Set up native builds

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maligator build compiles Maligator's C runtime and Rust crate together with your application, so it needs a native toolchain on the build host. run, dev, and test use the runtime embedded in the distributed CLI for supported profiles with Intl, profiling, and C libraries disabled. The executables you build do not need these tools.

Install the requirements

A C compiler and archive tool with C23 support: Apple clang, clang 19 or newer, or gcc 15 or newer. gcc 14 and older accept -std=c2x but lack #embed, so doctor rejects them.
Rustup. Maligator builds its runtime with the Rust toolchain pinned by that runtime.
A C++ compiler and runtime when surface.webPlatform or surface.node is enabled.

On macOS, Apple's command-line tools provide the C and C++ compilers:

shell

xcode-select --install

On Linux, install a C23-capable compiler from your distribution. When its default gcc is older than 15, install clang 19 or newer and select it for Maligator. For example, on Ubuntu 26.04:

shell

sudo apt install clang-21
export CC=clang-21 CXX=clang++-21

Install Rust through Rustup on both platforms.

Check the toolchain

shell

maligator doctor --verbose

doctor reports resolved paths, versions, C and Rust targets, tested capabilities, and probe-cache status, plus suggested fixes for anything missing. Every native build runs the same checks, so running doctor first is optional. CC and CXX override compiler selection; otherwise tools are resolved strictly from PATH.

Cross-build for another target

Pass a Rust target triple to build to cross-compile through Zig. Supported targets:

aarch64-apple-darwin
x86_64-apple-darwin
aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

Install Zig on PATH (or point ZIG at it), add the Rust standard library for the target, and validate both halves before building:

shell

rustup target add x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
maligator doctor --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu --verbose
maligator build --production --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

Zig provides the C and C++ compilers, archive tool, and linker for the target. maligator run always targets the build host. Test a cross-built executable on its intended host; see Build for production.