LibMan Project Dependencies - Installation Guide

Current Status

The LibMan project requires the following to compile:

• ✅ Qt 5.15.2 (configured at C:/Qt/5.15.2/mingw81_64/lib/cmake/Qt5)
• ✅ CMake 3.16+
• ✅ MinGW 8.1.0 compiler
• ❌ ZLIB (missing - prevents compilation)

Installing ZLIB

Choose one of the methods below based on your setup:

Option 1: Download Pre-built ZLIB for MinGW (Recommended)

1. Download MinGW-compatible ZLIB from:

   • GnuWin32 ZLIB
   • ZLIB Official

2. Extract to a known location, e.g.: C:\zlib-install\

3. Update CMakeLists.txt to point to ZLIB:

   # Add this before find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)
   set(ZLIB_ROOT "C:/zlib-install")
   set(ZLIB_INCLUDE_DIR "${ZLIB_ROOT}/include")
   set(ZLIB_LIBRARY "${ZLIB_ROOT}/lib/libz.a")
   

4. Or pass via CMake command:

   cmake -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
     -DZLIB_INCLUDE_DIR=C:/zlib-install/include \
     -DZLIB_LIBRARY=C:/zlib-install/lib/libz.a
   

Option 2: Build ZLIB from Source

# Download ZLIB source
cd C:\temp
git clone https://github.com/madler/zlib.git
cd zlib

# Configure with MinGW
cmake -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:/zlib-install
cmake --build build
cmake --install build

# This creates C:/zlib-install/lib and C:/zlib-install/include
# Then update CMakeLists.txt with paths as shown in Option 1

Option 3: Using Package Manager (if installed)

If you have Chocolatey installed:

choco install zlib

If you have MSYS2 installed:

pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-zlib

Option 4: CMake Approach - Install via vcpkg

If you want to set up vcpkg (optional one-time setup):

# Clone vcpkg
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat

# Install ZLIB
.\vcpkg install zlib:x86-mingw-static

# Then run CMake with vcpkg toolchain
cmake -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug `
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=C:\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake `
  -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x86-mingw-static

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Quick Test After ZLIB Installation

Once ZLIB is installed, verify CMake can find it:

cd c:\Users\anton\Documents\LibMan
cmake -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug

✅ If successful, you'll see:

-- Found ZLIB
-- Configuring done

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Updating Tasks After Installation

After installing ZLIB:

1. Clear the old build:

   Remove-Item build -Recurse -Force
   mkdir build
   

2. Run first configuration task:

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+B → Select "CMake: Configure Debug"
   • Or manually run the CMake configure command above

3. Build the project:

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+B → Select "Build Debug"
   • Or use "Build & Run Debug" to compile and run

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Troubleshooting

"Could NOT find ZLIB" error

• Verify ZLIB is installed to the expected location
• Check paths in CMakeLists.txt or CMakePresets.json
• Try specifying paths manually via CMake command line

CMake still can't find ZLIB after installation

• Add ZLIB path to system PATH environment variable
• Restart VS Code after installing ZLIB
• Clear CMake cache: Remove-Item build -Recurse -Force

Wrong ZLIB architecture (32-bit vs 64-bit)

• MinGW 8.1.0 is 32-bit (mingw810_32)
• Ensure ZLIB is compiled for x86 (32-bit), not x64
• Check architecture in ZLIB library folder names

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Alternative: Temporary Build Without ZLIB

If you want to temporarily skip ZLIB:

Edit CMakeLists.txt line 26:

# Original:
find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)

# Change to:
# find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)  # Temporarily commented

Note: This may cause linker errors if ZLIB symbols are used in the source code. This is only for testing the configuration.

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Support

For more information:

• Check the official CMake error message output
• See .vscode/tasks.json for current build configuration
• Review CMakePresets.json for CMake preset definitions

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