Cross-compiler

GCC is available on all Linux distributions and can be installed using the package manager.

This covers gcc and g++ for compiling C and C++ as a cross-compiler targeting the Arm architecture.

Before you begin

GCC is often used to cross-compile software for Arm microcontrollers and embedded devices which have firmware and other low-level software. The executables are arm-none-eabi-gcc and arm-none-eabi-g++.

GCC is also used to cross compile Linux applications. Applications can be compiled for 32-bit or 64-bit Linux systems.

The executables for 32-bit are arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc and arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++.

The executables for 64-bit are aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc and aarch64-linux-gnu-g++.

Software can be compiled on an x86 or Arm host machine.

How do I download a GCC cross compiler targeting Arm?

The Linux package manager will download the required files so there are no special download instructions.

How do I install a GCC cross compiler on Linux?

You can install a GCC cross compiler with Arm as a target architecture using Linux package managers.

Installing on Debian based distributions such as Ubuntu

Use the apt command to install software packages on any Debian based Linux distribution.

    

        
        
sudo apt update
sudo apt install gcc-arm-none-eabi -y
sudo apt install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf -y
sudo apt install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu -y

    

Installing on Fedora

Fedora uses the dnf package manager.

To install the most common development tools use the commands below.

• If the machine has sudo you can use it:

      
  
          
          
  sudo dnf update -y
  sudo dnf install arm-none-eabi-gcc-cs -y
  sudo dnf install arm-none-eabi-newlib -y
  sudo dnf install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu -y
  sudo dnf install gcc-arm-linux-gnu -y
  
      
  

• If sudo is not available become root and omit the sudo from the above commands:

      
  
          
          
  dnf update -y
  dnf install arm-none-eabi-gcc-cs -y
  dnf install arm-none-eabi-newlib -y
  dnf install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu -y
  dnf install gcc-arm-linux-gnu -y
  
      
  

How do I install a GCC cross compiler on macOS?

You can install a GCC cross compiler with Arm as a target architecture using Homebrew, a package manager for macOS (and Linux).

    

        
        
brew install arm-none-eabi-gcc

    

Setting up product license

GCC is open source and freely available for use.

Get started

To confirm the installation is successful, enter:

    

        
        
arm-none-eabi-gcc --version

    

To compile an example program, create a text file named hello-world-embedded.c with the contents below.

    

        
        
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    printf("Hello, Arm World!\n");
    return 0;
}

    

To compile hello-world as a bare-metal application:

    

        
        
arm-none-eabi-gcc --specs=rdimon.specs hello-world-embedded.c -o hello-world.elf

    

To cross-compile hello-world as a 32-bit Linux application. On Fedora, only building kernels is currently supported. Support for cross-building user space programs is not currently provided as that would massively multiply the number of packages.

    

        
        
arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc  hello-world-embedded.c -o hello-world.elf

    

To cross-compile hello-world as a 64-bit Linux application. On Fedora, only building kernels is currently supported. Support for cross-building user space programs is not currently provided as that would massively multiply the number of packages.

    

        
        
aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc hello-world-embedded.c -o hello-world.elf