Made by Department of CSE, Dhaka International University, Bangladesh

graphics.h Runner — BGI C++ Graphics Toolkit for VS Code

Compile & run C++ programs that use graphics.h (BGI / WinBGIM / SDL_bgi) with one keypress. One command sets up the whole toolchain from zero — compiler guidance, graphics library download/build/patch/install — no admin rights needed for the graphics library, no manual flag memorizing, ever.

#include <graphics.h>

int main ( ) {
    initwindow(640, 480);
    setcolor(YELLOW);
    setfillstyle(SOLID_FILL, RED);
    bar(80, 80, 280, 200);
    outtextxy(200, 300, (char*)"Hello, graphics.h!");
    getch();
    closegraph();
    return 0;
}

Press Ctrl+Alt+R → compiled with the right linker flags → graphics window opens.

Features

Install

From the VS Code Marketplace (recommended): search for "graphics.h Runner" in the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X), or from the command line:

code --install-extension mythos0-labs.graphics-h-runner

From a GitHub release: download graphics-h-runner-1.4.0.vsix from Releases, then in VS Code: Extensions view → ⋯ → Install from VSIX… (or code --install-extension graphics-h-runner-1.4.0.vsix).

From source:

git clone https://github.com/mythos0/graphics-h-runner.git
cd graphics-h-runner
npm install && npm run compile
npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies
code --install-extension graphics-h-runner-*.vsix

From zero to running (60 seconds)

1. Open the Command Palette → graphics.h: Complete graphics.h Run Setup.
2. Watch it work:
   • Windows — installs MinGW-w64 g++ via winget (manual WinLibs fallback provided), then downloads graphics.h, winbgim.h, libbgi.a into the extension folder and wires the paths. No copying into MinGW directories, no admin rights.
   • Linux — prints one copy-paste command for the system packages (build-essential, libsdl2-dev — password prompts work in the terminal), then automatically downloads, patches (two known upstream header fixes + screen-presentation fix), builds and installs SDL_bgi into ~/.graphics-h-runner/ — no sudo needed for the library — and wires include/lib/rpath into the extension settings.
   • macOS — xcode-select / brew install sdl2 guidance, then the same automatic user-prefix SDL_bgi build.
3. When it says VERIFIED: graphics.h is ready, open any .cpp with <graphics.h> and press Ctrl+Alt+R.

Commands & keybindings

The activity-bar panel

The graphics.h Runner icon in the Activity Bar opens the modern panel:

1. Hero + live status — DIU branding and a Ready / Not ready / Checking pill; while anything is missing, a one-click 🚀 Complete Run Setup button appears.
2. Actions grid — Compile & Run, Complete Run Setup, Setup Doctor, Compile, Run Last Build, Stop Running Program, Copy Compile Command, Open Examples Folder.
3. Example Programs — 18 emoji cards (tagged classic/fun/math/interactive). ▶ Run opens the file, compiles and launches the graphics window in one click; Open just opens the source as graphics-h-programs/<name>.cpp.

Extension settings

Telemetry (automatic error collection)

This extension collects crash and error reports automatically through Sentry so setup failures on any PC can be found and fixed without asking anyone to copy-paste logs. What this means in practice:

• Consent first — nothing is ever sent unless VS Code telemetry is enabled (Settings → Telemetry → Telemetry Level is not Off). Toggling that setting enables or disables collection immediately; there is no separate opt-in.
• What is collected — uncaught exceptions and unhandled rejections, plus context that makes them diagnosable: stack traces, breadcrumbs (e.g. “compile failed”, “Complete Setup step: install-winbgim”), and tags such as OS, CPU architecture, VS Code version and the detected graphics library.
• What is never collected — your source code, file contents, compiler output, file names from outside the breadcrumbs above, or anything you type. User-identifying path segments (C:\Users\<name>, /home/<name>) are scrubbed from every event before it leaves your machine.

