CC(1)

✨ NAME ✨

cc — front-end to the C compiler 💖 (it lives in the General Commands Manual, aka section 1, aka the iconic one, iykyk)

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

cc [-cEgkMPSstvX] [-ansi] [-Bprefix] [-D macro[=value]] [-dflags]
   [-ffeature] [-I path] [-include file] [-isystem path] [-Lpath]
   [-moption] [-nodefaultlibs] [-nostartfiles] [-nostdinc] [-nostdlib]
   [-O[level]] [-o outfile] [-pg] [-pthread] [-shared] [-static]
   [-std=standard] [-U macro] [-Wa,options] [-Wc,options] [-Wl,options]
   [-Wp,options] [-x language] [-z keyword] [file ...]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so bestie, cc is literally a front-end to the "portable C compiler". that's the whole vibe. You can hand it multiple files on the command line, no problem. And here's the tea: any option it doesn't recognize? it just yeets it directly to ld(1). not me being a relay 💀

and now, the way your files get routed depends on their suffix, and this part is important so pay attention:

• Filenames that end with .c are passed via cpp(1) → ccom(1) → as(1) → ld(1).
• Filenames that end with .i are passed via ccom(1) → as(1) → ld(1).
• Filenames that end with .s are passed via as(1) → ld(1).
• Filenames that end with .S are passed via cpp(1) → as(1) → ld(1).
• Filenames that end with .o are passed directly to ld(1).

the options are as follows, and bestie there are a lot of them, but we're getting through all of them fr fr:

