Mujoco + GLFW example with joint space sliders using Dear imgui
In our previous post [Minimal C++ Mujoco scene viewer with mouse navigation & simulation](/2025/09/11/minimal-c-mujoco-scene-viewer-with-mouse-navigation & simulation/) we demonstrated how to set up a basic Mujoco viewer using GLFW for window management and OpenGL for rendering. In this post, we will enhance that example by integrating Dear ImGui
to create a user interface with sliders that allow us to control the joint positions of a robotic model in real-time.
Prerequisites
git submodule add https://github.com/ocornut/imgui.git
main.cpp
#include <mujoco/mujoco.h>
#include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
#include <GL/gl.h>
#include "imgui/imgui.h"
#include "imgui/backends/imgui_impl_glfw.h"
#include "imgui/backends/imgui_impl_opengl2.h"
#include <cstdio>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <cmath>
#include <time.h>
#include <vector>
#include <string>
#include <algorithm>
// --- Globals kept tiny for GLFW callbacks ---
static mjModel* m = nullptr;
static mjData* d = nullptr;
static mjvCamera cam; // abstract camera
static mjvOption opt; // visualization options
static mjvScene scn; // abstract scene
static mjrContext con; // custom GPU context
static bool button_left = false, button_middle = false, button_right = false;
static double lastx = 0, lasty = 0;
// Real-time sync: record simulation and wall-clock start times
static double sim_start_time = 0.0;
static double realtime_start = 0.0;
// --- Simple UI state for sliders ---
struct SliderDef {
int jnt; // joint index this slider group belongs to
int comp; // component within joint: -1 for hinge/slide, 0..2 Euler for ball, 0..5 (xyz,rpy) for free
double vmin; // minimum slider value (units: m or rad)
double vmax; // maximum slider value
double value; // current value
std::string label; // label (not rendered as text in this minimal UI)
};
static std::vector<SliderDef> g_sliders; // all sliders
// Utilities: clamp
template <typename T>
static inline T clamp(T v, T lo, T hi) { return std::max(lo, std::min(v, hi)); }
// Quaternion helpers (ZYX yaw-pitch-roll convention)
static void quat_normalize(double q[4]) {
double n = std::sqrt(q[0]*q[0] + q[1]*q[1] + q[2]*q[2] + q[3]*q[3]);
if (n <= 0) { q[0]=1; q[1]=q[2]=q[3]=0; return; }
q[0]/=n; q[1]/=n; q[2]/=n; q[3]/=n;
}
static void euler_rpy_to_quat(double roll, double pitch, double yaw, double q[4]) {
double cr = std::cos(roll*0.5), sr = std::sin(roll*0.5);
double cp = std::cos(pitch*0.5), sp = std::sin(pitch*0.5);
double cy = std::cos(yaw*0.5), sy = std::sin(yaw*0.5);
// ZYX order: q = Rz(yaw)*Ry(pitch)*Rx(roll)
q[0] = cr*cp*cy + sr*sp*sy; // w
q[1] = sr*cp*cy - cr*sp*sy; // x
q[2] = cr*sp*cy + sr*cp*sy; // y
q[3] = cr*cp*sy - sr*sp*cy; // z
quat_normalize(q);
}
static void quat_to_euler_rpy(const double qin[4], double& roll, double& pitch, double& yaw) {
double q[4] = {qin[0], qin[1], qin[2], qin[3]};
quat_normalize(q);
// roll (x-axis rotation)
double sinr_cosp = 2.0*(q[0]*q[1] + q[2]*q[3]);
double cosr_cosp = 1.0 - 2.0*(q[1]*q[1] + q[2]*q[2]);
roll = std::atan2(sinr_cosp, cosr_cosp);
// pitch (y-axis)
double sinp = 2.0*(q[0]*q[2] - q[3]*q[1]);
if (std::abs(sinp) >= 1.0) pitch = std::copysign(M_PI/2.0, sinp);
else pitch = std::asin(sinp);
// yaw (z-axis)
double siny_cosp = 2.0*(q[0]*q[3] + q[1]*q[2]);
double cosy_cosp = 1.0 - 2.0*(q[2]*q[2] + q[3]*q[3]);
yaw = std::atan2(siny_cosp, cosy_cosp);
}
// Build sliders from model and current data
static void build_sliders() {
g_sliders.clear();
