Building PS Move API from source

Note that the PS Move API Github Releases page contains prebuilt library downloads, you might prefer to use those.

Building on macOS 10.14

You need to install the following requirements:

Install the dependencies:

bash -e -x scripts/install_dependencies.sh

To build from source, you can use the build script:

bash -e -x scripts/macos/build-macos

Building on Ubuntu 18.04

Install the dependencies:

bash -e -x scripts/install_dependencies.sh

To build from source, you can use the build script:

bash -e -x scripts/linux/build-debian

Building on Windows (Visual Studio)

You need to install the following requirements:

Automatic build

A build script is provided which will take care of the build for you. The script will generate the Visual Studio solution and build everything in Debug and Release.

Run the batch files in the “Developer Command Prompt for VS 2017” (you will find it in the start menu folder “Visual Studio 2017”, for VS 2013/2015 the menu items should be named similarly) from the PS Move API checkout folder.

For Visual Studio 2017 and 64-bit use:

call scripts/visualc/build_msvc.bat 2017 x64

For Visual Studio 2017 and 32-bit use:

call scripts/visualc/build_msvc.bat 2017 x86

The resulting binaries will be placed in build-x86/ (for the 32-bit build) and build-x64/ (for the 64-bit build).

Cross-Compiling for Windows (MinGW)

To cross-compile for Windows on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install mingw-w64 cmake

To build manually without the tracker:

mkdir build-win32
cd build-win32
cmake \
    -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=../cmake/i686-w64-mingw32.toolchain \
    -DPSMOVE_BUILD_TRACKER=OFF \
    ..

mkdir build-win64
cd build-win64
cmake \
    -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=../cmake/x86_64-w64-mingw32.toolchain \
    -DPSMOVE_BUILD_TRACKER=OFF \
    ..

Or use the ready-made build script:

bash -x scripts/mingw64/cross-compile x86_64-w64-mingw32
bash -x scripts/mingw64/cross-compile i686-w64-mingw32

Building for the Pocket C.H.I.P

PS Move API now supports the Pocket C.H.I.P, an embedded Linux computer running a Debian-based operating system. The device has built-in Bluetooth, WIFI, a standard-sized USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack, making it suitable for portable PS Move applications.

To build on a Pocket C.H.I.P, ssh into your device (or use the Terminal) and then build the release tarball:

bash -e -x scripts/pocketchip/install_dependencies.sh
bash -e -x scripts/pocketchip/build.sh

Installation and Configuration

In order to be able to use the PS Move Motion Controllers without root access, you need to install an udev rules file on your C.H.I.P:

sudo cp contrib/99-psmove.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/

Also, not all kernels ship with the required hidraw support, you can check if your kernel does by running the following command after bootup:

dmesg | grep hidraw

A kernel with hidraw will print something like the following:

[    1.265000] hidraw: raw HID events driver (C) Jiri Kosina

If your kernel does not have hidraw support, you should install the newest Firmware for your Pocket C.H.I.P, and make sure to install all updates via apt.

Python bindings

Python bindings (among others) are built using SWIG. So make sure you have that installed. CMake will let you know if SWIG could not be found in the initial configure step. Look in CMake’s output in the section “Language bindings”.

Also required is the Python library (libpython-dev on Linux). If you have multiple versions of Python installed (most likely some 2.x and 3.x) chances are CMake decides to use the wrong one. Again, look in CMake’s output in the section “Language bindings” which version of the Python library CMake is using for the build. Make sure it matches the version you want to run your Python scripts with later. They must be the same!

If CMake does not choose the correct version right away, use the option PSMOVE_PYTHON_VERSION to set the desired one. Usually it is sufficient to set this to either 2 or 3 (for Python 2 and 3, respectively), but minor versions are also supported. So you could choose between building for Python 2.6 and 2.7. If you are running CMake from the command line set the version like so:

cmake .. -DPSMOVE_PYTHON_VERSION=2

Check CMake’s output to verify that the correct version is now found; some flavor of Python 2 in this example. If CMake still uses the wrong one, try removing all the files CMake generated in the build directory and run again.

Testing the build

A lot of Python example scripts are provided in the examples/python/ directory. They are laid out so that when you build the library (and its Python bindings) in the customary build folder in the PSMove API checkout, the Python examples should find the modules without needing to install anything. We suggest you start with always.py which you can directly call from within the build directory like so:

python ../examples/python/always.py

This script does not require Bluetooth and should thus provide an easy way to test the Python bindings. Simply connect your Move controller via USB and run the script as shown above. If that is working, continue with pair.py to set everything up for using Bluetooth.