Skip to content

INSTALL-WINDOWS-mingw64_nt.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
231 lines (158 loc) · 8.28 KB

INSTALL-WINDOWS-mingw64_nt.md

File metadata and controls

231 lines (158 loc) · 8.28 KB

Installing GNUstep on Windows 10 (MSYS2 MinGW-w64 / mingw64_nt)

This guide explains how to build and install GNUstep on Windows 10 using the MSYS2 MinGW-w64 (mingw64_nt) environment.

Overview

  • Install MSYS2 (MinGW-w64 64-bit)
  • Update MSYS2 packages
  • Clone this repository (or use your local copy)
  • Run the repository helper scripts: install-dependencies-mingw64_nt, setup-mingw64_nt, build-mingw64_nt, and post-install-mingw64_nt
  • Verify the installation with small smoke tests

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10 (64-bit)
  • Administrative privileges for installing some packages (when required)
  • Internet access for pacman and git
  • Recommended free disk space: 10–30 GB (builds can be large)

Note: Use the "MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit" shell supplied by MSYS2 (this is the mingw64 environment). Do not use the plain MSYS shell, PowerShell, or CMD for the build steps.

1. Install MSYS2 (MinGW-w64)

  1. Download the MSYS2 installer from https://www.msys2.org/.
  2. Run the installer and follow the instructions (default installation path is recommended).
  3. Open the "MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit" shortcut from the Start menu. This opens the mingw64 environment we need.

2. Update MSYS2 packages (important)

In the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell run:

# Update the package database and core system packages (may ask to restart the shell)
pacman -Syu

# After closing and re-opening the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell (if pacman requested it), finish updates:
pacman -Su

If pacman asks you to restart the shell while running -Syu, close and re-open the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell and run pacman -Su again.

3. (Optional) Configure Git line endings

To avoid CRLF problems with shell scripts in the repo, configure Git inside MSYS2:

# inside MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell
git config --global core.autocrlf false

Or clone with the option:

git -c core.autocrlf=false clone https://github.com/gnustep/tools-scripts.git

4. Install Git (if needed) and clone this repository

MSYS2 typically provides git. If it is not installed, install it and clone:

# inside MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell
pacman -S --needed git
git clone https://github.com/gnustep/tools-scripts.git
# Do not change directory; we'll invoke the helper scripts by path (./tools-scripts/)

If you already have a local copy of the repository, cd into that folder instead.

5. Install required MinGW packages (use the repo script)

This repository includes helper scripts specifically for the mingw64 target:

  • install-dependencies-mingw64_nt — installs required MSYS2/Mingw packages via pacman
  • setup-mingw64_nt — configures GNUstep Makefiles and environment
  • build-mingw64_nt — builds the GNUstep stack
  • post-install-mingw64_nt — optional post-install tasks

Run them from the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell in the repository root:

chmod +x ./tools-scripts/install-dependencies-mingw64_nt ./tools-scripts/setup-mingw64_nt ./tools-scripts/build-mingw64_nt ./tools-scripts/post-install-mingw64_nt
./tools-scripts/install-dependencies-mingw64_nt

Notes:

  • The script will call pacman to install required packages (GCC, make, pkg-config, cmake, etc.). Let it run and install.
  • If you prefer, open install-dependencies-mingw64_nt to see the package list and install them manually with pacman -S.

6. Run the setup script to configure the environment

Run the setup script from the repository root:

./tools-scripts/setup-mingw64_nt

This script typically:

  • Creates or copies GNUstep Makefiles into /mingw64/etc/GNUstep/Makefiles (or the appropriate MinGW prefix)
  • Produces helper shell fragments you can source to get GNUstep environment variables

If the script prints the path to a helper file (for example gnustep_env.sh), source it to set up the environment in your current shell. Example:

# example; follow the actual file the script prints
source /mingw64/etc/GNUstep/Runtime/gnustep.sh || true
# or if the script wrote a helper inside the repo
source ./gnustep-env.sh

If the script does not produce a sourceable file, it will at least set up Makefiles and other configuration files required by the build.

