Dependencies¶

This guide covers the dependencies required to build Radix Relay from source.

Quick Setup Options¶

Docker (Recommended)¶

The easiest way to get started is using Docker, which includes all dependencies pre-configured:

docker compose up dev

See Docker instructions for details.

Automated Installation (setup-cpp)¶

For automated dependency installation, use setup-cpp:

Linux/macOS:

curl -sL https://github.com/aminya/setup-cpp/releases/latest/download/setup_cpp_linux -o setup_cpp
chmod +x setup_cpp
./setup_cpp --compiler llvm-19 --cmake true --ninja true --ccache true --clangtidy 19.1.1 --cppcheck true

Windows (PowerShell as admin):

curl -LJO "https://github.com/aminya/setup-cpp/releases/latest/download/setup_cpp_windows.exe"
./setup_cpp_windows --compiler llvm-19 --cmake true --ninja true --ccache true --clangtidy 19.1.1 --cppcheck true
RefreshEnv.cmd

Dependency Management Strategy¶

Radix Relay uses a multi-layered dependency management approach:

Build Tools & Compilers (Spack - Local Development)¶

For local development with precise version control:

cmake @3.27 - Build system
ninja @1.12 - Build generator
llvm @19.1 - Clang compiler toolchain
gcc @13.3 - GCC compiler toolchain
doxygen @1.9 - Documentation generator
graphviz @2.42 - Documentation diagrams
pkgconf @2.3 - Package config tool (required for SimpleBLE on Linux)

Installation: See spack.yaml in the project root. Spack automatically installs these when you activate the environment.

C++ Library Dependencies (vcpkg)¶

Managed via vcpkg.json, automatically installed during CMake configuration:

protobuf - All platforms (Protocol Buffers)
openssl - Windows only (Linux/macOS use system OpenSSL)
sqlcipher - Windows only (Linux/macOS use system packages)

Installation: Automatically handled during CMake configuration.

Additional C++ Libraries (CPM - Automatic)¶

Downloaded and built automatically via CMake Package Manager (CPM):

SimpleBLE (v0.6.1) - Cross-platform BLE library
Boost (asio, beast, system) - Async I/O and HTTP
Slint - GUI framework
Replxx - TUI readline library
Catch2 - Testing framework
libsignal (Rust) - Signal Protocol via Corrosion

Installation: No action required - handled by Dependencies.cmake.

System Libraries (Platform Package Managers)¶

Platform-specific system dependencies:

OpenSSL - Linux/macOS only (vcpkg on Windows)
SQLCipher - Linux/macOS only (vcpkg on Windows)
D-Bus - Linux only (for SimpleBLE BlueZ backend)

Installation: Use your system package manager (apt/dnf/pacman/brew).

Manual Installation¶

Required Dependencies¶

1. C++20 Compiler¶

One of the following:

Clang 19.1.1 (recommended) or GCC 14+
MSVC 2022 (Windows only - required for libsignal compatibility)

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

# Clang 19
bash -c "$(wget -O - https://apt.llvm.org/llvm.sh)"

# Or GCC 14
sudo apt install build-essential gcc-14 g++-14

macOS:

# Clang (via Xcode Command Line Tools)
xcode-select --install

# Or via Homebrew
brew install llvm@19

Windows:

Install Visual Studio 2022 with C++ Desktop Development workload:

choco install visualstudio2022community --package-parameters "--add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop --includeRecommended"

Note: Windows builds require MSVC due to libsignal compatibility. GCC/Clang are not supported on Windows.

2. CMake 3.21+¶

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt install cmake

macOS:

brew install cmake

Windows:

choco install cmake

3. Ninja Build System¶

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt install ninja-build

macOS:

brew install ninja

Windows:

choco install ninja

4. Rust (stable)¶

Required for Signal Protocol implementation.

All platforms:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Or visit rustup.rs

After installation:

rustup component add clippy rustfmt

5. Protocol Buffers¶

Required by Signal Protocol dependencies.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt install protobuf-compiler libprotobuf-dev

macOS:

brew install protobuf

Windows:

Protocol Buffers is installed automatically via vcpkg during the build process.

6. BLE Transport Dependencies¶

Required for Bluetooth Low Energy transport functionality.

