, the GNU Compiler Collection, is a free and open-source compiler system developed by the GNU Project. Originally named the GNU C Compiler, it now supports multiple programming languages, including C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Ada, Go, D, Rust, COBOL, and Algol 68, among others. It is a key component of the GNU toolchain and the standard compiler for most Linux distributions and open-source projects, including the Linux kernel.
GCC is highly portable and runs on various platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, and embedded systems. It follows the UNIX design philosophy, using modular tools for preprocessing, compiling, assembling, and linking code into executable binaries.
Key Features
Multi-language support: Compiles C, C++, and many other languages.
Cross-compilation: Can generate code for different architectures and operating systems.
Optimization: Offers advanced optimization techniques to improve performance.
Free and open-source: Distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Installation on Windows
For Windows users, GCC can be installed via:
MinGW-w64: A popular choice for native Windows compilation. Tools like WinLibs provide standalone, pre-built GCC + MinGW-w64 packages for Windows.
WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux): Install a Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu) and use the system’s package manager to install GCC.
Cygwin: A Unix-like environment that includes GCC, though it requires the Cygwin runtime for executables.
Recent Releases
GCC 15.2 (released August 8, 2025) – Maintenance release with regression fixes.
GCC 14.3 (May 23, 2025) – Stable release with bug fixes.
GCC 13.4 (June 5, 2025) – Maintenance update.
GCC 16.0 (development, released January 12, 2026) – Under active development with regression fixes.
For installation, visit the official site: https://gcc.gnu.org/install/download.html.
GNU
gcc.gnu.org
GCC, the GNU Compiler Collection - GNU Project
The GNU Compiler Collection includes front ends for C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, Fortran, Ada, Go, D, Modula-2, COBOL, Rust, and Algol 68 as well as libraries for these languages (libstdc++,...). GCC was originally written as the compiler for the GNU operating system.
Installing GCC
The latest version of this document is always available at https://gcc.gnu.org/install/. It refers to the current development sources, instructions for specific released versions are included with the sources.
GCC mirror sites
If you limit access to your mirror ensure the gcc.gnu.org subnet is granted access.
GCC Releases
GCC releases may be downloaded from our mirror sites. Important: these are source releases, so will be of little use if you do not already have a C++ compiler installed. As one option, there are pre-compiled binaries.
Downloading GCC
The source distribution includes the Ada, C, C++, Objective-C, COBOL (GCC 15 and later), D (GCC 9 and later), Fortran, Go, Modula-2 (GCC 13 and later) and Algol 68 (GCC 16 and later, experimental) compilers, as well as runtime libraries for C++, Objective-C, COBOL, Fortran and Algol 68.
optimizing compiler produced by the GNU Project, key component of the GNU tool-chain and standard compiler for most projects related to GNU and the Linux kernel.
Factsheet
Original author Richard Stallman
Developer GNU Project
Initial release March 22, 1987; 38 years ago (1987-03-22)
Original author Richard Stallman
Developer GNU Project
Initial release March 22, 1987; 38 years ago (1987-03-22)
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › GNU_Compiler_Collection
GNU Compiler Collection - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) (formerly GNU C Compiler) is a collection of compilers from the GNU Project that support various programming languages, hardware architectures, and operating systems. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) distributes GCC as free software under the GNU General ...
GCC, the GNU Compiler Collection 15.1 released
The new default is -std=gnu23, which means C23's breaking changes are now the default. In my experience so far the most disruptive has been old-style prototypes, particularly empty parameter lists. This: void f(); Now means: void f(void); Instead of "unspecified number of arguments." Projects depending on the old behavior include GDB, GMP, GNU Make, and Vim. These require special consideration when building with GCC 15. More on reddit.com
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April 25, 2025Why is GCC the only compiler that cares deeply about C?
Microsoft doesn't care about C. The win32 API is an ANSI C API and Windows programs haven't been written in C regularly since the Windows 3.x era. They lagged behind for a while, not implementing C99, but have since turned around and MSVC is C17 with more or less all the features. They even have a standards-compliant preprocessor now, available with a project setting or switch. It's weird that you have to specifically ask for the compliant preprocessor, but making that the default would break a lot of old projects. But anyway, you can do modern C in MSVC now, they're up to speed. Clang is more or less on par with GCC, and they both represent the state of the art of C. More on reddit.com
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December 22, 2024How do I get a GCC?