if (!m || !d) return;
for (int j=0; j<m->njnt; ++j) {
int type = m->jnt_type[j];
int qadr = m->jnt_qposadr[j];
const char* name = (m->names && m->name_jntadr) ? m->names + m->name_jntadr[j] : "joint";
if (type == mjJNT_HINGE) {
double vmin = -M_PI, vmax = M_PI;
if (m->jnt_limited[j]) { vmin = m->jnt_range[2*j]; vmax = m->jnt_range[2*j+1]; }
g_sliders.push_back({j, -1, vmin, vmax, d->qpos[qadr], std::string(name)});
} else if (type == mjJNT_SLIDE) {
double vmin = -1.0, vmax = 1.0;
if (m->jnt_limited[j]) { vmin = m->jnt_range[2*j]; vmax = m->jnt_range[2*j+1]; }
g_sliders.push_back({j, -1, vmin, vmax, d->qpos[qadr], std::string(name)});
} else if (type == mjJNT_BALL) {
double q[4] = { d->qpos[qadr+0], d->qpos[qadr+1], d->qpos[qadr+2], d->qpos[qadr+3] };
double r,p,y; quat_to_euler_rpy(q, r,p,y);
g_sliders.push_back({j, 0, -M_PI, M_PI, r, std::string(name)+".roll"});
g_sliders.push_back({j, 1, -M_PI, M_PI, p, std::string(name)+".pitch"});
g_sliders.push_back({j, 2, -M_PI, M_PI, y, std::string(name)+".yaw"});
} else if (type == mjJNT_FREE) {
// position xyz
g_sliders.push_back({j, 0, -2.0, 2.0, d->qpos[qadr+0], std::string(name)+".x"});
g_sliders.push_back({j, 1, -2.0, 2.0, d->qpos[qadr+1], std::string(name)+".y"});
g_sliders.push_back({j, 2, -2.0, 2.0, d->qpos[qadr+2], std::string(name)+".z"});
double q[4] = { d->qpos[qadr+3], d->qpos[qadr+4], d->qpos[qadr+5], d->qpos[qadr+6] };
double r,p,y; quat_to_euler_rpy(q, r,p,y);
g_sliders.push_back({j, 3, -M_PI, M_PI, r, std::string(name)+".roll"});
g_sliders.push_back({j, 4, -M_PI, M_PI, p, std::string(name)+".pitch"});
g_sliders.push_back({j, 5, -M_PI, M_PI, y, std::string(name)+".yaw"});
}
}
}
// Apply slider values to qpos and forward kinematics
static void apply_sliders_to_qpos() {
if (!m || !d) return;
// Start from current qpos
// For each joint, write values
for (size_t i=0; i<g_sliders.size(); ++i) {
const SliderDef& s = g_sliders[i];
int type = m->jnt_type[s.jnt];
int qadr = m->jnt_qposadr[s.jnt];
if (type == mjJNT_HINGE || type == mjJNT_SLIDE) {
d->qpos[qadr] = s.value;
} else if (type == mjJNT_BALL) {
// Find the three sliders for this joint
double r=0,p=0,y=0;
for (const auto& t : g_sliders) if (t.jnt==s.jnt) {
if (t.comp==0) r=t.value; else if (t.comp==1) p=t.value; else if (t.comp==2) y=t.value;
}
double q[4]; euler_rpy_to_quat(r,p,y,q);
d->qpos[qadr+0]=q[0]; d->qpos[qadr+1]=q[1]; d->qpos[qadr+2]=q[2]; d->qpos[qadr+3]=q[3];
} else if (type == mjJNT_FREE) {
double pos[3]; double r=0,p=0,y=0;
for (const auto& t : g_sliders) if (t.jnt==s.jnt) {
if (t.comp==0) pos[0]=t.value; else if (t.comp==1) pos[1]=t.value; else if (t.comp==2) pos[2]=t.value;
else if (t.comp==3) r=t.value; else if (t.comp==4) p=t.value; else if (t.comp==5) y=t.value;
}
double q[4]; euler_rpy_to_quat(r,p,y,q);
d->qpos[qadr+0]=pos[0]; d->qpos[qadr+1]=pos[1]; d->qpos[qadr+2]=pos[2];
d->qpos[qadr+3]=q[0]; d->qpos[qadr+4]=q[1]; d->qpos[qadr+5]=q[2]; d->qpos[qadr+6]=q[3];
}
}
mj_forward(m, d);
}
// No custom overlay; ImGui will handle all UI rendering and interactions
// --- GLFW error callback ---
static void glfw_error_callback(int error, const char* description) {
std::fprintf(stderr, "GLFW error %d: %s\n", error, description);
}
// --- Mouse button: remember which buttons are down ---
static void mouse_button_callback(GLFWwindow* window, int button, int act, int /*mods*/) {
// Simple, stable button state handling
if (button == GLFW_MOUSE_BUTTON_LEFT) button_left = (act == GLFW_PRESS) ? true : (act == GLFW_RELEASE ? false : button_left);
