| # Building curl with Visual C++ | |
| This document describes how to compile, build and install curl and libcurl | |
| from sources using the Visual C++ build tool. To build with VC++, you will of | |
| course have to first install VC++. The minimum required version of VC is 6 | |
| (part of Visual Studio 6). However using a more recent version is strongly | |
| recommended. | |
| VC++ is also part of the Windows Platform SDK. You do not have to install the | |
| full Visual Studio or Visual C++ if all you want is to build curl. | |
| The latest Platform SDK can be downloaded freely from [Windows SDK and | |
| emulator | |
| archive](https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/sdk-archive) | |
| ## Prerequisites | |
| If you wish to support zlib, openssl, c-ares, ssh2, you will have to download | |
| them separately and copy them to the deps directory as shown below: | |
| somedirectory\ | |
| |_curl-src | |
| | |_winbuild | |
| | | |
| |_deps | |
| |_ lib | |
| |_ include | |
| |_ bin | |
| It is also possible to create the deps directory in some other random places | |
| and tell the Makefile its location using the WITH_DEVEL option. | |
| ## Building straight from git | |
| When you check out code git and build it, as opposed from a released source | |
| code archive, you need to first run the `buildconf.bat` batch file (present | |
| in the source code root directory) to set things up. | |
| ## Open a command prompt | |
| Open a Visual Studio Command prompt: | |
| Using the **'Developer Command Prompt for VS [version]'** menu entry: where | |
| [version} is the Visual Studio version. The developer prompt at default uses | |
| the x86 mode. It is required to call `Vcvarsall.bat` to setup the prompt for | |
| the machine type you want. This type of command prompt may not exist in all | |
| Visual Studio versions. | |
| See also: [Developer Command Prompt for Visual | |
| Studio](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/tools/developer-command-prompt-for-vs) | |
| and [How to: Enable a 64-Bit, x64 hosted MSVC toolset on the command | |
| line](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/build/how-to-enable-a-64-bit-visual-cpp-toolset-on-the-command-line) | |
| Using the **'VS [version] [platform] [type] Command Prompt'** menu entry: | |
| where [version] is the Visual Studio version, [platform] is e.g. x64 and | |
| [type] Native of Cross platform build. This type of command prompt may not | |
| exist in all Visual Studio versions. | |
| See also: [Set the Path and Environment Variables for Command-Line Builds](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/f2ccy3wt.aspx) | |
| ## Build in the console | |
| Once you are in the console, go to the winbuild directory in the Curl | |
| sources: | |
| cd curl-src\winbuild | |
| Then you can call `nmake /f Makefile.vc` with the desired options (see | |
| below). The builds will be in the top src directory, `builds\` directory, in | |
| a directory named using the options given to the nmake call. | |
| nmake /f Makefile.vc mode=<static or dll> <options> | |
| where `<options>` is one or many of: | |
| - `VC=<num>` - VC version. 6 or later. | |
| - `WITH_DEVEL=<path>` - Paths for the development files (SSL, zlib, etc.) | |
| Defaults to sibbling directory deps: ../deps | |
| Libraries can be fetched at https://windows.php.net/downloads/php-sdk/deps/ | |
| Uncompress them into the deps folder. | |
| - `WITH_SSL=<dll/static>` - Enable OpenSSL support, DLL or static | |
| - `WITH_NGHTTP2=<dll/static>` - Enable HTTP/2 support, DLL or static | |
| - `WITH_MBEDTLS=<dll/static>` - Enable mbedTLS support, DLL or static | |
| - `WITH_CARES=<dll/static>` - Enable c-ares support, DLL or static | |
| - `WITH_ZLIB=<dll/static>` - Enable zlib support, DLL or static | |
| - `WITH_SSH2=<dll/static>` - Enable libSSH2 support, DLL or static | |
| - `WITH_PREFIX=<dir>` - Where to install the build | |
| - `ENABLE_SSPI=<yes/no>` - Enable SSPI support, defaults to yes | |
| - `ENABLE_IPV6=<yes/no>` - Enable IPv6, defaults to yes | |
| - `ENABLE_IDN=<yes or no>` - Enable use of Windows IDN APIs, defaults to yes | |
| Requires Windows Vista or later | |
| - `ENABLE_SCHANNEL=<yes/no>` - Enable native Windows SSL support, defaults | |
| to yes if SSPI and no other SSL library | |
| - `ENABLE_OPENSSL_AUTO_LOAD_CONFIG=<yes/no>` | |
| - Enable loading OpenSSL configuration | |
| automatically, defaults to yes | |
| - `ENABLE_UNICODE=<yes/no>` - Enable UNICODE support, defaults to no | |
| - `GEN_PDB=<yes/no>` - Generate Program Database (debug symbols for release build) | |
| - `DEBUG=<yes/no>` - Debug builds | |
| - `MACHINE=<x86/x64>` - Target architecture (default is x86) | |
| - `CARES_PATH=<path>` - Custom path for c-ares | |
| - `MBEDTLS_PATH=<path>` - Custom path for mbedTLS | |
| - `NGHTTP2_PATH=<path>` - Custom path for nghttp2 | |
| - `SSH2_PATH=<path>` - Custom path for libSSH2 | |
| - `SSL_PATH=<path>` - Custom path for OpenSSL | |
| - `ZLIB_PATH=<path>` - Custom path for zlib | |
| ## Static linking of Microsoft's C RunTime (CRT): | |
| If you are using mode=static nmake will create and link to the static build | |
| of libcurl but *not* the static CRT. If you must you can force nmake to link | |
| in the static CRT by passing RTLIBCFG=static. Typically you shouldn't use | |
| that option, and nmake will default to the DLL CRT. RTLIBCFG is rarely used | |
| and therefore rarely tested. When passing RTLIBCFG for a configuration that | |
| was already built but not with that option, or if the option was specified | |
| differently, you must destroy the build directory containing the | |
| configuration so that nmake can build it from scratch. | |
| ## Building your own application with a static libcurl | |
| When building an application that uses the static libcurl library on Windows, | |
| you must define CURL_STATICLIB. Otherwise the linker will look for dynamic | |
| import symbols. | |
| ## Legacy Windows and SSL | |
| When you build curl using the build files in this directory the default SSL | |
| backend will be Schannel (Windows SSPI), the native SSL library that comes | |
| with the Windows OS. Schannel in Windows <= XP is not able to connect to | |
| servers that no longer support the legacy handshakes and algorithms used by | |
| those versions. If you will be using curl in one of those earlier versions of | |
| Windows you should choose another SSL backend like OpenSSL. |