On which OS? More on reddit.com
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September 1, 2022GCC 8 Through GCC 11 Stable Plus GCC 12 Compiler Benchmarks
What I get from this is that performance differences are negligible. In the cases where there seems to be a difference, the difference is miniscule, and it’s not clear if the difference is even attributable to the compiler. See Emery Berger’s talk “Performance Matters.” More on reddit.com
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July 9, 2021Videos
How to Install GCC Compiler Tools in Windows 11 (C/C++)
19:39
gcc 16 (or any nightly release) for C,C++, and D - Compile nightly ...
26:57
How To Install GCC on Windows - YouTube
04:30
GCC Compiler on Windows | Install Quick and Easy - YouTube
09:48
Install C++ Compiler on Windows | MinGW | GNU GCC - G++ and GCC ...
09:06
How to install GCC-win64 Compiler on Windows 10/11 [ 2025 Update ...
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › cpp › config-mingw
Using GCC with MinGW
November 3, 2021 - Get the latest version of MinGW-w64 via MSYS2, which provides up-to-date native builds of GCC, MinGW-w64, and other helpful C++ tools and libraries. This will provide you with the necessary tools to compile your code, debug it, and configure it to work with IntelliSense.
Linux Man Pages
man7.org › linux › man-pages › man1 › gcc.1.html
gcc(1) - Linux manual page
If the description for a particular option does not mention a source language, you can use that option with all supported languages. The usual way to run GCC is to run the executable called gcc, or machine-gcc when cross-compiling, or machine-gcc-version to run a specific version of GCC.
GNU
gcc.gnu.org › install › download.html
Downloading GCC - GNU Project
January 2, 2026 - The source distribution includes the Ada, C, C++, Objective-C, COBOL (GCC 15 and later), D (GCC 9 and later), Fortran, Go, Modula-2 (GCC 13 and later) and Algol 68 (GCC 16 and later, experimental) compilers, as well as runtime libraries for C++, Objective-C, COBOL, Fortran and Algol 68.
SourceForge
sourceforge.net › projects › gcc-win64
gcc-win64 download | SourceForge.net
Download gcc-win64 for free. x64 build of GCC for Windows. x64 C/C++ compiler for Windows using (unofficial build): - gmp - mpfr - mpc - isl - cloog - mingw-w64 - gcc - seh You need at least core2 command set support to run this application. Note that every version with bundled gdb needs at least Windows 7.
Wikihow
wikihow.com › computers and electronics › software › programming › c programming languages › how to compile a c program using the gnu compiler (gcc)
How to Compile a C Program Using the GNU Compiler (GCC)
2 weeks ago - The GNU C compiler, also known as GCC, is a simple Linux-based C compiler that's easy to use from the command line. If you're using Linux, including Ubuntu, Fedora, and Linux Mint, you can install GCC from your distribution's package manager.
OnlineGDB
onlinegdb.com › online_c_compiler
Online C Compiler - online editor
/****************************************************************************** Online C Compiler. Code, Compile, Run and Debug C program online. Write your code in this editor and press "Run" button to compile and execute it.
Anthropic
anthropic.com › engineering › building-c-compiler
Building a C compiler with a team of parallel Claudes
2 weeks ago - I’ve been using the C Compiler project as a benchmark across the entire Claude 4 model series. As I did with prior projects, I started by drafting what I wanted: a from-scratch optimizing compiler with no dependencies, GCC-compatible, able to compile the Linux kernel, and designed to support multiple backends.
NTU
www3.ntu.edu.sg › home › ehchua › programming › cpp › gcc_make.html
GCC and Make - A Tutorial on how to compile, link and build C/C++ applications
GCC is a key component of so-called "GNU Toolchain", for developing applications and writing operating systems. The GNU Toolchain includes: GNU Compiler Collection (GCC): a compiler suite that supports many languages, such as C/C++ and Objective-C/C++.
