Single-file public-domain/open source libraries with minimal dependencies

I am the author of a large number of single-file C/C++ public domain libraries. I am not the only person who writes libraries like this, so below are other, similar libraries.

Generally, the following is a list of small, easy-to-integrate, portable libraries which are usable from C and/or C++, and should be able to be compiled on both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms. However, I have not personally verified that any specific lilbrary is as advertised, or is quality software.

Rules

• Libraries must be usable from C or C++, ideally both
• Libraries should be usable from more than one platform (ideally, all major desktops and/or all major mobile)
• Libraries should compile and work on both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms
• Libraries should use at most two files (one header, one source)

Exceptions will be allowed for good reasons.

Recent additions

Recent additions are marked with an asterisk in the left column.

New libraries and corrections

See discussion after the list.

JSON Parsing

There are a lot of JSON parsers listed here. For some analysis and performance results, check out https://github.com/miloyip/nativejson-benchmark

Other lists

Also you might be interested in other related, but different lists:

• clib: list of (mostly) small single C functions (licenses not listed)
• CCAN: package of lots of shareable C functions (mixed licenses)

Library listing

Public domain single-file libraries usable from C and C++ are in bold. Other libraries are either non-public domain, or two files, or not usable from both C and C++, or all three. Libraries of more than two files are mostly forbidden.

For the API column, "C" means C only, "C++" means C++ only, and "C/C++" means C/C++ usable from either; some files may require building as C or C++ but still qualify as "C/C++" as long as the header file uses extern "C" to make it work. (In some cases, a header-file-only library may compile as both C or C++, but produce an implementation that can only be called from one or the other, because of a lack of use of extern "C"; in this case the table still qualifies it as C/C++, as this is not an obstacle to most users.)

Categories:

• general purpose
  • data structures
  • string processing
  • scripting
  • hashing
• mathematics
  • vector math
  • geometry math
  • general math
• parsing
  • JSON
  • YAML
  • CSV
  • other serialization
  • argv argument processing
  • other parsing
• graphics
  • textmode
  • 2D graphics
  • 3D graphics
  • 3D geometry file processing
  • image loading, saving, & processing
• audio/video/data compression
  • compression
  • audio processing & files
  • video
• videogames
• operating system features
  • files and filenames
  • multithreading
  • networking
  • hardware interfacing
• debugging, profiling, testing
  • debugging
  • profiling
  • unit testing etc.
• other
  • AI
  • cryptography
  • user interface
  • miscellaneous

AI

argv

audio

compression

crypto

data structures

debugging

files & filenames

geometry file

geometry math

graphics (text)

graphics (2d)

graphics (3d)

hardware

hashing

images

math

multithreading

network

serialization

json

yaml

csv

parsing

profiling

scripting

strings

unit testing

user interface

vectors

video

videogames

miscellaneous

There are also these XML libraries, but I am so significantly not a fan of XML that I've consigned these to the basement to make you think twice.

• parsing: tinyxml2: XML (zlib license)
• parsing: pugixml: XML (MIT license)
• parsing: yxml: XML (MIT license)

New libraries and corrections

Submissions of new libraries: I accept submissions (as issues or as pull requests). Please note that every file that must be included in a user's project counts; a header and a source file is 2 files, but a header file, source file, and LICENSE (if the license isn't in the source file) is 3 files, and won't be accepted, because it's not 2 files. But actually 'LICENSE' is a problem for just dropping the library in a source tree anyway, since it's not scoped to just the library, so library authors are encouraged to include the license in the source file and not require a separate LICENSE.

Corrections: if information for a library above is wrong, please send a correction as an issue, pull request, or email. Note that if the list indicates a library works from both C/C++, but it doesn't, this could be an error in the list or it could be a bug in the library. If you find a library doesn't work in 32-bit or 64-bit, the library should be removed from this list, unless it's a bug in the library.

List FAQ

Can I link directly to this list?

Yes. This is the preferred link.

Why isn't library XXX which is made of 3 or more files on this list?

I draw the line arbitrarily at 2 files at most. (Note that some libraries that appear to be two files require a separate LICENSE file, which made me leave them out). Some of these libraries are still easy to drop into your project and build, so you might still be ok with them. But since people come to stb for single-file public domain libraries, I feel that starts to get too far from what we do here.

Why isn't library XXX which is at most two files and has minimal other dependencies on this list?

Probably because I don't know about it, feel free to submit a pull request, issue, email, or tweet it at me (it can be your own library or somebody else's). But I might not include it for various other reasons, including subtleties of what is 'minimal other dependencies' and subtleties about what is 'lightweight'.

Why isn't SQLite's amalgamated build on this list?

Come on.