How to install the Raspberry Pi cross compiler on my Linux host machine

Question

I am attempting to get cross-compiling for Raspberry Pi working on my Ubuntu machine    During my initial attempts I was using the arm-linux-gnueabi compiler  which is available in the Ubuntu repo  I got this working  I was able to build all my dependencies and use the cross-compiler in my cmake project   However  I believe I should be using the hf version  so I switched to arm-linux-gnueabihf  Then I realized that this does not work with Raspberry Pi since it is armv6   After some Googling  I then found the pre-built toolchain from GitHub   I downloaded the toolchain  but I don t really understand how to  install  it  I extracted the files to my home directory  The directory structure looks like this    gcc-linearo-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian      arm-linux-gnueabihf          bin              contains g    gcc  etc           lib              contains libstdc   library       bin          contains arm-linux-gnueabihf-g    arm-linux-gnueabihf-          lib          gcc lib stuff    If I change directory to the INNER bin folder I am able to compile a test program from the terminal without any problems     tools arm-bcm2708 gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian  arm-linux-gnueabihf bin  g   test cpp -o test   I then tried to compile a test program in the OUTER bin folder  which contains the prefixed versions of the tools      tools arm-bcm2708 gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian bin    arm-linux-gnueabihf-g   test cpp -o test   However  when I try to use the compiler now  from outside the inner bin directory   it is unable to find the libstdc   shared library that comes with the toolchain   arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc  error while loading shared libraries   libstdc   so 6  cannot open shared object file  No such file or directory    Furthermore  I want to be able to use the compiler without having to navigate to the bin directory  So I tried adding the OUTER bin directory  since I want the prefixed versions  and both lib directories to my PATH   export PATH  PATH   tools     bin export PATH  PATH   tools     lib export PATH  PATH   tools         lib   However  this results in the same error  How should I  install  the toolchain so that I can use the toolchain from everywhere  just like I can when I use the cross-compilers from the Ubuntu repo

User · Answer

The initial question has been posted quite some time ago and in the meantime Debian has made huge headway in the area of multiarch support.

Multiarch is a great achievement for cross compilation!

In a nutshell the following steps are required to leverage multiarch for Raspbian Jessie cross compilation:

On your Ubuntu host install Debian Jessie amd64 within a chroot or a LXC container.
Enable the foreign architecture armhf.
Install the cross compiler from the emdebian tools repository.
Tweak the cross compiler (it would generate code for ARMv7-A by default) by writing a custom gcc specs file.
Install armhf libraries (libstdc++ etc.) from the Raspbian repository.
Build your source code.

Since this is a lot of work I have automated the above setup. You can read about it here:

Cross Compiling for Raspbian

User · Answer

I m gonna try to write this as a tutorial for you so it becomes easy to follow  NOTE  This tutorial only works for older raspbian images  For the newer Raspbian based on Debian Buster see the following how-to in this thread  https   stackoverflow com a 58559140 869402 Pre-requirements Before you start you need to make sure the following is installed  apt-get install git rsync cmake libc6-i386 lib32z1 lib32stdc  6  Let s cross compile a Pie  Start with making a folder in your home directory called raspberrypi  Go in to this folder and pull down the ENTIRE tools folder you mentioned above  git clone git   github com raspberrypi tools git  You wanted to use the following of the 3 ones  gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian  if I did not read wrong  Go into your home directory and add  export PATH  PATH  HOME raspberrypi tools arm-bcm2708 gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian bin  to the end of the file named    bashrc Now you can either log out and log back in  i e  restart your terminal session   or run      bashrc in your terminal to pick up the PATH addition in your current terminal session  Now  verify that you can access the compiler arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc -v  You should get something like this  Using built-in specs  COLLECT GCC arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc COLLECT LTO WRAPPER  home tudhalyas raspberrypi tools arm-bcm2708 gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian bin    libexec gcc arm-linux-gnueabihf 4 7 2 lto-wrapper Target  arm-linux-gnueabihf Configured with   cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux  b  uild src gcc-linaro-4 7-2012 08 configure --build i686-build pc-linux-gnu --host i686-build pc-  linux-gnu --target arm-linux-gnueabihf --prefix  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-l  inux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux install --with-sysroot  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds   arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux install arm-linux-gnueabihf libc --enable-languages c c   fo  rtran --disable-multilib --with-arch armv6 --with-tune arm1176jz-s --with-fpu vfp --with-float   hard --with-pkgversion  crosstool-NG linaro-1 13 1 bzr2458 - Linaro GCC 2012 08  --with-bugurl   https   bugs launchpad net gcc-linaro --enable-  cxa atexit --enable-libmudflap --enable-libgom  p --enable-libssp --with-gmp  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-rasp  bian-linux  build arm-linux-gnueabihf build static --with-mpfr  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-  ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux  build arm-linux-gnueabihf build static --with-mpc    cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux  build arm-linux-  gnueabihf build static --with-ppl  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf  -raspbian-linux  build arm-linux-gnueabihf build static --with-cloog  cbuild slaves oort61 cros  stool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux  build arm-linux-gnueabihf build static --wi  th-libelf  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux  build a  rm-linux-gnueabihf build static --with-host-libstdcxx  -L cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng bui  lds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-linux  build arm-linux-gnueabihf build static lib -lpwl  --ena  ble-threads posix --disable-libstdcxx-pch --enable-linker-build-id --enable-plugin --enable-gol  d --with-local-prefix  cbuild slaves oort61 crosstool-ng builds arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian-li  nux install arm-linux-gnueabihf libc --enable-c99 --enable-long-long Thread model  posix gcc version 4 7 2 20120731  prerelease   crosstool-NG linaro-1 13 1 bzr2458 - Linaro GCC 2012 08     But hey  I did that and the libs still don t work  We re not done yet  So far  we ve only done the basics  In your raspberrypi folder  make a folder called rootfs  Now you need to copy the entire  liband  usr directory to this newly created folder  I usually bring the rpi image up and copy it via rsync  rsync -rl --delete-after --safe-links pi 192 168 1 PI   lib usr   HOME raspberrypi rootfs  where 192 168 1 PI is replaced by the IP of your Raspberry Pi  Now  we need to write a cmake config file  Open   home raspberrypi pi cmake in your favorite editor and insert the following  SET CMAKE SYSTEM NAME Linux  SET CMAKE SYSTEM VERSION 1  SET CMAKE C COMPILER  ENV HOME  raspberrypi tools arm-bcm2708 gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian bin arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc  SET CMAKE CXX COMPILER  ENV HOME  raspberrypi tools arm-bcm2708 gcc-linaro-arm-linux-gnueabihf-raspbian bin arm-linux-gnueabihf-g    SET CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH  ENV HOME  raspberrypi rootfs  SET CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE PROGRAM NEVER  SET CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE LIBRARY ONLY  SET CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE INCLUDE ONLY   Now you should be able to compile your cmake programs simply by adding this extra flag  -D CMAKE TOOLCHAIN FILE  HOME raspberrypi pi cmake  Using a cmake hello world example  git clone https   github com jameskbride cmake-hello-world git  cd cmake-hello-world mkdir build cd build cmake -D CMAKE TOOLCHAIN FILE  HOME raspberrypi pi cmake     make scp CMakeHelloWorld pi 192 168 1 PI  home pi  ssh pi 192 168 1 PI   CMakeHelloWorld