if (button == GLFW_MOUSE_BUTTON_MIDDLE) button_middle = (act == GLFW_PRESS) ? true : (act == GLFW_RELEASE ? false : button_middle);
if (button == GLFW_MOUSE_BUTTON_RIGHT) button_right = (act == GLFW_PRESS) ? true : (act == GLFW_RELEASE ? false : button_right);
// Record current cursor position (window coordinates)
glfwGetCursorPos(window, &lastx, &lasty);
}
// --- Mouse move: convert motion to camera action ---
static void cursor_pos_callback(GLFWwindow* window, double xpos, double ypos) {
if (!m) return;
// If no mouse button is pressed, just update last position
if (!button_left && !button_right && !button_middle) {
lastx = xpos;
lasty = ypos;
return;
}
// If ImGui wants the mouse, don't move camera
if (ImGui::GetIO().WantCaptureMouse) {
lastx = xpos; lasty = ypos;
return;
}
// Compute motion in window coordinates, normalize by framebuffer height (stable across DPI)
int fbw = 0, fbh = 1;
glfwGetFramebufferSize(window, &fbw, &fbh);
if (fbh <= 0) fbh = 1;
double dx = (xpos - lastx) / (double)fbh;
double dy = (ypos - lasty) / (double)fbh;
lastx = xpos;
lasty = ypos;
if (button_left) {
// Left-drag: rotate
mjv_moveCamera(m, mjMOUSE_ROTATE_H, dx, dy, &scn, &cam);
} else if (button_right) {
// Right-drag: pan horizontally
mjv_moveCamera(m, mjMOUSE_MOVE_H, dx, dy, &scn, &cam);
} else if (button_middle) {
// Middle-drag: zoom
mjv_moveCamera(m, mjMOUSE_ZOOM, dx, dy, &scn, &cam);
}
}
// --- Scroll wheel zoom ---
static void scroll_callback(GLFWwindow* window, double /*xoffset*/, double yoffset) {
if (!m) return;
// Scroll to zoom (gentle factor)
mjv_moveCamera(m, mjMOUSE_ZOOM, 0, -0.05 * yoffset, &scn, &cam);
}
// --- Key: 'R' to reset ---
static void key_callback(GLFWwindow* window, int key, int scancode, int act, int mods) {
if (act == GLFW_PRESS || act == GLFW_REPEAT) {
if (key == GLFW_KEY_R) {
// Reset simulation state and real-time timers so the sim doesn't jump ahead
mj_resetData(m, d);
sim_start_time = (d ? d->time : 0.0);
realtime_start = glfwGetTime();
// Rebuild and resync sliders from the reset state
build_sliders();
apply_sliders_to_qpos();
}
if (key == GLFW_KEY_ESCAPE) glfwSetWindowShouldClose(window, GLFW_TRUE);
}
}
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
// Usage
if (argc < 2) {
std::printf("Usage: %s model.xml\n", argv[0]);
return 1;
}
// (Open-source MuJoCo >= 2.2 has no license activation step)
// Load model
char error[1024] = {0};
m = mj_loadXML(argv[1], nullptr, error, sizeof(error));
if (!m) {
std::fprintf(stderr, "Could not load model: %s\n", error);
return 1;
}
d = mj_makeData(m);
// Init GLFW
glfwSetErrorCallback(glfw_error_callback);
if (!glfwInit()) {
std::fprintf(stderr, "Could not initialize GLFW\n");
return 1;
}
// Create window/context
glfwWindowHint(GLFW_DOUBLEBUFFER, 1);
GLFWwindow* window = glfwCreateWindow(1200, 900, "MuJoCo Minimal Viewer", nullptr, nullptr);
if (!window) {
std::fprintf(stderr, "Could not create GLFW window\n");
glfwTerminate();
return 1;
}
glfwMakeContextCurrent(window);
glfwSwapInterval(0); // disable vsync
// Set callbacks
glfwSetMouseButtonCallback(window, mouse_button_callback);
glfwSetCursorPosCallback(window, cursor_pos_callback);
glfwSetScrollCallback(window, scroll_callback);
glfwSetKeyCallback(window, key_callback);
// Init MuJoCo visualization
mjv_defaultCamera(&cam);
// Set camera look-at point so the initial view is centered on the model
cam.lookat[0] = 0.0;
cam.lookat[1] = 0.0;
cam.lookat[2] = 0.5;
mjv_defaultOption(&opt);
mjv_defaultScene(&scn);
mjr_defaultContext(&con);
mjv_makeScene(m, &scn, 2000); // allocate scene
mjr_makeContext(m, &con, mjFONTSCALE_100); // allocate GPU context
