| Using rules_go on Windows |
| ========================= |
| |
| This is a list of notes from the last time I ran rules_go on Windows. This |
| is not complete documentation yet, but will be expanded some time in the |
| future. Bazel's support for Windows is changing and improving over time, so |
| these instructions may be out of date. |
| |
| Preparation |
| ----------- |
| |
| These steps are completely optional. |
| |
| * Consider disabling Windows Defender, at least temporarily. Defender will |
| block the Bazel download for 20+ minutes, presumably because |
| some signature is not in place. This can be done in Windows Defender |
| Security Center > App & Browser control > Check apps and files: Off. |
| * Install VSCode. It has pretty good support for Go and a good terminal |
| emulator. |
| |
| Install and configure dependencies |
| ---------------------------------- |
| |
| * Install msys2 from https://www.msys2.org/. This is needed to provide a bash |
| environment for Bazel. |
| |
| * Follow the installation directions to the end, including |
| running ``pacman -Syu`` and ``pacman -Su`` in the msys2 shell. |
| |
| * Install additional msys2 tools. |
| |
| * Run ``pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc``. GCC is needed if you plan to build |
| any cgo code. MSVC will not work with cgo. This is a Go limitation, not a |
| Bazel limitation. cgo determines types of definitions by compiling specially |
| crafted C files and parsing error messages. GCC or clang are specifically |
| needed for this. |
| * Run ``pacman -S patch``. ``patch`` is needed by ``git_repository`` and |
| ``http_archive`` dependencies declared by rules_go. We use it to add |
| and modify build files. |
| |
| * Add ``C:\msys64\usr\bin`` to ``PATH`` in order to locate ``patch`` and |
| other DLLs. |
| * Add ``C:\msys64\mingw64\bin`` to ``PATH`` in order to locate mingw DLLs. |
| ``protoc`` and other host binaries will not run without these. |
| * Set the environment variable ``BAZEL_SH`` to ``C:\msys64\usr\bin\bash.exe``. |
| Bazel needs this to run shell scripts. |
| * Set the environment variable ``CC`` to ``C:\msys64\mingw64\bin\gcc.exe``. |
| Bazel uses this to configure the C/C++ toolchain. |
| * Install the MSVC++ redistributable from |
| https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145. |
| Bazel itself depends on this. |
| * Install Git from https://git-scm.com/download/win. The Git install should |
| add the installed directory to your ``PATH`` automatically. |
| |
| Install bazel |
| ------------- |
| |
| * Download Bazel from https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases. |
| * Move the binary to ``%APPDATA%\bin\bazel.exe``. |
| * Add that directory to ``PATH``. |
| * Confirm ``bazel version`` works. |
| * Confirm you can run a C binary with |
| ``bazel run --cpu=x64_windows --compiler=mingw-gcc //:target``. |
| |
| Confirm Go works |
| ---------------- |
| |
| * Copy boilerplate from rules_go. |
| * Confirm that you can run a pure Go "hello world" binary with |
| ``bazel run //:target`` |
| * Confirm you can run a cgo binary with |
| ``bazel run --cpu=x64_windows --compiler=mingw-gcc //:target`` |
| * You may want to add ``build --cpu=x64_windows --compiler=mingw-gcc`` to |
| a ``.bazelrc`` file in your project or in your home directory. |