Tested & verified

Every sample below was compiled with the extension's exact flag-building code (out/buildArgs.js), executed on a virtual display (Xvfb) and screenshot-verified by an automated pipeline (test/run-tests.js, results in test/test-results.json):

Screenshots: docs/screenshots/ — e.g. the Mandelbrot render:

A frame-tearing bug in the bundled SDL_bgi presentation path was found by the screenshot analyzer during testing (frames captured mid-draw showed bricks without the paddle/ball) and fixed in the library build the Setup Engine produces: presentation is now event-driven — one full-frame present per delay()/kbhit()/getch() call instead of one per drawing primitive.

The setup engine is tested end-to-end as well: fresh SDL_bgi download → patch → build → user-prefix install → compile → verified render, plus WinBGIM asset validation (scripts/test_setup_engine.js in the dev workspace).

Per-OS setup (what Complete Setup automates)

Windows

1. Compiler — now fully automatic: Complete Setup runs winget install -e --id BrechtSanders.WinLibs.POSIX.UCRT for you (per-user portable install, no admin prompt), then finds the new g++.exe and wires it into graphics-h-runner.compilerPath. No winget? It downloads the WinLibs UCRT zip directly (sha256-verified) into the extension folder and extracts it with built-in PowerShell — still no admin rights. Missing compiler on run? You get a one-click "Complete Run Setup" prompt. Manual route: winlibs.com.
2. WinBGIM — Complete Setup downloads it into the extension folder automatically. Manual route: copy graphics.h + winbgim.h into <MinGW>\include and libbgi.a into <MinGW>\lib.
3. The extension compiles with: g++ main.cpp -o main.exe -static -lbgi -lgdi32 -lcomdlg32 -luuid -loleaut32 -lole32 -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++ (fully statically linked — the .exe runs on any Windows 10/11 machine, no DLL hunting).

Linux

1. sudo apt install build-essential libsdl2-dev (or dnf/pacman equivalents — Complete Setup detects your package manager).
2. SDL_bgi — Complete Setup downloads it, applies the compatibility patches, builds and installs it into ~/.graphics-h-runner/usr/ automatically (no sudo). Manual route: build from sourceforge.net/projects/sdl-bgi with make && sudo make install.
3. The extension compiles with: g++ main.cpp -o main -lSDL_bgi -lSDL2 -lm
4. Tip: if your own SDL_bgi 3.x build shows a black window, that is the upstream "fast mode" presentation quirk — set SDL_BGI_RATE=auto or call refresh() after drawing. Complete Setup's build has this fixed automatically.

macOS

1. xcode-select --install then brew install sdl2.
2. SDL_bgi — same automatic user-prefix build as Linux.

Troubleshooting

• "could not run g++" — install a compiler (see per-OS above) or set graphics-h-runner.compilerPath to its full path.
• Doctor says a library probe failed — read the printed fix, or click Fix automatically.
• Compiled but the window is black on a self-installed SDL_bgi 3.x — set SDL_BGI_RATE=auto, or re-run Complete Setup so the patched build is installed for you.
• Windows: winget missing — use the WinLibs manual download shown by Complete Setup.

Publishing notes (for maintainers)

Publishing is fully automated from GitHub:

• Tag a release — push a vX.Y.Z tag → .github/workflows/release.yml runs smoke tests, packages the .vsix, publishes to the VS Code Marketplace and creates a GitHub Release with the asset.
• Bump the version on main — .github/workflows/auto-publish.yml detects the package.json version change on every push to main, and if it changed: builds, publishes to the Marketplace, tags vX.Y.Z and creates the GitHub Release automatically.
• Both need one repository secret: VSCE_PAT — an Azure DevOps PAT with Organization: all accessible organizations and Scopes: Marketplace → Manage (create at dev.azure.com → User settings → Personal access tokens).
• Marketplace listing page: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=mythos0-labs.graphics-h-runner
• OpenVSX (optional): npx ovsx publish --pat $OPEN_VSX_TOKEN.

License

MIT — © 2026 MYTHOS0