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https://github.com/shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler

Compile binaries for macOS on Linux
https://github.com/shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler

c cpp cross-compiler docker earthly fortran linux macos rust

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Compile binaries for macOS on Linux

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README 

        
# macOS Cross Compiler



![A picture of Tux holding a red apple](./assets/256.png)



This project allows you to cross-compile code on Linux that will be executed on macOS. This can be very useful for CI environments where you want to build for macOS, but you don't want to go through the trouble (and cost) of setting up a macOS environment.



This project formed the basis of my work at [Posit](https://posit.co) (formerly RStudio) to provide macOS binaries for R packages through [Posit Public Package Manager](https://p3m.dev).



It supports:



* ✅ C

* ✅ C++

* ✅ Fortran

* ✅ Rust (through Zig)



Support for Objective C and Objective C++ may work out-of-the-box, but this is not tested.



> [!NOTE]

> This project is focused on supporting newer versions of macOS and C, C++, Fortran, and Rust. Versions older than macOS 13 (Ventura) are not well tested, though they _should_ work fine.



macOS system libraries and headers are provided with the Docker image. This should be suitable for compiling standalone macOS programs and possibly native macOS applications.



The cross-compilers are available as a Docker image. This is easiest way to distribute the project since there are so many host dependencies. If you are interested in using this without Docker, you should take a look at [osxcross](https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross) which forms the base of this project.



The Docker image is available at [ghcr.io/shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler](https://github.com/shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler/pkgs/container/macos-cross-compiler).



```bash

# Run the container

# Note: You'll probably want to bind-mount some files to compile.

# The `samples` directory has some Hello World programs.

$ docker run ghcr.io/shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler:latest /bin/bash

```



## Quick Start



Install the requirements below, then follow the instructions in the usage section.



### Host Requirements



* Docker



### Usage



> [!IMPORTANT]

> The Docker image is quite large. It includes several compilers and the macOS SDK.



```bash

# Start a Docker container using the Docker image.

# Replace `$PWD/samples` with the path to the source you want to compile.

$ docker run \

  -v $PWD/samples:/workspace \

  --rm \

  -it \

  ghcr.io/shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler:latest \

  /bin/bash



# Now that you're inside of the Docker container, you can run the compilers.



# Compile using gcc

## targeting darwin arm64

$ aarch64-apple-darwin22-gcc hello.c -o hello

$ aarch64-apple-darwin22-g++ hello.cpp -o hello

## targeting darwin x86_64

$ x86_64-apple-darwin22-gcc hello.c -o hello

$ x86_64-apple-darwin22-g++ hello.cpp -o hello



# Compile using clang

## for darwin arm64

$ aarch64-apple-darwin22-clang --target=aarch64-apple-darwin22 hello.c -o hello

$ aarch64-apple-darwin22-clang --target=aarch64-apple-darwin22 hello.cpp -o hello

## for darwin x86_64

$ x86_64-apple-darwin22-clang --target==x86_64-apple-darwin22 hello.c -o hello

$ x86_64-apple-darwin22-clang --target==x86_64-apple-darwin22 hello.cpp -o hello



# Compile using gfortran

## for darwin arm64

$ aarch64-apple-darwin22-gfortran hello.f90 -o hello

## for darwin x86_64

$ x86_64-apple-darwin22-gfortran hello.f90 -o hello



# Compile using Zig

## C targeting darwin arm64 (change aarch64 -> x86_64 to target amd64)

$ zig cc \

    -target aarch64-macos \

    --sysroot=/sdk \

    -I/sdk/usr/include \

    -L/sdk/usr/lib \

    -F/sdk/System/Library/Frameworks \

    -framework CoreFoundation \

    -o hello hello.c



## C++ targeting darwin arm64(change aarch64 -> x86_64 to target amd64)

$ zig c++ \

    -target aarch64-macos \

    --sysroot=/sdk -I/sdk/usr/include \

    -I/sdk/usr/include/c++/v1/ \

    -L/sdk/usr/lib \

    -lc++ \

    -F/sdk/System/Library/Frameworks \

    -framework CoreFoundation \

    -o hello hello.cpp



## Rust targeting darwin arm64 (change aarch64 -> x86_64 to target amd64)

$ export CC=zig-cc-aarch64-macos

$ cd rust && cargo build --target aarch64-apple-darwin

```



### Rust



Support for Rust requires a bit of project configuration.



```toml

# .cargo/config.toml

[build]

[target.aarch64-apple-darwin]

linker = "zig-cc-aarch64-macos"



[target.x86_64-apple-darwin]

linker = "zig-cc-x86_64-macos"

```



Once configured, you can run `cargo` after setting the `CC` variable:



```bash

export CC="zig-cc-x86_64-macos"

cargo build --target x86_64-apple-darwin



export CC="zig-cc-aarch64-macos"

cargo build --target aarch64-apple-darwin

```



### C, C++ and Fortran Compiler Executables



The table below shows the name of the executable for each architecture/compiler pair.