// Initialize real-time sync timers (start both at the same wall-clock time)
sim_start_time = d->time;
realtime_start = glfwGetTime();
// Build initial sliders from model
build_sliders();
apply_sliders_to_qpos();
// --- ImGui setup ---
IMGUI_CHECKVERSION();
ImGui::CreateContext();
ImGuiIO& io = ImGui::GetIO(); (void)io;
ImGui::StyleColorsDark();
ImGui_ImplGlfw_InitForOpenGL(window, true);
ImGui_ImplOpenGL2_Init();
// Place camera to show entire model
cam.type = mjCAMERA_FREE;
mj_forward(m, d);
// Main loop
while (!glfwWindowShouldClose(window)) {
// Simulation disabled: directly use slider-set qpos and keep mj_forward up to date
// In case something external changed d->qpos, we could re-apply every frame; cheap enough
apply_sliders_to_qpos();
// Get framebuffer size and set viewport
int width, height;
glfwGetFramebufferSize(window, &width, &height);
mjrRect viewport = {0, 0, width, height};
// Update scene and render
mjv_updateScene(m, d, &opt, nullptr, &cam, mjCAT_ALL, &scn);
mjr_render(viewport, &scn, &con);
// ImGui UI
ImGui_ImplOpenGL2_NewFrame();
ImGui_ImplGlfw_NewFrame();
ImGui::NewFrame();
ImGui::SetNextWindowPos(ImVec2(10, 10), 0);
ImGui::SetNextWindowSize(ImVec2(350, std::min(700, height-20)), 0);
if (ImGui::Begin("Joints", nullptr, 0)) {
for (size_t i=0; i<g_sliders.size(); ++i) {
SliderDef& s = g_sliders[i];
float v = (float)s.value;
float vmin = (float)s.vmin;
float vmax = (float)s.vmax;
std::string lab = s.label;
if (ImGui::SliderFloat(lab.c_str(), &v, vmin, vmax)) {
s.value = v;
}
}
}
ImGui::End();
// Apply slider changes and render UI on top
apply_sliders_to_qpos();
ImGui::Render();
ImGui_ImplOpenGL2_RenderDrawData(ImGui::GetDrawData());
// Swap & poll
glfwSwapBuffers(window);
glfwPollEvents();
}
// Cleanup
mjr_freeContext(&con);
mjv_freeScene(&scn);
mj_deleteData(d);
mj_deleteModel(m);
// ImGui shutdown
ImGui_ImplOpenGL2_Shutdown();
ImGui_ImplGlfw_Shutdown();
ImGui::DestroyContext();
glfwTerminate();
return 0;
}
CMakeLists.txt
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(mujocotest)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
pkg_search_module(MUJOCO mujoco)
pkg_search_module(GLFW REQUIRED glfw3)
# Prefer GLVND on systems that support it. If you need the legacy loader, set
# OpenGL_GL_PREFERENCE to "LEGACY" on the cmake command line or in the cache.
set(OpenGL_GL_PREFERENCE "GLVND" CACHE STRING "Prefer GLVND or LEGACY for OpenGL loader")
find_package(OpenGL REQUIRED)
if(NOT MUJOCO_FOUND)
set(MUJOCO_INCLUDE_DIRS /opt/mujoco/include)
set(MUJOCO_LIBRARIES /opt/mujoco/lib/libmujoco.so)
endif()
add_executable(mujocotest main.cpp)
target_include_directories(mujocotest PRIVATE ${MUJOCO_INCLUDE_DIRS} ${GLFW_INCLUDE_DIRS} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/backends)
set(IMGUI_SOURCES
${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/imgui.cpp
${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/imgui_draw.cpp
${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/imgui_tables.cpp
${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/imgui_widgets.cpp
${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/backends/imgui_impl_glfw.cpp
${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/imgui/backends/imgui_impl_opengl2.cpp
)
target_sources(mujocotest PRIVATE ${IMGUI_SOURCES})
target_link_libraries(mujocotest PRIVATE ${MUJOCO_LIBRARIES} ${GLFW_LIBRARIES} OpenGL::GL)
How to build and run
mkdir build
cmake .
make
./mujocotest ~/mujoco_menagerie/franka_fr3/fr3.xml
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