====== Cross-Compile Rust, Targeting Windows from Linux ======

Tested using [[https://ubuntu-mate.org/|Ubuntu MATE]] 21.10 as a host system. Instructions might require some adjustment for your distro.  Assumes [[https://www.rust-lang.org/|Rust]] is already installed.

Make sure it’s up-to-date:

<code bash>
rustup update
</code>

List currently installed toolchains:

<code bash>
rustup show
</code>

<code>
Default host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
rustup home: /home/jimc/.rustup

stable-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu (default)
rustc 1.56.0 (09c42c458 2021-10-18)
</code>

Your results may differ. Bottom line for me, though, is that I don’t yet have a Windows toolchain installed. I installed a Windows target and toolchain with this:

<code bash>
rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
 
rustup toolchain install stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
</code>

Create a test project:

<code bash>
mkdir crossplat
 
cd crossplat
 
cargo init --vcs none
</code>

A simple main() is generated:

<file rust main.rs>
fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
}
</file>

Make sure it builds and runs:

<code bash>
cargo run
</code>

<code>
Hello, world!
</code>

Install your distribution’s MinGW C compiler:

<code bash>
sudo apt install gcc-mingw-w64-x86-64
</code>

Build the project, targeting Windows:

<code bash>
cargo build --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
</code>

Checking the file type of the generated .exe shows us that it’s a binary for Windows:

<code bash>
file target/x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/debug/crossplat.exe
</code>

Result:

<code>
target/x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/debug/crossplat.exe: PE32+ executable (console) x86-64, for MS Windows
</code>

When you’re ready to deploy to your target system, build the release version with this:

<code bash>
cargo build --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu --release
</code>

{{tag>cross_platform rust}}