7. Build the tree

Use the build driver to build the GNUstep components:

# From repository root inside MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell
./tools-scripts/build-mingw64_nt

Notes:

  • Building everything can take a long time (hours on slower machines).
  • Scripts commonly honor MAKEFLAGS or accept -j options. For example, to build with 4 jobs:
MAKEFLAGS='-j4' ./build-mingw64_nt
  • If the build fails, capture the first error in the logs — typical causes are missing packages, wrong shell (not using mingw64), or antivirus interference.

8. Post-install

If the repository provides a post-install-mingw64_nt script, run it to perform final packaging or copy the built artifacts into their final locations:

./tools-scripts/post-install-mingw64_nt

Review the script to see whether it installs into /mingw64, a staging area, or creates packages.

Quick verification / smoke tests

  1. Confirm toolchain and paths:
which gcc
gcc --version

which make
make --version

ls /mingw64/bin | grep -Ei 'gcc|g\+\+|gnustep'
  1. Build and run a tiny native example to ensure gcc works:
cat > hello.c <<'EOF'
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void){ puts("Hello from mingw64"); return 0; }
EOF
gcc -o hello.exe hello.c
./hello.exe
  1. If you built GNUstep libraries, try compiling a tiny Objective-C example or running any small GNUstep tool the build produced. The exact test depends on which components you built.

Common troubleshooting

  • Wrong shell: ensure you're using the "MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit" shell.
  • pacman slow or failing: try again and consider changing mirrors in /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.
  • Git CRLF issues: set core.autocrlf=false or re-clone with that option.
  • Antivirus: temporarily whitelist MSYS2 and the build folders during builds.
  • Path length problems: enable long paths in Windows 10 (Group Policy or registry) if you see path-length errors.
  • Disk space: builds can be large; free more space or build only the components you need.
  • Permission errors for pacman -S: run the MSYS2 shell as Administrator if required.
  • For build failures, inspect logs around the first error. Missing headers indicate missing mingw-w64-x86_64-*-dev packages (install the corresponding mingw-w64-x86_64-... pacman package).

Performance tips

  • Use parallel builds with MAKEFLAGS='-jN' or pass -jN to supported make invocations.
  • Build only the components you need (edit build-mingw64_nt or run component-specific targets) to save time.
  • Use an SSD and multiple cores for significantly faster builds.

Repository files you will use

  • install-dependencies-mingw64_nt — installs MSYS2/mingw packages via pacman.
  • setup-mingw64_nt — configures GNUstep Makefiles and environment for mingw64.
  • build-mingw64_nt — builds the GNUstep stack for mingw64.
  • post-install-mingw64_nt — post-installation and packaging tasks.

Run those scripts from the repository root inside the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell.

Example full session (copyable)

Open the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit shell and run the following commands:

# update system
pacman -Syu
# reopen shell if pacman requested it, then finish updates
pacman -Su

# install git if needed, clone repo
pacman -S --needed git
git -c core.autocrlf=false clone https://github.com/gnustep/tools-scripts.git

# invoke helper scripts from the repository path (do not cd into it)
chmod +x ./tools-scripts/install-dependencies-mingw64_nt ./tools-scripts/setup-mingw64_nt ./tools-scripts/build-mingw64_nt ./tools-scripts/post-install-mingw64_nt
./tools-scripts/install-dependencies-mingw64_nt
./tools-scripts/setup-mingw64_nt
# optional: parallel build (adjust -j to match your CPU)
MAKEFLAGS='-j4' ./tools-scripts/build-mingw64_nt
./tools-scripts/post-install-mingw64_nt

Next steps / how I can help

If you want, I can:

  • Inspect the install-dependencies-mingw64_nt, setup-mingw64_nt, and build-mingw64_nt scripts in this repository and produce a tailored command list.
  • Add a short Windows-specific README or integrate this file into the repo's main README.md with a link.
  • Help debug build failures — paste the first error and I'll analyze it and propose fixes.

File added on: October 11, 2025