Code Examples

Annotated raylib code samples from beginner to advanced. Every example compiles and runs.

2D Basics
Bouncing Ball
A ball that bounces off the screen edges. Demonstrates the game loop, delta-time movement, and shape drawing.
#include "raylib.h"

int main(void)
{
    const int W = 800, H = 450;
    InitWindow(W, H, "Bouncing Ball");
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    Vector2 pos = { W/2.0f, H/2.0f };
    Vector2 vel = { 300.0f, 250.0f };
    float radius = 20.0f;

    while (!WindowShouldClose())
    {
        float dt = GetFrameTime();

        // Move
        pos.x += vel.x * dt;
        pos.y += vel.y * dt;

        // Bounce off edges
        if (pos.x - radius < 0 || pos.x + radius > W) vel.x *= -1;
        if (pos.y - radius < 0 || pos.y + radius > H) vel.y *= -1;

        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            DrawCircleV(pos, radius, RED);
            DrawText(TextFormat("FPS: %d", GetFPS()), 10, 10, 20, DARKGRAY);
        EndDrawing();
    }

    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}
Key concepts: GetFrameTime() returns delta time for frame-rate-independent movement. DrawCircleV() takes a Vector2 instead of separate x,y. TextFormat() is raylib's sprintf replacement that returns a static buffer.
Textures & Input
Draggable Sprite
Load an image, draw it as a texture, and make it follow the mouse when clicked.
#include "raylib.h"

int main(void)
{
    InitWindow(800, 450, "Draggable Sprite");
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    Texture2D tex = LoadTexture("sprite.png");
    Vector2   pos = { 400, 225 };
    bool dragging = false;

    while (!WindowShouldClose())
    {
        Vector2 mouse = GetMousePosition();
        Rectangle rect = { pos.x, pos.y, tex.width, tex.height };

        if (IsMouseButtonPressed(MOUSE_BUTTON_LEFT)
            && CheckCollisionPointRec(mouse, rect))
            dragging = true;

        if (IsMouseButtonReleased(MOUSE_BUTTON_LEFT))
            dragging = false;

        if (dragging) {
            pos.x += GetMouseDelta().x;
            pos.y += GetMouseDelta().y;
        }

        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            DrawTexture(tex, (int)pos.x, (int)pos.y, WHITE);
            DrawText(dragging ? "DRAGGING" : "Click sprite to drag",
                     10, 10, 20, DARKGRAY);
        EndDrawing();
    }

    UnloadTexture(tex);
    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}
Key concepts: LoadTexture() reads an image and uploads it to the GPU. GetMouseDelta() returns frame-to-frame mouse movement. CheckCollisionPointRec() tests if a point is inside a rectangle. Always UnloadTexture() before closing.
3D
First-Person Camera
A full first-person 3D scene with WASD movement, mouse look, and a grid floor. Under 40 lines.
#include "raylib.h"

int main(void)
{
    InitWindow(1280, 720, "First Person");

    Camera3D cam = { 0 };
    cam.position   = (Vector3){ 4.0f, 2.0f, 4.0f };
    cam.target     = (Vector3){ 0.0f, 1.8f, 0.0f };
    cam.up         = (Vector3){ 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f };
    cam.fovy       = 60.0f;
    cam.projection = CAMERA_PERSPECTIVE;

    DisableCursor();              // Lock mouse for FPS look
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    while (!WindowShouldClose())
    {
        UpdateCamera(&cam, CAMERA_FIRST_PERSON);

        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(SKYBLUE);
            BeginMode3D(cam);
                DrawPlane((Vector3){0,0,0}, (Vector2){32,32}, LIGHTGRAY);
                DrawCube((Vector3){0,1,0}, 2, 2, 2, RED);
                DrawCubeWires((Vector3){0,1,0}, 2, 2, 2, MAROON);
                DrawGrid(20, 1.0f);
            EndMode3D();
            DrawFPS(10, 10);
        EndDrawing();
    }

