Building from Source

Build Atlas from source to develop the engine or use a custom runtime. For ordinary project authoring, install an editor package and its matching toolchain instead.

Requirements

Git with submodule support
CMake 3.21 or newer and Ninja
Clang with C++20 support
Python 3
Qt 6 Widgets
Rust and Cargo for the bundled CLI
Internet access during initial configuration to fetch dependencies

Vulkan builds also need a Vulkan SDK or equivalent loader and development packages, including SPIRV-Cross. Linux builds need the platform development dependencies for Qt, windowing, audio, and OpenMP.

Clone the engine

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/neutralsoftware/atlas.git
cd atlas
git checkout beta2rc3
git submodule update --init --recursive

beta2rc3 is a Beta 2 release-candidate snapshot. Use the tag matching your installed package when working with another Beta 2 build.

macOS: Metal

Install the Xcode command-line tools and dependencies:

xcode-select --install
brew install cmake ninja qt@6 python rust

Configure and build:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja \
  -DBACKEND=METAL \
  -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt@6)"
cmake --build build --parallel
open "build/bin/Atlas Engine.app"

Windows and Linux: Vulkan

Install the requirements for your host, including Qt 6 Widgets, the Vulkan dependencies, and Clang. Run configuration from a shell where those tools are available:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DBACKEND=VULKAN
cmake --build build --parallel

If CMake cannot find Qt, set CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH to your Qt installation. Use the matching compiler environment on Windows. Build products are written under build/bin and build/lib.

Backend and target selection

BACKEND=AUTO selects Metal on Apple platforms and Vulkan elsewhere. Atlas Beta 2 accepts AUTO, METAL, and VULKAN at CMake configuration time.

To build only the editor and its dependencies:

cmake --build build --target AtlasEditor --parallel

The repository also provides just shortcuts:

just config METAL
just build
just editor

Use just config VULKAN for a Vulkan build. See Atlas CLI for creating and running projects with a registered runtime, and Photon for device requirements beyond backend selection.