Quick Start

Build and run the Facebetter C++ desktop demo on Windows (GLFW + ImGui)

This guide explains how to build and run the Facebetter C++ desktop demo on Windows. The demo is built with GLFW + Dear ImGui + OpenGL 3: the left panel shows a live beauty-processed preview, while the right panel provides sliders to control each effect in real time.

Requirements

Tool	Version
Visual Studio / MSVC	2019 or later (C++17 support required)
CMake	3.16+
Ninja	Any recent version (winget install Ninja-build.Ninja)
Windows SDK	10.0+

MinGW-w64 also works, but MSVC is recommended.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/pixpark/facebetter-sdk.git
cd facebetter-sdk

Step 2: Place the SDK Files

Unzip the Windows SDK package and place files under demo/cpp/sdk/:

demo/cpp/sdk/
├── include/
│   └── facebetter/
│       ├── beauty_effect_engine.h
│       ├── beauty_params.h
│       ├── image_frame.h
│       └── type_defines.h
├── lib/
│   ├── facebetter.lib      ← import library
│   └── facebetter.dll      ← runtime DLL
└── resource/
    └── resource.fbd        ← model and resource pack

The SDK download link is available on the Download page or in your dashboard.

Step 3: Build

Open a Developer Command Prompt for VS (or a PowerShell session with the MSVC environment loaded), then run:

cd demo\cpp
cmake -B build -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build

After the build, CMake automatically:

• Copies facebetter.dll next to the executable in build/
• Copies resource/resource.fbd to build/resource/resource.fbd
• Copies demo.png (if present) to build/resource/demo.png

Step 4: Prepare a Preview Image (optional)

Place any face photo named demo.png in demo/cpp/:

demo/cpp/demo.png

The engine will process the image at ~30 fps and display the result in the left panel of the window.

Step 5: Run

cd demo\cpp\build
.\facebetter_demo.exe

Once running, the window shows:

• Left panel – live beauty-processed preview
• Right panel – Beauty Control Panel with the following groups:
  • Basic Beauty: Smoothing / Whitening / Rosiness / Sharpening
  • Face Reshape: Face Thin / V Face / Narrow Face / Short Face / Cheekbone / Jawbone / Chin / Nose Slim / Eye Size / Eye Distance
  • Makeup: Lipstick / Blush
  • Sticker: dropdown (Off / rabbit)

Click Reset All to restore all parameters to zero.

Troubleshooting

Q: “facebetter.dll not found” at startup
A: Make sure demo/cpp/sdk/lib/facebetter.dll exists, then re-run cmake --build build so CMake copies the DLL next to the executable.

Q: Window shows “Put demo.png …”
A: Place a face photo named demo.png in demo/cpp/ and restart the demo.

Q: CMake cannot find Ninja
A: Run winget install Ninja-build.Ninja, or replace -G "Ninja" with -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" and change --config Release accordingly.