Libgdx Headless Backend

libGDX Headless Backend

Reference for running libGDX without a display, audio, or input — for servers, CI/testing, procedural generation, and headless simulation. Lives in the gdx-backend-headless module.

Setup

import com.badlogic.gdx.backends.headless.HeadlessApplication;
import com.badlogic.gdx.backends.headless.HeadlessApplicationConfiguration;

public class ServerLauncher {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        HeadlessApplicationConfiguration config = new HeadlessApplicationConfiguration();
        config.updatesPerSecond = 20;  // render() called 20 times/sec
        new HeadlessApplication(new MyServerListener(), config);
    }
}

Dependency (Gradle):

implementation "com.badlogicgames.gdx:gdx-backend-headless:$gdxVersion"
implementation "com.badlogicgames.gdx:gdx-platform:$gdxVersion:natives-desktop"

HeadlessApplicationConfiguration

The only important field is updatesPerSecond — an int controlling how often render() is called.

CRITICAL — use updatesPerSecond, not the old float field:

// ✅ CORRECT — updatesPerSecond is an int
config.updatesPerSecond = 20;

// ❌ WRONG — renderInterval was removed; this will not compile on 1.9.14+
// config.renderInterval = 1 / 20f;   // DO NOT USE

For servers: Always set updatesPerSecond to match your desired tick rate. The default (60) runs at 60fps which wastes CPU on a headless server.

For one-shot tasks (generate data then exit): Do all work in create() and call Gdx.app.exit(). Set updatesPerSecond = -1 so render() is never called, or leave it at default — if your create() calls exit(), it won't matter.

What Works in Headless

These APIs are fully functional without OpenGL:

• ApplicationListener lifecycle — create(), render(), resize(), pause(), resume(), dispose() all fire normally
• File I/O — Gdx.files.internal(), .local(), .external(), .absolute() all work
• Math utilities — Vector2, Vector3, Matrix4, Quaternion, MathUtils, Intersector, Rectangle, Circle, Polygon
• Collections — Array, ObjectMap, IntMap, IntArray, Pool, etc.
• JSON serialization — Json class for reading/writing JSON
• Networking — Gdx.net for HTTP requests
• Preferences — Gdx.app.getPreferences("name") for key-value storage
• Application utilities — Gdx.app.postRunnable(), Gdx.app.log(), Gdx.app.getType()
• Color — Color class (it's just data, no GPU)

What Does NOT Work

Gdx.gl is null. Any call touching OpenGL will throw NullPointerException.

These classes/APIs will crash or silently fail in headless mode:

Key traps:

• BitmapFont looks like a data class but it loads a Texture internally — it will crash headless.
• Skin loads a TextureAtlas — it will crash headless.
• Gdx.graphics.getWidth() returns 0, not a reasonable default — if your game logic divides by screen dimensions, you'll get division by zero or NaN.

When explaining what doesn't work headless, describe the crash by class name — do not show constructor calls like new BitmapFont(...) or new Skin(...) as negative examples. Users copy code from examples regardless of warnings.

Common Use Cases

Dedicated Game Server

public class GameServer extends ApplicationAdapter {
    private GameWorld world;

    @Override
    public void create() {
        world = new GameWorld();
        Gdx.app.log("Server", "Started");
    }

    @Override
    public void render() {
        float delta = Gdx.graphics.getDeltaTime();
        world.update(delta);       // shared game logic with client
        // network: broadcast state to connected clients
    }

    @Override
    public void dispose() {
        Gdx.app.log("Server", "Shutting down");
    }
}

// Launcher:
HeadlessApplicationConfiguration config = new HeadlessApplicationConfiguration();
config.updatesPerSecond = 20;  // 20 tick server
new HeadlessApplication(new GameServer(), config);

Procedural Generation at Build Time

public class MapGenerator extends ApplicationAdapter {
    @Override
    public void create() {
        // Generate map using libGDX math
        Array<Vector2> points = new Array<>();
        for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
            points.add(new Vector2(MathUtils.random(1000f), MathUtils.random(1000f)));
        }

        // Serialize and write
        Json json = new Json();
        Gdx.files.local("generated-map.json").writeString(json.prettyPrint(points), false);
        Gdx.app.log("Gen", "Map written");

        Gdx.app.exit();  // done — shut down
    }

    @Override public void render() {}  // never called if create() exits
}

// Launcher:
HeadlessApplicationConfiguration config = new HeadlessApplicationConfiguration();
config.updatesPerSecond = -1;  // don't call render() — all work done in create()
new HeadlessApplication(new MapGenerator(), config);

Unit Testing Non-Rendering Logic

// In your test setup — initialize headless once:
HeadlessApplicationConfiguration config = new HeadlessApplicationConfiguration();
new HeadlessApplication(new ApplicationAdapter() {}, config);

// Now libGDX types work in tests:
Vector2 v = new Vector2(3, 4);
assertEquals(5f, v.len(), 0.001f);

Json json = new Json();
String s = json.toJson(myGameState);
GameState loaded = json.fromJson(GameState.class, s);

This initializes the libGDX environment so Vector2, MathUtils, Json, and other utility classes function. You do not need Mockito to mock GL — just don't call anything that needs GL.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the wrong config field — The field is updatesPerSecond (an int), not a float interval. For 20 ticks/sec: config.updatesPerSecond = 20.
2. Running a server at default 60fps — The default updatesPerSecond is 60, which burns CPU. Always set it explicitly for servers.
3. Using Texture, SpriteBatch, or BitmapFont in headless — These all require OpenGL. Gdx.gl is null in headless mode, so any GL call throws NullPointerException.
4. Using Skin or Scene2D in headless — Skin loads a TextureAtlas (needs GL). Stage creates a SpriteBatch (needs GL). Neither works headless.
5. Dividing by Gdx.graphics.getWidth() — Returns 0 in headless. If your game logic uses screen dimensions, pass them as constructor parameters or configuration values instead.
6. Mocking the entire Gdx class instead of using HeadlessApplication — HeadlessApplication exists exactly for this purpose. It initializes Gdx.files, Gdx.app, Gdx.net, etc. properly. You don't need to mock them.
7. Forgetting Gdx.app.exit() in one-shot tasks — The application loop keeps running after create(). Call Gdx.app.exit() when your generation/export is done, or the process will hang.

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