> [!NOTE]

> The target kernel version is `darwin22`. You'll need to build a new Docker image if you want to support a different kernel version.



|          | x86_64                         | aarch64                         |

|----------|--------------------------------|---------------------------------|

| **clang**    | x86_64-apple-darwin22-clang    | aarch64-apple-darwin22-clang    |

| **clang++**  | x86_64-apple-darwin22-clang++  | aarch64-apple-darwin22-clang++  |

| **gcc**      | x86_64-apple-darwin22-gcc      | aarch64-apple-darwin22-gcc      |

| **g++**      | x86_64-apple-darwin22-g++      | aarch64-apple-darwin22-g++      |

| **gfortran** | x86_64-apple-darwin22-gfortran | aarch64-apple-darwin22-gfortran |



The relevant compilers are located at `/osxcross/bin` and `/gcc/bin`. Both these directories are already on the `PATH` in the Docker container.



### cctools



This project compiles [cctools](https://github.com/tpoechtrager/cctools-port), which is Apple's version of [binutils](https://www.gnu.org/software/binutils/). These programs are low-level utilities that are used by compilers, such as the archiver `ar`, the loader `ld`, and the assembler `as`.



You probably don't need to run these programs directly, but if you do they are located at `/cctools/bin`, and they are also on the `PATH`.



Complete tool list:



* ObjectDump

* ar

* as

* bitcode_strip

* check_dylib

* checksyms

* cmpdylib

* codesign_allocate

* ctf_insert

* dyldinfo

* install_name_tool

* ld

* libtool

* lipo

* machocheck

* makerelocs

* mtoc

* mtor

* nm

* nmedit

* otool

* pagestuff

* ranlib

* redo_prebinding

* seg_addr_table

* seg_hack

* segedit

* size

* strings

* strip

* unwinddump

* vtool



## Code Signing, Notarizing, and Universal Binaries



[Code signing](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/code_signing_services) (but _not_ [notarizing](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_macos_software_before_distribution/)) should be possible with this project, but it is untested. Building [universal binaries](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple-silicon/building-a-universal-macos-binary) should also be possible, but again, this is not tested.



The [rcodesign](https://gregoryszorc.com/docs/apple-codesign/stable/) has been recommended as a way to sign and notarize binaries for macOS.



## Target Compatibility



This project can build for macOS on both x86_64 and aarch64 archtictures, regardless of the host architecture.



|              | Linux x86_64 | Linux arm64 |

|--------------|--------------|-------------|

| **macOS x86_64** | ✅            | ✅           |

| **macOS aarch64**  | ✅            | ✅           |



> [!NOTE]

> aarch64 is Apple's internal name for arm64. They're used interchangably, but aarch64 is more correct when referring to macOS on arm64.



This project supports the following languages:



* C (up to C 17)

* C++ (up to C++ 20)

* Fortran (up to Fortran 2018)

* Rust (any version)



This project supports the following versions of macOS:



* ✅ macOS 11 Big Sur

* ✅ macOS 12 Monterey

* ✅ macOS 13 Ventura



Support for macOS 14 Sonoma has not been extensively tested. macOS 14-specific features can be added by updating the SDK version. The Docker image uses the 13.0 SDK by default.



> [!IMPORTANT]

> This project is tested on modern verisons of macOS, Clang, and GCC. It has not been tested with older versions of these softwares. If you need compatabiltiy with older versions, check out the [osxcross project](https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross).



## Xcode SDK



This Docker image bundles the Xcode SDK from [joseluisq/macosx-sdks](https://github.com/joseluisq/macosx-sdks/).  Please familiarize yourself with the [SDK's terms of service](https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/xcode.pdf).



## Technical Details



This repository is essentially a wrapper around the following projects:



* 

* 

* 

* 



These resources were helpful when working on this project:



* 

* 

* 

* 

* 



The Zig and Rust portion were informed by these resources:



* 

* 



## Development



The Docker images for this repository are built with [Earthly](https://earthly.dev).



```bash

# Create a Docker image tagged as `shepherdjerred/macos-cross-compiler`

# The first run will take ~20 minutes on an M1 MacBook.

# Subsequent runs are faster.

earthly +image



# Verify that the compilers work correctly

earthly +test



# If you're on macOS, try actually running the binaries

earthly +validate

```



## Inspiration



This project would not have been possible without the [osxcross](https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross) project.