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TinyCC provides extensive configuration options to customize the compiler for different platforms, targets, and use cases.
Configuration script The configure script detects your system and sets appropriate defaults:
./configure [options] make sudo make install
Run ./configure --help to see all available options.
Installation paths Customize where TinyCC is installed:
Set installation prefix
# Install to /usr/local (default) ./configure --prefix=/usr/local # Install to custom location ./configure --prefix=/opt/tcc # Install to user directory ./configure --prefix= $HOME /.local
Configure specific directories
./configure \ --prefix=/usr \ --exec-prefix=/usr \ --bindir=/usr/bin \ --libdir=/usr/lib \ --includedir=/usr/include \ --mandir=/usr/share/man \ --infodir=/usr/share/info
Set TCC directory
The TCC directory contains headers, libraries, and runtime files: # Default: PREFIX/lib/tcc ./configure --tccdir=/usr/lib/tcc # Custom location ./configure --tccdir=/opt/tcc/lib
Compiler selection Configure which compiler builds TinyCC:
# Use GCC (default on Linux) ./configure --cc=gcc
Additional compiler flags # Add custom CFLAGS ./configure --extra-cflags= "-O3 -march=native" # Add custom LDFLAGS ./configure --extra-ldflags= "-static" # Add extra libraries ./configure --extra-libs= "-lmylib"
Target configuration Cross-compilation setup Configure TinyCC for cross-compilation:
# Enable cross-compiler builds ./configure --enable-cross # Specify target CPU ./configure --cpu=arm64 # Specify target OS ./configure --targetos=Darwin # Set cross-compilation prefix ./configure --cross-prefix=aarch64-linux-gnu-
ARM64 Linux
Windows (MinGW)
Android/Termux
macOS
./configure \ --cpu=arm64 \ --cross-prefix=aarch64-linux-gnu- \ --enable-cross
Library configuration System paths Specify system include and library paths:
./configure \ --sysroot=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf \ --sysincludepaths=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf/include \ --libpaths=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf/lib \ --crtprefix=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf/lib
Use colon-separated paths for multiple directories: --libpaths=/lib:/usr/lib:/opt/lib
ELF interpreter Set the dynamic linker path:
# Standard Linux ./configure --elfinterp=/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 # musl libc ./configure --elfinterp=/lib/ld-musl-x86_64.so.1 # FreeBSD ./configure --elfinterp=/libexec/ld-elf.so.1
Triplet configuration Set the system library triplet:
# x86_64 Linux ./configure --triplet=x86_64-linux-gnu # ARM hard float ./configure --triplet=arm-linux-gnueabihf # ARM64 Linux ./configure --triplet=aarch64-linux-gnu
Feature configuration Debug features Backtrace
Bounds checking
DWARF
Debug build
# Enable backtrace support (default) ./configure # Disable backtrace support ./configure --config-backtrace=no
Library options # Use libgcc instead of libtcc1.a ./configure --with-libgcc # Use mmap for executable memory (with SELinux) ./configure --with-selinux # Build as static library (Windows default) ./configure --enable-static # Build as shared library (Unix default) ./configure --disable-static # Disable rpath in shared library ./configure --disable-rpath
# Force old Mach-O format (macOS ≤ 10) ./configure --config-new_macho=no # Use new Mach-O format (macOS ≥ 11) ./configure --config-new_macho=yes # Enable code signing ./configure --config-codesign=yes
Build options Control the build process:
Build targets # Build native compiler only make # Build cross-compilers make cross # Build specific cross-compiler make cross-x86_64 make cross-arm64 # Build documentation make doc # Build everything make all
Build flags # Build from single source file (faster, smaller) make ONE_SOURCE=yes # Build from separate object files (default) make ONE_SOURCE=no # Silent build make SILENT=yes # Verbose build make SILENT=no
Runtime configuration TCC switches Set default switches passed to TCC:
# Add default switches ./configure --tcc-switches= "-Wl,-rpath=/opt/lib" # Multiple switches ./configure --tcc-switches= "-I/opt/include -L/opt/lib"
Environment variables TCC respects these environment variables:
# Include paths export C_INCLUDE_PATH = "/opt/include:/usr/local/include" export CPATH = "/opt/include" # Library paths export LIBRARY_PATH = "/opt/lib:/usr/local/lib" # Dynamic linker override export LD_SO = "/lib/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2"
Advanced configuration Custom configuration file Create config-extra.mak for custom settings:
# Custom configuration for cross-compilation # ARM64 configuration ROOT-arm64 = /usr/aarch64-linux-gnu CRT-arm64 = {R}/lib LIB-arm64 = {B}:{R}/lib INC-arm64 = {B}/include:{R}/include DEF-arm64 += -D__linux__ # RISC-V configuration TRIPLET-riscv64 = riscv64-linux-gnu ROOT-riscv64 = /usr/riscv64-linux-gnu # Custom CFLAGS for profiling build CFLAGS_P = $( CFLAGS ) -pg -static -DTCC_PROFILE
The makefile automatically includes config-extra.mak if present. Use {B} for TCC directory and {R} for sysroot.
Predefined macros Control how TCC handles predefined macros:
# Don't compile tccdefs.h (include at runtime) ./configure --config-predefs=no # Compile tccdefs.h into TCC (default, faster) ./configure
Configuration examples Minimal build Smallest possible TCC:
./configure \ --config-backtrace=no \ --config-bcheck=no \ --prefix=/opt/tcc-minimal make
Development build For TinyCC development:
./configure \ --debug \ --config-dwarf=5 \ --prefix= $HOME /.local make
Production cross-compiler Full-featured cross-compiler setup:
./configure \ --prefix=/opt/tcc \ --enable-cross \ --config-dwarf=4 \ --extra-cflags= "-O2" make make cross sudo make install
Static build Statically linked TCC:
./configure \ --prefix=/opt/tcc-static \ --extra-ldflags= "-static" \ --config-libgcc=yes make
Verifying configuration Check configuration after running configure:
# View generated configuration cat config.mak cat config.h # Test TCC version ./tcc -v # Show TCC search paths ./tcc -vv # Print configured directories ./tcc -print-search-dirs
Makefile targets Available make targets:
# Build native TCC make # Build cross-compilers make cross # Build documentation make doc # Build specific cross-compiler make cross-arm64
Build architecture Supported build architectures TinyCC can be built on:
i386 - 32-bit x86 (Linux, Windows)x86_64 - 64-bit x86 (Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD)ARM - 32-bit ARM (Linux, BSD)ARM64 - 64-bit ARM (Linux, macOS, BSD)RISC-V 64 - 64-bit RISC-V (Linux)
Architecture detection The configure script auto-detects your CPU:
# Auto-detect (default) ./configure # Override detection ./configure --cpu=x86_64 ./configure --cpu=arm64 ./configure --cpu=riscv64
Troubleshooting Configuration fails Common configuration errors :
Missing compiler: Install GCC or Clang
Missing headers: Install build-essential or development packages
Cross-compilation errors: Install cross-compiler toolchain
Permission denied: Use sudo for system-wide installation
Fixing configuration issues # Clean configuration make distclean # Reconfigure with verbose output ./configure --help ./configure [options] # Check compiler availability which gcc which clang # Verify paths exist ls -la /usr/local/include ls -la /usr/local/lib
See also