1 Notes for Windows platforms
2 ===========================
4 - [Native builds using Visual C++](#native-builds-using-visual-c++)
5 - [Native builds using Embarcadero C++Builder](
6 #native-builds-using-embarcadero-c++-builder)
7 - [Native builds using MinGW](#native-builds-using-mingw)
8 - [Linking native applications](#linking-native-applications)
9 - [Hosted builds using Cygwin](#hosted-builds-using-cygwin)
12 There are various options to build and run OpenSSL on the Windows platforms.
14 "Native" OpenSSL uses the Windows APIs directly at run time.
15 To build a native OpenSSL you can either use:
17 Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) C compiler on the command line
19 Embarcadero C++Builder
22 run on the GNU-like development environment MSYS2
23 or run on Linux or Cygwin
25 "Hosted" OpenSSL relies on an external POSIX compatibility layer
26 for building (using GNU/Unix shell, compiler, and tools) and at run time.
27 For this option you can use Cygwin.
29 Native builds using Visual C++
30 ==============================
32 The native builds using Visual C++ have a VC-* prefix.
37 In addition to the requirements and instructions listed in INSTALL.md,
38 these are required as well:
42 We recommend Strawberry Perl, available from <http://strawberryperl.com/>
43 Please read NOTES.PERL for more information, including the use of CPAN.
44 An alternative is ActiveState Perl, <https://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl>
45 for which you may need to explicitly build the Perl module Win32/Console.pm
46 via <https://platform.activestate.com/ActiveState> and then download it.
48 ### Microsoft Visual C compiler.
50 Since these are proprietary and ever-changing we cannot test them all.
51 Older versions may not work. Use a recent version wherever possible.
53 ### Netwide Assembler (NASM)
55 NASM is the only supported assembler. It is available from <https://www.nasm.us>.
64 3. Make sure both Perl and NASM are on your %PATH%
66 4. Use Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt with administrative privileges,
67 choosing one of its variants depending on the intended architecture.
68 Or run "cmd" and execute "vcvarsall.bat" with one of the options x86,
69 x86_amd64, x86_arm, x86_arm64, amd64, amd64_x86, amd64_arm, or amd64_arm64.
70 This sets up the environment variables needed for nmake.exe, cl.exe, etc.
72 <https://docs.microsoft.com/cpp/build/building-on-the-command-line>
74 5. From the root of the OpenSSL source directory enter
75 perl Configure VC-WIN32 if you want 32-bit OpenSSL or
76 perl Configure VC-WIN64A if you want 64-bit OpenSSL or
77 perl Configure to let Configure figure out the platform
85 For the full installation instructions, or if anything goes wrong at any stage,
86 check the INSTALL.md file.
88 Installation directories
89 ------------------------
91 The default installation directories are derived from environment
94 For VC-WIN32, the following defaults are use:
96 PREFIX: %ProgramFiles(x86)%\OpenSSL
97 OPENSSLDIR: %CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\SSL
99 For VC-WIN64, the following defaults are use:
101 PREFIX: %ProgramW6432%\OpenSSL
102 OPENSSLDIR: %CommonProgramW6432%\SSL
104 Should those environment variables not exist (on a pure Win32
105 installation for examples), these fallbacks are used:
107 PREFIX: %ProgramFiles%\OpenSSL
108 OPENSSLDIR: %CommonProgramFiles%\SSL
110 ALSO NOTE that those directories are usually write protected, even if
111 your account is in the Administrators group. To work around that,
112 start the command prompt by right-clicking on it and choosing "Run as
113 Administrator" before running 'nmake install'. The other solution
114 is, of course, to choose a different set of directories by using
115 --prefix and --openssldir when configuring.
117 Special notes for Universal Windows Platform builds, aka VC-*-UWP
118 --------------------------------------------------------------------
120 - UWP targets only support building the static and dynamic libraries.
122 - You should define the platform type to "uwp" and the target arch via
123 "vcvarsall.bat" before you compile. For example, if you want to build
124 "arm64" builds, you should run "vcvarsall.bat x86_arm64 uwp".
126 Native builds using Embarcadero C++Builder
127 =========================================
129 This toolchain (a descendant of Turbo/Borland C++) is an alternative to MSVC.
130 OpenSSL currently includes an experimental 32-bit configuration targeting the
131 Clang-based compiler (bcc32c.exe) in v10.3.3 Community Edition.
132 <https://www.embarcadero.com/products/cbuilder/starter>
136 2. Open the RAD Studio Command Prompt.
