[APP BUG] "No available displays" error when running headless x11 on linux

[rootnotez]

Please confirm the following points:

• This report is NOT about the Android apps in the Play Store
• I have searched the project page to check if the issue was already reported

Affected Application

projectM Standalone SDL2 Frontend (includes the Steam app)

Affected Version

No response

Operating System

Linux (Desktop)

Additional Application Details

Application version: 2.0.0
Built/running with projectM4 version: 4.1.0 / 4.1.0
Built against SDL version: 2.26.5 (running with 2.26.5)

Type of Defect

Graphical issue (rendering glitches, black screen, heavy flickering)

Log Output

Initializing subsystem: SDL2 Rendering Window
Could not create SDL rendering window. Error: No available displays
Exception: Could not create SDL rendering window. Error: No available displays

Describe the Issue

Debian12, running headless X11, SDL gives an error that there are "No available displays"

An effective workaround is to set the enviornment variable SDL_VIDEO_X11_XRANDR=0

Fixed in SDL 3.1.10+
libsdl-org/SDL@7109914

[kblaschke]

If this requires using SDL3, then this is currently a "won't fix" issue. I don't think I could do anything from the application's side to change the way SDL initializes its video subsystem. If the env var fix works, I'll add a note in the final documentation for Linux users, especially since it will also affect users with SDL versions before 3.1.10.

SDL3 support will definitely come for this app once the main features (preset and playlist editors) are finished and before the app is officially released.