ReactPhysics3D not compiling on MSVC

[Pixels67]

When compiling my project with ReactPhysics3D, MSVC shows errors relating to std::chrono inside the ReactPhysics3D library:

[34](https://github.com/Pixels67/Flock/actions/runs/23645398155/job/68876138592#step:7:635)
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(129,45): error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(129,59): error C2039: 'now': is not a member of 'std::chrono' [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.44.35207\include\__msvc_chrono.hpp(286,11):
      see declaration of 'std::chrono'
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(129,59): error C3536: 'now': cannot be used before it is initialized [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(130,53): error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(130,67): error C2039: 'to_time_t': is not a member of 'std::chrono' [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.44.35207\include\__msvc_chrono.hpp(286,11):
      see declaration of 'std::chrono'
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(130,67): error C3861: 'to_time_t': identifier not found [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(187,45): error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(187,59): error C2039: 'now': is not a member of 'std::chrono' [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.44.35207\include\__msvc_chrono.hpp(286,11):
      see declaration of 'std::chrono'
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(187,59): error C3536: 'now': cannot be used before it is initialized [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(188,46): error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(188,60): error C2039: 'to_time_t': is not a member of 'std::chrono' [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.44.35207\include\__msvc_chrono.hpp(286,11):
      see declaration of 'std::chrono'
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\include\reactphysics3d\utils\DefaultLogger.h(188,60): error C3861: 'to_time_t': identifier not found [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
  (compiling source file '../reactphysics3d-src/src/utils/DefaultLogger.cpp')
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\src\utils\DefaultLogger.cpp(107,29): error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\src\utils\DefaultLogger.cpp(107,43): error C2039: 'now': is not a member of 'std::chrono' [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.44.35207\include\__msvc_chrono.hpp(286,11):
      see declaration of 'std::chrono'
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\src\utils\DefaultLogger.cpp(107,43): error C3536: 'now': cannot be used before it is initialized [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\src\utils\DefaultLogger.cpp(108,30): error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\src\utils\DefaultLogger.cpp(108,44): error C2039: 'to_time_t': is not a member of 'std::chrono' [D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-build\reactphysics3d.vcxproj]
      C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.44.35207\include\__msvc_chrono.hpp(286,11):
      see declaration of 'std::chrono'
  
D:\a\Flock\Flock\build\_deps\reactphysics3d-src\src\utils\DefaultLogger.cpp(108,44): error C3861: 'to_time_t': identifier not found [D:

The full log can be found here: https://github.com/Pixels67/Flock/actions/runs/23645398155/job/68876138592
And the project can be found here: https://github.com/Pixels67/Flock

Am I doing things incorrectly?

[Nickalus12]

The errors you are seeing (error C3083: 'system_clock': the symbol to the left of a '::' must be a type) typically occur in MSVC when there is a naming conflict or a missing header that causes the compiler to fail to recognize std::chrono as a namespace containing the expected types.

In this specific case, it usually stems from one of three issues:

Comparison of Potential Causes

Approach	Root Cause	Resolution
Header Inclusion	Missing <chrono> header in the translation unit.	Add #include <chrono> to the failing file.
Namespace Conflict	A macro or variable named chrono is shadowing the std::chrono namespace.	Rename the conflicting symbol or use ::std::chrono.
C++ Standard	The project is defaulting to an older C++ standard (pre-C++11) where chrono doesn't exist.	Ensure /std:c++14 or /std:c++17 is set in MSVC.

Recommended Solution

I recommend checking for macro/symbol shadowing first. This is a common issue in MSVC environments when combining multiple libraries. If a local variable or a macro is named chrono, the compiler gets confused by std::chrono::system_clock.

However, looking at your specific log, it appears the compiler is finding __msvc_chrono.hpp, which suggests the namespace is found but the members are not. This is often fixed by explicitly ensuring the C++ version is correctly set in your CMake configuration.

Implementation

Update your CMakeLists.txt to explicitly require C++14 (which ReactPhysics3D requires) and ensure that NOMINMAX is defined to prevent Windows headers from interfering with standard library calls:

# 1. Force C++14 or higher
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)

# 2. Prevent Win32 macro interference (especially important for MSVC)
if(MSVC)
    add_compile_definitions(NOMINMAX)
endif()

# 3. Ensure ReactPhysics3D is included correctly via FetchContent or find_package
# ... your existing FetchContent logic ...

If the error persists, you can try a "force-include" of the header in your build system to see if it's a simple visibility issue:

if(MSVC)
    target_compile_options(reactphysics3d PRIVATE /FI"chrono")
endif()

Important

Check if any of your own files (or other dependencies) have a using namespace std; or using namespace reactphysics3d; before the logger include, as this can lead to ambiguous symbol lookups in MSVC.

Does your CMakeLists.txt currently specify a CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD higher than 11?

[Pixels67]

After more debugging it was because of Windows header macro conflicts and chrono not being included, I solved it by defining NOMINMAX and WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN, and adding #include <chrono> inside DefaultLogger.h.