    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}
Key concepts: Camera3D struct holds position, target, up vector, FOV, and projection type. UpdateCamera() handles all WASD + mouse movement internally — one function call. BeginMode3D() / EndMode3D() bracket 3D drawing.
Audio
Music Streaming
Stream an OGG music file with play/pause/restart controls.
#include "raylib.h"

int main(void)
{
    InitWindow(800, 450, "Music Player");
    InitAudioDevice();
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    Music music = LoadMusicStream("song.ogg");
    PlayMusicStream(music);

    while (!WindowShouldClose())
    {
        UpdateMusicStream(music);   // MUST call every frame

        if (IsKeyPressed(KEY_SPACE)) {
            if (IsMusicStreamPlaying(music))
                PauseMusicStream(music);
            else
                ResumeMusicStream(music);
        }
        if (IsKeyPressed(KEY_R)) {
            StopMusicStream(music);
            PlayMusicStream(music);
        }

        float played = GetMusicTimePlayed(music);
        float total  = GetMusicTimeLength(music);

        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            DrawText("SPACE = play/pause   R = restart", 10, 10, 20, DARKGRAY);
            DrawRectangle(50, 200, (int)(700 * (played/total)), 30, MAROON);
            DrawRectangleLines(50, 200, 700, 30, GRAY);
        EndDrawing();
    }

    UnloadMusicStream(music);
    CloseAudioDevice();
    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}
Key concepts: LoadMusicStream() streams audio from disk (unlike LoadSound() which loads entirely into memory). You must call UpdateMusicStream() every frame or the music will stutter. Supports OGG, MP3, FLAC, WAV, XM, and MOD.
Shaders
Custom Fragment Shader
Apply a custom GLSL post-processing effect to the entire screen.
#include "raylib.h"

int main(void)
{
    InitWindow(800, 450, "Shader Example");
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    // Render to texture, then draw texture with shader
    RenderTexture2D target = LoadRenderTexture(800, 450);
    Shader shader = LoadShader(0, "grayscale.fs");

    while (!WindowShouldClose())
    {
        // Draw scene into render texture
        BeginTextureMode(target);
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            DrawCircle(400, 225, 100, RED);
            DrawRectangle(50, 50, 200, 150, BLUE);
            DrawText("Shader applied!", 280, 380, 30, DARKGRAY);
        EndTextureMode();

        // Draw render texture to screen with shader
        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            BeginShaderMode(shader);
                DrawTextureRec(target.texture,
                    (Rectangle){0, 0, 800, -450},
                    (Vector2){0, 0}, WHITE);
            EndShaderMode();
        EndDrawing();
    }

    UnloadShader(shader);
    UnloadRenderTexture(target);
    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}
Key concepts: The pattern is: draw to RenderTexture2D, then draw that texture to screen inside a BeginShaderMode() block. The -450 height in the source rectangle flips the texture (OpenGL convention). LoadShader(0, "file.fs") uses the default vertex shader with your custom fragment shader.
Game Logic
AABB Collision Detection
Move a box with arrow keys and detect collisions with obstacles. Changes color on overlap.
#include "raylib.h"

int main(void)
{
    InitWindow(800, 450, "Collision");
    SetTargetFPS(60);

    Rectangle player = { 100, 200, 40, 40 };
    Rectangle wall   = { 350, 150, 100, 150 };
    float speed = 300.0f;

    while (!WindowShouldClose())
    {
        float dt = GetFrameTime();

        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_RIGHT)) player.x += speed * dt;
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_LEFT))  player.x -= speed * dt;
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_DOWN))  player.y += speed * dt;
        if (IsKeyDown(KEY_UP))    player.y -= speed * dt;

        bool hit = CheckCollisionRecs(player, wall);

        BeginDrawing();
            ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
            DrawRectangleRec(wall, GRAY);
            DrawRectangleRec(player, hit ? RED : GREEN);
            DrawText(hit ? "COLLISION!" : "Arrow keys to move",
                     10, 10, 20, DARKGRAY);
        EndDrawing();
    }

    CloseWindow();
    return 0;
}
Key concepts: CheckCollisionRecs() performs AABB (axis-aligned bounding box) collision between two rectangles. raylib also offers CheckCollisionCircles(), CheckCollisionCircleRec(), CheckCollisionPointRec(), and 3D variants like GetRayCollisionBox().
Build
How to Compile These Examples
All examples compile with a single command. No build system required.
# Linux
gcc example.c -lraylib -lGL -lm -lpthread -ldl -lrt -lX11 -o example

# macOS
clang example.c -lraylib -framework OpenGL -framework Cocoa -framework IOKit -o example

# Windows (MinGW)
gcc example.c -lraylib -lopengl32 -lgdi32 -lwinmm -o example.exe

# Web (Emscripten)
emcc example.c -lraylib -s USE_GLFW=3 -s ASYNCIFY -o example.html
All examples based on the official raylib examples — github.com/raysan5/raylib/examples