3 Before you can start compiling tinc from a fresh git clone, you have
4 to install the very latest versions of the following packages:
8 - `pkgconf` or `pkg-config`
9 - `GCC` or `Clang` (any version with C11 support, although older versions might work)
10 - `OpenSSL`\* (1.1.0+) or `LibreSSL` or `libgcrypt` (not needed if legacy protocol is disabled)
12 Plus a few optional dependencies. Support for them will be enabled if they're present:
14 - `ncurses` or `PDCurses`
20 If packages marked by `*` are not available, tinc will fall back to its own vendored copies.
21 This behavior can be disabled by setting the appropriate meson option to `disabled`.
23 To build `info` documentation you'll also need these packages:
25 - `texinfo` or `makeinfo`
27 You might also need some additional command-line utilities to be able to run the integration test suite:
34 Please consult your operating system's documentation for more details.
38 You can build tinc using either the native [Windows SDK][sdk-ms] (which comes with Visual Studio),
39 or with the Unix-like [msys2 environment][sdk-msys2]. Install either one of them, plus
40 the latest version of [meson][meson-release].
42 If you prefer the native SDK, you might want to work on tinc (or build it) under Visual Studio.
43 To do so, follow [these instructions][meson-vs].
45 By default, tinc produces a static Windows build, so you don't need to install anything
46 in order to _run_ the compiled binaries.
48 [sdk-ms]: https://visualstudio.com/
49 [sdk-msys2]: https://msys2.org/
50 [meson-release]: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/releases
51 [meson-vs]: https://mesonbuild.com/Using-with-Visual-Studio.html
53 # Building from source
59 Tinc's functionality can vary greatly depending on how you configure it.
60 Have a look at the available options in [`meson_options.txt`](meson_options.txt), or run:
64 First you need to create a build directory. If you want the default experience, run:
66 $ meson setup builddir
68 or with configuration options (your shell can probably autocomplete them on `Tab`, try it):
70 $ meson setup builddir -Dprefix=/usr/local -Dbuildtype=release
72 (For autotools users: this is a rough equivalent of `autoreconf -fsi && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --with-foobar`).
74 This creates a build directory (named `builddir`) with build type set to `release`
75 (which enables compiler optimizations) and path prefix set to `/usr/local`.
77 Pass any additional options in the same way. Typically, this is not needed: tinc will
78 autodetect available libraries and adjust its functionality accordingly.
80 If you'd like to reconfigure the project after running `setup`, you can either remove
81 the build directory and start anew, or use:
83 $ meson configure builddir -Dlzo=disabled -Dlz4=enabled
87 You then need to build the project:
89 $ meson compile -C builddir
91 (For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make -j$(nproc)`).
95 You might want to run the test suite to ensure tinc is working correctly:
97 $ meson test -C builddir
99 (For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make -j$(nproc) test`).
103 To install tinc to your system, run:
105 $ meson install -C builddir
107 (For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make install`).
109 Please be aware that this is not the best method of installing software
110 because it will not be tracked by your operating system's package manager. You
111 should use packages provided by your operating system, or build your own
112 (this is a large and complicated topic which is out of the scope of this document).
116 To uninstall tinc, run:
118 # ninja -C builddir uninstall
120 (For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make uninstall`).
126 Cross-compilation is easy to do on Debian or its derivatives.
127 Set `$HOST` to your target architecture and install the cross-compilation toolchain and `-dev` versions of all libraries you'd like to link:
130 $ dpkg --add-architecture $HOST
132 $ apt install -y crossbuild-essential-$HOST zlib1g-dev:$HOST …
134 If you'd like to run tests on emulated hardware, install `qemu-user`:
136 $ apt install -y qemu-user
137 $ update-binfmts --enable
139 Set two environment variables: the C compiler, and pkg-config, and then proceed as usual:
141 $ export CC=arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc
142 $ export PKG_CONFIG=arm-linux-gnueabihf-pkg-config
143 $ meson setup build --cross-file /dev/null
145 or put the names into a [cross file][cross] and pass it to meson:
147 $ cat >cross-armhf <<EOF
149 c = 'arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc'
150 pkgconfig = 'arm-linux-gnueabihf-pkg-config'
153 $ meson setup build --cross-file cross-armhf
155 [cross]: https://mesonbuild.com/Cross-compilation.html
159 Install cross-compilation toolchain:
161 $ apt install -y mingw-w64 mingw-w64-tools
163 tinc will use its own vendored libraries, so you don't need to install or build anything manually.
165 Prepare the [cross file][cross] to let meson know you're building binaries for a different operating system.
166 Take a look at the [file](.ci/cross/windows/amd64) used by CI for an example, or refer to examples provided
167 by the meson project: [x86][mingw32], [x86_64][mingw64].
169 Then build as usual. Because Windows binaries are built with static linkage by default,
170 you might want to enable link-time optimization. It is much slower than building without LTO,
171 but produces binaries that are 80%+ smaller:
173 $ meson setup build -Dbuildtype=release -Db_lto=true --cross-file cross-windows
176 [mingw64]: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/blob/master/cross/linux-mingw-w64-64bit.txt
177 [mingw32]: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/blob/master/cross/linux-mingw-w64-32bit.txt
181 First you need to install [Android NDK][ndk].
183 [ndk]: https://developer.android.com/studio/projects/install-ndk
185 Prepare a [cross file][cross]. Here's a working example for reference:
195 c = 'aarch64-linux-android24-clang'
200 $ export ANDROID_NDK_ROOT=/tmp/ndk/android-ndk-r24
201 $ export PATH=$ANDROID_NDK_ROOT/toolchains/llvm/prebuilt/linux-x86_64/bin:$PATH
202 $ meson setup android-aarch64 -Dcrypto=nolegacy --cross-file android
203 $ ninja -C android-aarch64
207 The same instructions should work for iOS.
208 Refer to this [cross file][ios] for an example.
210 [ios]: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/blob/master/cross/iphone.txt