Repository files navigation

A general-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintainingrobust,optimal, andreusable software.

https://ziglang.org/

If you are looking at this README file in a source tree, please refer to theRelease Notes,Language Reference, orStandard LibraryDocumentation corresponding to the version of Zig that you are using byfollowing the appropriate link on thedownload page.

Otherwise, you're looking at a release of Zig, so you can find the languagereference atdoc/langref.html, and the standard library documentation byrunningzig std, which will open a browser tab.

• download a pre-built binary
• install from a package manager
• bootstrap zig for any target

A Zig installation is composed of two things:

1. The Zig executable
2. The lib/ directory

At runtime, the executable searches up the file system for the lib/ directory,relative to itself:

• lib/
• lib/zig/
• ../lib/
• ../lib/zig/
• (and so on)

In other words, you canunpack a release of Zig anywhere, and then beginusing it immediately. There is no need to install it globally, although thismechanism supports that use case too (i.e./usr/bin/zig and/usr/lib/zig/).

Ensure you have the required dependencies:

• CMake >= 3.15
• System C/C++ Toolchain
• LLVM, Clang, LLD development libraries == 20.x

Then it is the standard CMake build process:

mkdir buildcd buildcmake ..make install

For more options, tips, and troubleshooting, please see theBuilding Zig From Sourcepage on the wiki.

In this case, the only system dependency is a C compiler.

cc -o bootstrap bootstrap.c./bootstrap

This produces azig2 executable in the current working directory. This is a"stage2" build of the compiler,without LLVM extensions, and istherefore lacking these features:

• Release mode optimizations
• aarch64 machine code backend
• @cImport
• zig translate-c
• Ability to compile assembly files
• Some ELF linking features
• Most COFF/PE linking features
• Some WebAssembly linking features
• Ability to create import libs from def files
• Ability to create static archives from object files
• Ability to compile C, C++, Objective-C, and Objective-C++ files

However, a compiler built this way does provide a C backend, which may beuseful for creating system packages of Zig projects using the system Ctoolchain.In this case, LLVM is not needed!

Furthermore, a compiler built this way provides an LLVM backend that producesbitcode files, which may be compiled into object files via a system Clangpackage. This can be used to produce system packages of Zig applicationswithout the Zig package dependency on LLVM.

Donate monthly.

Zig is Free and Open Source Software. We welcome bug reports and patches fromeveryone. However, keep in mind that Zig governance is BDFN (BenevolentDictator For Now) which means that Andrew Kelley has final say on the designand implementation of everything.

One of the best ways you can contribute to Zig is to start using it for anopen-source personal project.

This leads to discovering bugs and helps flesh out use cases, which lead tofurther design iterations of Zig. Importantly, each issue found this way comeswith real world motivations, making it straightforward to explain the reasoningbehind proposals and feature requests.

You will be taken much more seriously on the issue tracker if you have apersonal project that uses Zig.

The issue labelContributor Friendlyexists to help you find issues that arelimited in scope and/or knowledge ofZig internals.

Please note that issues labeledProposalbut do not also have theAcceptedlabel are still under consideration, and efforts to implement such a proposalhave a high risk of being wasted. If you are interested in a proposal which isstill under consideration, please express your interest in the issue tracker,providing extra insights and considerations that others have not yet expressed.The most highly regarded argument in such a discussion is a real world use case.

For more tips, please see theContributing page on thewiki.

The Zig community is decentralized. Anyone is free to start and maintain theirown space for Zig users to gather. There is no concept of "official" or"unofficial". Each gathering place has its own moderators and rules. Users areencouraged to be aware of the social structures of the spaces they inhabit, andwork purposefully to facilitate spaces that align with their values.

Please see theCommunity wikipage for a public listing of social spaces.