138 3. Go to the root of the OpenSSL source directory and run:
139 perl Configure BC-32 --prefix=%CD%
145 6. Build your program against this OpenSSL:
146 * Set your include search path to the "include" subdirectory of OpenSSL.
147 * Set your library search path to the OpenSSL source directory.
149 Note that this is very experimental. Support for 64-bit and other Configure
150 options is still pending.
152 Native builds using MinGW
153 =========================
155 MinGW offers an alternative way to build native OpenSSL, by cross compilation.
157 * Usually the build is done on Windows in a GNU-like environment called MSYS2.
159 MSYS2 provides GNU tools, a Unix-like command prompt,
160 and a UNIX compatibility layer for applications.
161 However, in this context it is only used for building OpenSSL.
162 The resulting OpenSSL does not rely on MSYS2 to run and is fully native.
166 - MSYS2 shell, from <https://www.msys2.org/>
168 - Perl, at least version 5.10.0, which usually comes pre-installed with MSYS2
170 - make, installed using "pacman -S make" into the MSYS2 environment
172 - MinGW[64] compiler: mingw-w64-i686-gcc and/or mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc.
173 These compilers must be on your MSYS2 $PATH.
174 A common error is to not have these on your $PATH.
175 The MSYS2 version of gcc will not work correctly here.
177 In the MSYS2 shell do the configuration depending on the target architecture:
179 ./Configure mingw ...
181 ./Configure mingw64 ...
185 for the default architecture.
187 Apart from that, follow the Unix / Linux instructions in INSTALL.md.
189 * It is also possible to build mingw[64] on Linux or Cygwin.
191 In this case configure with the corresponding --cross-compile-prefix= option.
194 ./Configure mingw --cross-compile-prefix=i686-w64-mingw32- ...
196 ./Configure mingw64 --cross-compile-prefix=x86_64-w64-mingw32- ...
198 This requires that you've installed the necessary add-on packages for
199 mingw[64] cross compilation.
201 Linking native applications
202 ===========================
204 This section applies to all native builds.
206 If you link with static OpenSSL libraries then you're expected to
207 additionally link your application with WS2_32.LIB, GDI32.LIB,
208 ADVAPI32.LIB, CRYPT32.LIB and USER32.LIB. Those developing
209 non-interactive service applications might feel concerned about
210 linking with GDI32.LIB and USER32.LIB, as they are justly associated
211 with interactive desktop, which is not available to service
212 processes. The toolkit is designed to detect in which context it's
213 currently executed, GUI, console app or service, and act accordingly,
214 namely whether or not to actually make GUI calls. Additionally those
215 who wish to /DELAYLOAD:GDI32.DLL and /DELAYLOAD:USER32.DLL and
216 actually keep them off service process should consider implementing
217 and exporting from .exe image in question own _OPENSSL_isservice not
218 relying on USER32.DLL. E.g., on Windows Vista and later you could:
220 __declspec(dllexport) __cdecl BOOL _OPENSSL_isservice(void)
224 if (ProcessIdToSessionId(GetCurrentProcessId(), &sess))
229 If you link with OpenSSL .DLLs, then you're expected to include into
230 your application code a small "shim" snippet, which provides
231 the glue between the OpenSSL BIO layer and your compiler run-time.
232 See also the OPENSSL_Applink manual page.
234 Hosted builds using Cygwin
235 ==========================
237 Cygwin implements a POSIX/Unix runtime system (cygwin1.dll) on top of the
238 Windows subsystem and provides a Bash shell and GNU tools environment.
239 Consequently, a build of OpenSSL with Cygwin is virtually identical to the
242 To build OpenSSL using Cygwin, you need to:
244 * Install Cygwin, see <https://cygwin.com/>
246 * Install Cygwin Perl, at least version 5.10.0
247 and ensure it is in the $PATH
249 * Run the Cygwin Bash shell
251 Apart from that, follow the Unix / Linux instructions in INSTALL.md.
253 NOTE: "make test" and normal file operations may fail in directories
254 mounted as text (i.e. mount -t c:\somewhere /home) due to Cygwin
255 stripping of carriage returns. To avoid this ensure that a binary
256 mount is used, e.g. mount -b c:\somewhere /home.