libGL.so.1: cannot open shared object file

It is a common error that occurs when a program is trying to load a shared object file called libGL.so.1 and cannot find it in the system.

This error usually happens when the necessary graphics libraries are not installed on the system. libGL.so.1 is a library that is part of the OpenGL implementation and is used by many graphics-related programs.

How to fix?

To resolve this error, you should first check if the necessary graphics libraries are installed on your system. If not, you can install them using the package manager of your Linux distribution. For example, on Ubuntu or Debian-based systems, you can install the libraries by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-glx

On RedHat or Fedora-based systems, you can install the libraries by running the following command:

sudo dnf install mesa-libGL

Once the libraries are installed, you can try running the program again, and the error should be resolved.

Following are some different ways to solve this ImportError: libGL.so.1

Update the symbolic links

Sometimes, the symbolic links to the required libraries might be missing or outdated. You can update the symbolic links using the following commands:

sudo ldconfig sudo ln -sf /usr/lib/<path-to-library>/libGL.so.1 /usr/lib/libGL.so.1

You need to replace with the actual path to the libGL.so.1 library on your system.

Set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable

You can set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to the directory where the required libraries are located. This can be done using the following command:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/<path-to-library>:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

You need to replace with the actual path to the directory containing the libGL.so.1 library on your system.

Check for 32-bit vs 64-bit architecture

In case you have a 64-bit system and are trying to run a 32-bit binary, you might face this issue. In this case, you can try installing the necessary 32-bit libraries using the package manager or installing the necessary 32-bit version of the program.

Reinstall the program

If none of the above methods work, you can try reinstalling the program that is giving the error. This might help to resolve any issues with the installation or dependencies.

About libGL.so.1

libGL.so.1 is a shared object file that is part of the libGL library, which provides an implementation of the OpenGL API.

Shared object files, also known as shared libraries, are a type of dynamically linked library that allows multiple programs to share code at runtime. In other words, instead of statically linking the library code into each program, the library code is loaded and shared among the running programs.

The libGL.so.1 file is the first version of the libGL library shared object file. It contains the compiled code for the OpenGL API functions and is dynamically linked to by graphics applications at runtime. The file is usually located in the /usr/lib directory on Linux systems, along with other shared libraries.

When a program requires the functionality of the OpenGL API, it calls the appropriate functions defined in the libGL.so.1 file. The file is loaded into memory by the dynamic linker, and the program can then use the functions provided by the library to interact with the graphics hardware.