Can't install sdl2 via cabal

Question

I am trying to install helm. When I try to install it, however I get this error:

$ cabal install helm
Resolving dependencies...
Configuring sdl2         


        

Answer 1

Another thing which could happen (happened to me) for other installs is that the PKG_CONFIG_PATH variable might not point to the package config file (sdl2.pc, for me in the /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig directory). pkg-config uses some default directories ('/usr/lib/pkgconfig' and '/usr/share/pkgconfig'), but if the sdl.pc file isn't in one of these, you'll have to specify the directory in the environment variable. You can check this with echo $PKG_CONFIG_PATH

If it turns out you need to set the variable, just use export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig (or to whatever directory your sdl2.pc file lives in)

Answer 2

I ran into the same problem, and I just want to add my solution here for the record. The native sdl2 libraries need to be installed first by following the directions here: https://github.com/haskell-game/sdl2#building