Build Windows EXEs from Linux

(also check out the Windows Platform page for info about developing for Windows generally)

Rust offers two different toolchains for building for Windows:

• MSVC: the default when working in Windows, requires downloading Microsoft SDKs
• GNU: alternative MINGW-based build

The instructions on this page use the x86_64 architecture, but you could also set up a toolchain to target i686 (32-bit) or aarch64 (Windows-on-Arm) the same way.

First-Time Setup (MSVC)

The MSVC toolchain is what the Rust community usually recommends for targetting the Windows platform. You can actually set it up and use it on Linux (and other UNIX-like systems), using some special tooling, which will be explained below.

Rust Toolchain (MSVC)

Add the target to your Rust installation (assuming you use rustup):

rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-msvc

This installs the files Rust needs to compile for Windows, including the Rust standard library.

Microsoft Windows SDKs

You need to install the Microsoft Windows SDKs, just like when working on Windows. On Linux, this can be done with an easy script called xwin. You need to accept Microsoft's proprietary license.

Install xwin:

cargo install xwin

Now, use xwin to accept the Microsoft license, download all the files from Microsoft servers, and install them to a directory of your choosing.

(The --accept-license option is to not prompt you, assuming you have already seen the license. To read the license and be prompted to accept it, omit that option.)

To install to .xwin/ in your home folder:

xwin --accept-license splat --output /home/me/.xwin

Linking (MSVC)

Rust needs to know how to link the final EXE file.

The default Microsoft linker (link.exe) is only available on Windows. Instead, we need to use the LLD linker (this is also recommended when working on Windows anyway). Just install the lld package from your Linux distro.

We also need to tell Rust the location of the Microsoft Windows SDK libraries (that were installed with xwin in the previous step).

Add this to .cargo/config.toml (in your home folder or in your bevy project):

[target.x86_64-pc-windows-msvc]
linker = "lld"
rustflags = [
  "-Lnative=/home/me/.xwin/crt/lib/x86_64",
  "-Lnative=/home/me/.xwin/sdk/lib/um/x86_64",
  "-Lnative=/home/me/.xwin/sdk/lib/ucrt/x86_64"
]

Note: you need to specify the correct full absolute paths to the SDK files, wherever you installed them.

First-Time Setup (GNU)

On many Linux distros, the alternative GNU/MINGW toolchain might be an easier option. Your distro might provide packages that you can easily install. Also, you do not need to accept any Microsoft licenses.

Rust Toolchain (GNU)

Add the target to your Rust installation (assuming you use rustup):

rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

This installs the files Rust needs to compile for Windows, including the Rust standard library.

MINGW

The GNU toolchain requires the MINGW environment to be installed. Your distro likely provides a package for it. Search your distro for a cross-compilation mingw package.

It might be called something like: cross-x86_64-w64-mingw32, but that varies in different distros.

You don't need any files from Microsoft.

Building Your Project

Finally, with all the setup done, you can just build your Rust/Bevy projects for Windows:

MSVC:

cargo build --target=x86_64-pc-windows-msvc --release

MinGW:

cargo build --target=x86_64-pc-windows-gnu --release