Zig Cross

Zig cross-compilation

Contract

Inputs

• Zig version from zig version: required. Commands ran on Zig 0.14.1.
• Target platform: required. OS or bare metal, architecture, ABI, and the exact CPU when known.
• Sources: required. Zig, C, or both.
• Linker script for bare-metal targets: required when the target is freestanding.
• macOS SDK path when targeting macOS: required for anything beyond a plain executable that needs system frameworks.

Procedure

1. Compose the triple <arch>-<os>-<abi> from the lists zig targets prints (a ZON document; sections .arch, .os, .abi, and .libc for the triples with a bundled libc). Common choices: x86_64-linux-gnu, x86_64-linux-musl (static), aarch64-linux-gnu, aarch64-linux-musl, arm-linux-gnueabihf (32-bit ARM with FPU), x86_64-windows-gnu, aarch64-macos-none, x86_64-macos-none, wasm32-freestanding, wasm32-wasi, thumb-freestanding-eabihf (Cortex-M with FPU; the CPU selects the M variant), riscv32-freestanding-none. Done when: the triple appears in zig targets.

2. Build Zig for the target: zig build-exe src/main.zig -target aarch64-linux-gnu -O ReleaseFast, or through the build system with zig build -Dtarget=aarch64-linux-gnu -Doptimize=ReleaseFast. Windows from Linux or macOS: -target x86_64-windows-gnu produces a .exe. macOS from Linux: -target aarch64-macos-none links a plain executable; code that needs Apple frameworks needs the macOS SDK. Done when: file reports the target's executable format.

3. Select the CPU with -mcpu. -mcpu native detects the build host and is wrong for a cross build; -mcpu baseline is the portable floor for the architecture; add or remove features with + and -, for example -mcpu x86_64+avx2+bmi2, -mcpu x86_64_v3, -mcpu cortex_a72 (Raspberry Pi 4), -mcpu cortex_m4+vfp4, -mcpu neoverse_n1, -mcpu apple_m1. CPU and feature names are listed per architecture under .cpus in zig targets. Done when: the CPU name is present in that list.

4. Cross-compile C with zig cc, which needs no system cross toolchain: zig cc -target aarch64-linux-gnu -O2 -o myapp-arm64 main.c, zig cc -target x86_64-windows-gnu main.c -o myapp.exe, zig cc -target x86_64-linux-musl -static main.c -o myapp-static. In a Makefile, define one CC per platform, such as CC_LINUX_ARM64 = zig cc -target aarch64-linux-gnu. Done when: the C artifact matches the target format.

5. Build every target from one build.zig: loop over std.Target.Query values, resolve each with b.resolveTargetQuery(t), and give each executable a distinct name:

   const targets = [_]std.Target.Query{
       .{ .cpu_arch = .x86_64, .os_tag = .linux, .abi = .gnu },
       .{ .cpu_arch = .aarch64, .os_tag = .linux, .abi = .gnu },
       .{ .cpu_arch = .x86_64, .os_tag = .windows, .abi = .gnu },
       .{ .cpu_arch = .aarch64, .os_tag = .macos },
   };
   for (targets) |t| {
       const exe = b.addExecutable(.{
           .name = b.fmt("myapp-{s}-{s}", .{ @tagName(t.cpu_arch.?), @tagName(t.os_tag.?) }),
           .root_module = b.createModule(.{
               .root_source_file = b.path("src/main.zig"),
               .target = b.resolveTargetQuery(t),
               .optimize = .ReleaseFast,
           }),
       });
       b.installArtifact(exe);
   }
   

   Done when: zig-out/bin holds one artifact per target.

6. Target bare metal: zig build-exe src/main.zig -target thumb-freestanding-eabihf -mcpu cortex_m4+vfp4 -O ReleaseSmall -T linker.ld. The root file supplies pub fn panic(msg: []const u8, _: ?*std.builtin.StackTrace, _: ?usize) noreturn and an exported entry point named in the linker script, such as export fn _start() void. Freestanding code cannot use std facilities that need an OS (threads, files, std.debug.print); the compiler reports Unsupported operating system freestanding when it does. Done when: the ELF links with the script's entry symbol.

7. Target WebAssembly. Browser: zig build-exe src/main.zig -target wasm32-freestanding -O ReleaseSmall --export=init --export=update -fno-entry, where each exported function is export fn. WASI: zig build-exe src/main.zig -target wasm32-wasi -O ReleaseSafe produces main.wasm for a WASI runtime. Done when: file reports a WebAssembly module.

8. Confirm with a scratch build and file on the output. Done when: the reported format is the target's.

Failure and recovery

Output

A chat report with the triple and CPU, the build command or build.zig loop, the bare-metal or WebAssembly specifics when they apply, and the file line from the scratch build proving the target format. The triple and CPU lists are in references/zig-target-triples.md.