(This is the documentation for SDL3, which is the current stable version. SDL2 was the previous version!)

SDL_GetError

Retrieve a message about the last error that occurred on the current thread.

Header File

Syntax

const char * SDL_GetError(void);

Return Value

(const char *) Returns a message with information about the specific error that occurred, or an empty string if there hasn't been an error message set since the last call to SDL_ClearError().

Remarks

It is possible for multiple errors to occur before calling SDL_GetError(). Only the last error is returned.

The message is only applicable when an SDL function has signaled an error. You must check the return values of SDL function calls to determine when to appropriately call SDL_GetError(). You should not use the results of SDL_GetError() to decide if an error has occurred! Sometimes SDL will set an error string even when reporting success.

SDL will not clear the error string for successful API calls. You must check return values for failure cases before you can assume the error string applies.

Error strings are set per-thread, so an error set in a different thread will not interfere with the current thread's operation.

The returned value is a thread-local string which will remain valid until the current thread's error string is changed. The caller should make a copy if the value is needed after the next SDL API call.

Thread Safety

It is safe to call this function from any thread.

Version

This function is available since SDL 3.1.3.