Incredibuild
incredibuild.com › home › integrations › gcc
What is GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) | Incredibuild
September 17, 2024 - GCC is a toolchain that compiles code, links it with any library dependencies, converts that code to assembly, and then prepares executable files. It follows the standard UNIX design philosophy of using simple tools that perform individual tasks ...
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › installation guide › how-to-install-gcc-compiler-on-linux
How to Install GCC Compiler on Linux? - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - GCC stands for GNU Compiler Collections which is used to compile mainly C and C++ language.
Tamu
hprc.tamu.edu › kb › Software › GNU-Compiler-Collection
GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) - Texas A&M HPRC
The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is an optimizing compiler produced by the GNU Project. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain and the standard compiler for most projects related to GNU and the Linux kernel.
Red Hat
docs.redhat.com › en › documentation › red_hat_developer_toolset › 10 › html › user_guide › chap-gcc
Chapter 2. GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) | User Guide | Red Hat Developer Toolset | 10 | Red Hat Documentation
In Red Hat Developer Toolset, the GNU C++ compiler is provided by the devtoolset-10-gcc-c++ package and is automatically installed with the devtoolset-10-toolchain package as described in Section 1.5, “Installing Red Hat Developer Toolset”.
PhoenixNAP
phoenixnap.com › home › kb › devops and development › how to install gcc on windows
How to Install GCC on Windows
September 23, 2024 - The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a versatile set of compilers developed by the GNU Project. It supports a wide range of programming languages like C, C++, Fortran, and Go.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/c_programming › gcc, the gnu compiler collection 15.1 released
r/C_Programming on Reddit: GCC, the GNU Compiler Collection 15.1 released
April 25, 2025 -
https://gcc.gnu.org/gcc-15/
Some discussion on hackernews: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43792248
Awhile back, there was some discussion of code like this:
char a[3] = "123";
which results in a an array of 3 chars with no terminating NUL byte, and no warning from the compiler about this (was not able to find that discussion or I would have linked it). This new version of gcc does have a warning for that. https://gcc.gnu.org/pipermail/gcc-patches/2024-June/656014.html And that warning and attempts to fix code triggering it have caused a little bit of drama on the linux kernel mailing list: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43790855
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The new default is -std=gnu23, which means C23's breaking changes are now the default. In my experience so far the most disruptive has been old-style prototypes, particularly empty parameter lists. This: void f(); Now means: void f(void); Instead of "unspecified number of arguments." Projects depending on the old behavior include GDB, GMP, GNU Make, and Vim. These require special consideration when building with GCC 15.
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IMO it's worth a warning, because it may indeed indicate a semantic error. It shouldn't be automatically fatal because it may not be an error, though that would be exceptional and deserves scrutiny to ensure its safety. If I read the tone of that second thread, there's contention about the default Makefile in one specific project making it fatal and thus highlighting a bunch of weak spots. Some people are grateful for the opportunity to fix it. Others will resent you for making them look bad.
Microchip Technology
microchip.com › tools › develop
GCC Compilers for AVR® and Arm®-Based MCUs and MPUs | Microchip Technology
The Arm GNU Toolchain is a collection of tools/libraries used to create applications for our Arm-based MCUs and MPUs. This collection includes compilers, assemblers, linkers and Standard C, C++ and math libraries.
University of Alabama
oit.ua.edu › software › gcc
GCC - Office of Information Technology | The University of Alabama
The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages. GCC is a key component of the GNU toolchain and the standard compiler for most projects related to GNU and Linux, including the Linux kernel.
IBM
developer.ibm.com › articles › au-gnu
Using the GNU C/C++ compiler on AIX
Learn from IBM experts about using the GCC compiler on AIX(R). The authors explain why you should use GCC compiler, which compiler options are specific to pSeries, what you need to know about shared libraries, and common gotchas and solutions.
WinLibs
winlibs.com
WinLibs - GCC+MinGW-w64 compiler for Windows
In short: it's a free C and C++ compiler for Microsoft Windows. GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) is a free and open source compiler for C and C++ (and other languages like Objective-C, Fortran, D). MinGW-w64 is a free and open source C library for targetting Windows 32-bit and 64-bit platforms.