• -ansi — synonym for -std=c89. that's it, that's the whole thing.
• -Bprefix — defines an alternate prefix path for the cpp(1), ccom(1), as(1), or ld(1) executables.
• -C — passed to the cpp(1) preprocessor so it does not discard comments.
• -c — stop after generating object code with as(1). do not link. the resulting object output gets saved as a filename with a .o suffix, unless you used the -o option. ⚠️ Note: this cannot be combined with -o if multiple files are given.
• -D macro[=value] — passed to the cpp(1) preprocessor to define macro with an optional value.
• -dflags — debug options. flags is a string of characters, and each one signifies an action:
  • M — cause the preprocessor to output a list of macro definitions.
  • any unknown flags are ignored.
• -E — stop after preprocessing with cpp(1). do not compile, do not assemble, do not link. output goes to standard output unless the -o option is used.
• -ffreestanding — assume a freestanding environment.
• -fPIC — generate PIC code.
• -fpic — tells the C compiler to generate PIC code and tells the assembler that PIC code has been generated.
• -funsigned-char — tell the compiler to treat char types as if they were unsigned unless explicitly defined otherwise. -fsigned-char can be used to signify the opposite behaviour. the default for the char type depends on the compiler target architecture.
• -fstack-protector — tell the compiler to wrap functions with code which checks at runtime that a stack overflow has not occurred. when stack protection is in effect, the __SSP__ macro will be defined. 🛡️
• -g — send the -g flag to ccom(1) to create debug output. debug information output can be disabled with -g0.
• -I path — passed to the cpp(1) preprocessor to add a header search directory to override the system defaults.
• -include file — tells the cpp(1) preprocessor to include file during preprocessing.
• -isystem path — defines path as a system header directory for the cpp(1) preprocessor.
• -k — generate PIC code. see the -fpic option.
• -Lpath — passed to the linker, to add path to the list of directories searched for shared libraries.
• -M — pass the -M flag to cpp(1) to generate dependencies for make(1).
• -moption — target-dependent options. multiple -m options can be given, and the following are supported:
  • ARM — -mlittle-endian -mbig-endian -mfpe=fpa -mfpe=vpf -msoft-float -march=armv1 -march=armv2 -march=armv2a -march=armv3 -march=armv4 -march=armv4t -march=armv4tej -march=armv5 -march=armv6 -march=armv6t2 -march=armv6kz -march=armv6k -march=armv7
  • HPPA
  • i386
  • MIPS — -mlittle-endian -mbig-endian -mhard-float -msoft-float
  • PDP-10
  • PowerPC
  • Sparc64
  • VAX
• -nodefaultlibs — do not link with the system default libraries (libc, etc.)
• -nostartfiles — do not link with the system startup files (crt0.c, etc.)
• -nostdinc — do not use the system include paths (/usr/include, etc.)
• -nostdlib — do not link with the system default libraries or startup files. it's giving "I want nothing" 💅
• -O[level] — enable compiler optimizations. currently, for levels higher than zero, this defines __OPTIMIZE__ in the cpp(1) preprocessor, and passes -xdce, -xdeljumps, -xtemps and -xinline to ccom(1). if no level is given the optimization level is -O1. optimizations can be disabled using -O0. in situations where multiple optimization flags are given, the last flag is the one used.
• -o outfile — save result to outfile.
• -P — inhibit generation of line markers in preprocessor output. this is sometimes useful when running the preprocessor on something other than C code.
• -pg — enable profiling on the generated executable.
• -pthread — defines the _PTHREADS preprocessor identifier for cpp(1), and adds -lpthread to the ld(1) linker arguments.
• -S — stop after compilation by ccom(1). do not assemble and do not link. the resulting assembler-language output is saved as a filename with a .s suffix unless the -o option is used. ⚠️ Note: cannot be combined with -o if multiple files are given.
• -s — passed to ld(1) to remove all symbol table and relocation information from the generated executable. this option is silently ignored if cc does not invoke the linker.
• -shared — create a shared object of the result. tells the linker not to generate an executable.
• -static — do not use dynamic linkage. by default, it will link using the dynamic linker options and/or shared objects for the platform.
• -std=standard — compile to the specified standard. accepted values for standard are c89, c99, gnu89, gnu99, gnu9x, and c11.
• -t — passed to cpp(1) to suppress some default macro definitions and enable use of traditional C preprocessor syntax.
• -U macro — passes to the cpp(1) preprocessor to remove the initial macro definition.
• -v — outputs the version of cc and shows commands as they are run with their command line arguments. 👀
• -### — as per -v except that the commands are not run, and the arguments will be quoted if they contain unusual characters or spaces.
• -Wa,options — comma separated list of options for the assembler.
• -Wc,options — comma separated list of options for the compiler.
• -Wl,options — comma separated list of options for the linker.
• -Wp,options — comma separated list of options for the preprocessor.
• -X — don't remove temporary files on exit. they stay. they live here now 🏠
• -x language — GCC compatibility option; specify the language in use rather than interpreting the filename extension. currently known language values are none, c, c++, assembler and assembler-with-cpp. any unknown -x options are passed to ccom(1).
• -z keyword — passed to ld(1). please refer to the documentation of your linker for acceptable values of keyword.

🎀 Predefined Macros 🎀

a few macros are predefined by cc when sent to cpp(1). little gifts, from us to you 💝

• __PCC__ — set to the major version of pcc(1). these macros can be used to select code based on pcc(1) compatibility. see the -v option.
• __PCC_MINOR__ — set to the minor version.
• __PCC_MINORMINOR__ — set to the minor-minor version — the number after the minor version.
• _PTHREADS — defined when the -pthread switch is used.
• __ASSEMBLER__ — defined when input files have a .S suffix, or if the -xassembler-with-cpp option is specified.

also, system- and/or machine-dependent macros may also be predefined; for example: __NetBSD__, __ELF__, and __i386__.

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

as(1), ccom(1), cpp(1), ld(1) — the whole squad, go say hi 🫶

📜 HISTORY 📜

the cc command comes from the original Portable C Compiler by S. C. Johnson, written in the late 70's. absolute legend behaviour, no cap 👑

This product includes software developed or owned by Caldera International, Inc.

and that's the whole page bestie, you ate that 💅 this was the Debian version of the cc(1) manual, dated June 20, 2014. go compile something iconic ✨🦋💖