Gainput
A cross-platform C++ input library for games, handling gamepads, keyboard, mouse, and touch with a unified interface.
What is Gainput?
Gainput is a cross-platform C++ input library designed for game developers, providing unified handling of gamepads, keyboards, mice, and touch inputs across multiple operating systems. It solves the problem of fragmented input APIs by offering a consistent interface while supporting both low-level device access and high-level user-defined button mapping.
Game developers working with C++ who need portable input handling across desktop and mobile platforms, particularly those building games requiring multi-device support and input remapping capabilities.
Developers choose Gainput for its minimal dependencies, lightweight design, and comprehensive feature set including network synchronization and gesture recognition, all without relying on STL, exceptions, or external libraries.
Overview
Cross-platform C++ input library supporting gamepads, keyboard, mouse, touch
Use Cases
Best For
- Building cross-platform games with consistent input handling
- Implementing user-configurable input mapping systems
- Adding gesture recognition to C++ game projects
- Synchronizing input states across networked game instances
- Developing games requiring raw input access on Linux/Windows
- Creating input recording/playback features for debugging
Not Ideal For
- Projects requiring ongoing maintenance or support for new platforms
- Codebases heavily reliant on modern C++ standards (C++17/20) and STL
- Teams needing active community support or frequent documentation updates
Pros & Cons
Pros
Provides a consistent interface across Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows, simplifying multi-platform game development as stated in the README.
Supports both low-level device queries and high-level user-defined button mapping, enabling easy input remapping and alternative controls.
Includes recording/playback, network synchronization, and gesture recognition out-of-the-box, reducing the need for additional libraries.
Avoids STL, exceptions, RTTI, and boost, relying only on platform SDKs for a lightweight integration, as emphasized in the philosophy.
Cons
The project is explicitly archived, meaning no updates, bug fixes, or support for new platforms or SDK versions, posing a risk for long-term use.
Deliberately avoids C++11 and modern features, which might not align with contemporary C++ projects or best practices, limiting compatibility.
Requires manual CMake setup and platform-specific configurations; with no active maintenance, troubleshooting can be challenging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
C/C++A curated list of awesome C++ (or C) frameworks, libraries, resources, and shiny things. Inspired by awesome-... stuff.
ProtoBufProtocol Buffers - Google's data interchange format
JSON for Modern C++JSON for Modern C++
BlazorASP.NET Core is a cross-platform .NET framework for building modern cloud-based web applications on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Found a gem we're missing?
Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.