngine-SDK`
`PRISMA_SDK_VERSION`	SDK version string used to build the download URL	`"1.0.1"`
`PRISMA_SDK_URL`	Full URL to the SDK tarball	Constructed from version + platform

Troubleshooting

Missing Vulkan headers

If CMake cannot find Vulkan headers during engine configuration, install the Vulkan development package for your distribution.

sudo apt install libvulkan-dev vulkan-tools

sudo dnf install vulkan-devel vulkan-tools

On Windows, download and install the Vulkan SDK from vulkan.lunarg.com. The installer sets the VULKAN_SDK environment variable automatically, which CMake uses to locate headers and libraries.

Missing SDL3

SDL3 is fetched automatically via CMake FetchContent when PRISMA_USE_FETCHCONTENT=ON (the default). If you are building with PRISMA_USE_FETCHCONTENT=OFF, install SDL3 manually:

vcpkg install sdl3:x64-windows

On Linux you can also install SDL3 from source or use a distribution package if one is available for your version.

C++20 compilation errors

Verify that your compiler version meets the minimum requirements:

# Check GCC version — needs 11+
g++ --version

# Check Clang version — needs 13+
clang++ --version

If your system compiler is too old, install a newer version or use a toolchain file to point CMake at a supported compiler.

Get Started

Core Concepts

Engine Systems

Platform Guides

SDK & Integration

Integrating PrismaEngine via CMake find_package

Manual integration

Using find_package with a pre-installed SDK

CMake helper functions

prisma_create_app

prisma_create_editor_extension

CMake variables

Troubleshooting

​Manual integration

​Using find_package with a pre-installed SDK

​CMake helper functions

​prisma_create_app

​prisma_create_editor_extension

​CMake variables

​Troubleshooting

Manual integration

Using find_package with a pre-installed SDK

CMake helper functions

prisma_create_app

prisma_create_editor_extension

CMake variables

Troubleshooting