Swift and Cute Framework: Setting up a project with CMake

Cute Framework is a simple, yet powerful C/C++ framework for building 2D games using the modern GPU pipeline. While C or C++ is fine, Swift is a modern language that many developers prefer for its safety and expressiveness. In this post, we will explore how to set up a project using Cute Framework with CMake, enabling you to write your game logic in Swift while leveraging the performance of C/C++ for rendering and other performance-critical tasks.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Swift (latest version, preferably Swift 6 or later)
• CMake (we are going to use the most recent version 4.0, but 3.20+ should work just fine)
• Ninja (required for building Swift with CMake)

Setting Up the Project Structure

Create a new directory for your project and navigate into it:

mkdir MyCuteGame
cd MyCuteGame

Create the following directory structure:

mkdir src include
touch CMakeLists.txt # Our CMake configuration file
touch src/main.swift # Our main Swift file
touch include/shim.h # Our C header file for Swift interoperability
touch include/module.modulemap # Our C module map for Swift interoperability

The next step is to configure the CMakeLists.txt file. Open it in your favorite text editor and add the following content:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 4.0)

# Set the project name and languages
project(
    MyCuteGame
    LANGUAGES C CXX Swift # Ensure we include C, C++, and Swift
)

# Set our game sources
file(GLOB_RECURSE SOURCES CONFIGURE_DEPENDS src/*.swift)

# Set our executable target
add_executable(MyCuteGame ${SOURCES})

# Include FetchContent to download Cute Framework
include(FetchContent)

# Define cute as our Cute Framework dependency
FetchContent_Declare(
    cute
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/RandyGaul/cute_framework
)
# Fetch the Cute Framework
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(cute)

# Add the Cute Framework as a dependency
target_include_directories(MyCuteGame PUBLIC $${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include>)
target_link_libraries(MyCuteGame cute)

The CMakeLists.txt file defines few key components:

• It sets the project name and specifies that we will be using C, C++, and Swift. We use C and C++ as Cute Framework is written in C/C++.
• It collects all Swift source files in the src directory.
• It sets up the Cute Framework as a dependency using FetchContent, which allows us to download and include it directly in our project.
• It creates an executable target named MyCuteGame and links it with the Cute Framework.
• It includes the include directory for header files, which will be used for Swift interoperability.

Setting Up Swift Interoperability

To enable Swift to call C functions, we need to create a C header file and a module map. Open include/shim.h and add the following content:

#pragma once
#include 

The shim.h file includes the Cute Framework header, allowing Swift to access its functions.

Next, create the module map in include/module.modulemap:

module CCute [extern_c] {
    header "shim.h"
    export *
}

This module map tells Swift how to import the C header file. The extern_c attribute indicates that this module is a C module, which is necessary for Swift interoperability.

With all that in place, we can now write our Swift code in src/main.swift. Open this file and add the following content:

import CCute

// Center the window on the screen
let options: CF_AppOptionFlags = Int32(CF_APP_OPTIONS_WINDOW_POS_CENTERED_BIT.rawValue)
let width: Int32 = 800
let height: Int32 = 600

// Create the Cute Framework app
let result = cf_make_app("MyCuteGame", 0, 0, 0, width, height, options, CommandLine.unsafeArgv[0])
if cf_is_error(result) {
  fatalError("Failed to create Cute Framework app")
}

// Create a demo girl sprite
var sprite = cf_make_demo_sprite()
// Play the "spin" animation
cf_sprite_play(&sprite, "spin")
// Make the sprite 4x larger
sprite.scale = CF_V2(x: 4.0, y: 4.0)

while cf_app_is_running() {
  // Update internal app state without a callback
  cf_app_update(nil)

  // Update the sprite state
  cf_sprite_update(&sprite)

  // Draw the sprite
  cf_sprite_draw(&sprite)

  // Draw the app onto the screen with clearing enabled
  cf_app_draw_onto_screen(true)
}

cf_destroy_app()

Configure and Build the Project

Now that we have our project structure and code set up, we can configure and build the project using CMake. Open a terminal in the root directory of your project and run the following commands:

mkdir build       # Create a build directory
cd build
cmake -G Ninja .. # Configure the project using CMake with Ninja as the generator
cmake --build .   # Build the project

All that’s left is to run the executable. You can do this by executing:

./MyCuteGame

This should launch your Cute Framework application, displaying a window with a spinning girl sprite.

And voila! You have successfully set up a Cute Framework project using CMake and Swift. You can now start building your game logic in Swift while leveraging the performance of C/C++ for rendering and other tasks.

I encourage you to explore the documentation, and especially the Getting Started guide.

There is also a Discord server where you can ask questions and share your projects: Cute Framework Discord.

Last modified: 06-Jun-25