System D-Bus (Linux only):

SimpleBLE on Linux uses the BlueZ backend which requires D-Bus development headers. On Windows and macOS, SimpleBLE uses native Bluetooth APIs (no D-Bus needed).

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install libdbus-1-dev

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install dbus-devel

# Arch
sudo pacman -S dbus

SimpleBLE (all platforms):

SimpleBLE is automatically downloaded and built via CPM (CMake Package Manager) during configuration. No manual installation needed.

Version: v0.6.1
Linux: Uses BlueZ backend (requires system D-Bus installed above)
Windows: Uses native Windows Bluetooth API
macOS: Uses CoreBluetooth framework

vcpkg Setup (for Protobuf):

Install vcpkg if you haven't already:

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git /data/git/vcpkg
/data/git/vcpkg/bootstrap-vcpkg.sh  # Linux/macOS
# or
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git %USERPROFILE%\vcpkg
%USERPROFILE%\vcpkg\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat  # Windows

# Set environment variable (add to your shell profile or .envrc)
export VCPKG_ROOT=/data/git/vcpkg  # Linux/macOS
# or
set VCPKG_ROOT=%USERPROFILE%\vcpkg  # Windows

The project's CMake presets automatically use the vcpkg toolchain for Protobuf and other dependencies.

Optional Dependencies¶

Documentation Tools¶

Required only if building documentation locally:

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt install doxygen graphviz python3-pip
pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material

macOS:

brew install doxygen graphviz python
pip3 install mkdocs mkdocs-material

Windows:

choco install doxygen.install graphviz python
pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material

Development Tools (Optional but Recommended)¶

ccache - Speeds up recompilation:

# Linux
sudo apt install ccache

# macOS
brew install ccache

# Windows
choco install ccache

cppcheck - Static analysis:

# Linux
sudo apt install cppcheck

# macOS
brew install cppcheck

# Windows
choco install cppcheck

clang-tidy 19.1.1 - Linting and static analysis (matches CI):

# Linux
sudo apt install clang-tidy-19

# macOS
brew install llvm@19

# Windows
# Included with Visual Studio 2022 LLVM toolset

Version Requirements Summary¶

Dependency	Minimum Version	Recommended
CMake	3.21	Latest
C++ Compiler	C++20 support	Clang 19.1.1, GCC 14, or MSVC 2022
Rust	stable	Latest stable
Protocol Buffers	3.x	Latest
pkg-config (Linux BLE)	Any	Latest
D-Bus (Linux BLE)	1.x	Latest
Python (for docs)	3.8	3.12+

Verification¶

After installation, verify all dependencies:

cmake --version          # Should be 3.21+
ninja --version         # Any version
rustc --version         # Should show stable
cargo --version         # Should match rustc
protoc --version        # Should be 3.x+

# Compiler check
clang++ --version       # 19.1.1+ (Linux/macOS)
# or
g++ --version          # 14+ (Linux)
# or
cl                     # MSVC 2022 (Windows)

# BLE dependencies (Linux only)
pkg-config --version    # Any version
pkg-config --exists dbus-1 && echo "D-Bus found" || echo "D-Bus not found"

Next Steps¶

Once dependencies are installed, proceed to Building.

Package Manager Notes¶

Linux: Commands shown for Debian/Ubuntu (apt). For other distributions:
Fedora/RHEL: Replace apt with dnf
Arch: Replace apt with pacman
macOS: Requires Homebrew
Windows: Requires Chocolatey

Troubleshooting¶

CMake can't find dependencies¶

Ensure dependency binaries are on your PATH:

# Linux/macOS
echo $PATH

# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:PATH

Rust components missing¶

Install required Rust components:

rustup component add clippy rustfmt

Protocol Buffers not found¶

Verify protoc is installed and on PATH:

protoc --version
which protoc  # Linux/macOS
where protoc  # Windows

BLE dependencies missing (Linux)¶

If CMake cannot find DBus1 or pkg-config:

# Verify pkg-config is installed
pkg-config --version

# Verify D-Bus development libraries are installed
pkg-config --exists dbus-1 && echo "Found" || echo "Not found"

# If not found, install them:
sudo apt install pkg-config libdbus-1-dev  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo dnf install pkgconfig dbus-devel      # Fedora/RHEL
sudo pacman -S pkgconf dbus                # Arch
spack install pkgconf dbus                 # Spack

If issues persist, see the GitHub Issues or join discussions.