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