User · Answer

I could not compile QT5 with any of the  fairly outdated  toolchains from git   github com raspberrypi tools git  The configure script kept failing with an  could not determine architecture  error and with massive path problems for include directories  What worked for me was using the Linaro toolchain     http   releases linaro org components toolchain binaries 4 9-2016 02 arm-linux-gnueabihf runtime-linaro-gcc4 9-2016 02-arm-linux-gnueabihf tar xz   in combination with     https   raw githubusercontent com riscv riscv-poky master scripts sysroot-relativelinks py   Failing to fix the symlinks of the sysroot leads to undefined symbol errors as described here  An error building Qt libraries for the raspberry pi This happened to me when I tried the fixQualifiedLibraryPaths script from tools git  Everthing else is described in detail in http   wiki qt io RaspberryPi2EGLFS   My configure settings were        configure -opengl es2 -device linux-rpi3-g   -device-option CROSS COMPILE  usr local rasp gcc-linaro-4 9-2016 02-x86 64 arm-linux-gnueabihf bin arm-linux-gnueabihf- -sysroot  usr local rasp sysroot -opensource -confirm-license -optimized-qmake -reduce-exports -release -make libs -prefix  usr local qt5pi -hostprefix  usr local qt5pi   with  usr local rasp sysroot being the path of my local Raspberry Pi 3 Raspbian  Jessie  system copy and  usr local qt5pi being the path of the cross compiled QT that also has to be copied to the device  Be aware that Jessie comes with GCC 4 9 2 when you choose your toolchain

User · Answer

You may use clang as well  It used to be faster than GCC  and now it is quite a stable thing  It is much easier to build clang from sources  you can really drink cup of coffee during build process    In short    Get clang binaries  sudo apt-get install clang    or download and build  read instructions here  Mount your raspberry rootfs  it may be the real rootfs mounted via sshfs  or an image   Compile your code   path to clang --target arm-linux-gnueabihf --sysroot  some path arm-linux-gnueabihf sysroot my-happy-program c -fuse-ld lld    Optionally you may use legacy arm-linux-gnueabihf binutils  Then you may remove  -fuse-ld lld  flag at the end   Below is my cmake toolchain file   toolchain cmake  set CMAKE SYSTEM VERSION 1  set CMAKE SYSTEM NAME Linux  set CMAKE SYSTEM PROCESSOR arm     Custom toolchain-specific definitions for your project set PLATFORM ARM  1   set PLATFORM COMPILE DEFS  COMPILE GLES      There we go    Below  we specify toolchain itself   set TARGET TRIPLE arm-linux-gnueabihf     Specify your target rootfs mount point on your compiler host machine set TARGET ROOTFS  Volumes rootfs-  TARGET TRIPLE      Specify clang paths set LLVM DIR  Users stepan projects shared toolchains llvm-7 0 darwin-release-x86 64 install  set CLANG   LLVM DIR  bin clang  set CLANGXX   LLVM DIR  bin clang       Specify compiler  which is clang  set CMAKE C COMPILER     CLANG   set CMAKE CXX COMPILER   CLANGXX      Specify binutils  set  CMAKE AR         LLVM DIR  bin llvm-ar  CACHE FILEPATH  Archiver   set  CMAKE LINKER     LLVM DIR  bin llvm-ld  CACHE FILEPATH  Linker   set  CMAKE NM         LLVM DIR  bin llvm-nm  CACHE FILEPATH  NM   set  CMAKE OBJDUMP    LLVM DIR  bin llvm-objdump  CACHE FILEPATH  Objdump   set  CMAKE RANLIB     LLVM DIR  bin llvm-ranlib  CACHE FILEPATH  ranlib      You may use legacy binutils though   set BINUTILS  usr local Cellar arm-linux-gnueabihf-binutils 2 31 1   set  CMAKE AR         BINUTILS  bin   TARGET TRIPLE -ar  CACHE FILEPATH  Archiver    set  CMAKE LINKER     BINUTILS  bin   TARGET TRIPLE -ld  CACHE FILEPATH  Linker    set  CMAKE NM         BINUTILS  bin   TARGET TRIPLE -nm  CACHE FILEPATH  NM    set  CMAKE OBJDUMP    BINUTILS  bin   TARGET TRIPLE -objdump  CACHE FILEPATH  Objdump    set  CMAKE RANLIB     BINUTILS  bin   TARGET TRIPLE -ranlib  CACHE FILEPATH  ranlib      Specify sysroot  almost same as rootfs  set CMAKE SYSROOT   TARGET ROOTFS   set CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH   TARGET ROOTFS      Specify lookup methods for cmake set CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE PROGRAM NEVER  set CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE LIBRARY ONLY  set CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE INCLUDE ONLY     Sometimes you also need this    set CMAKE FIND ROOT PATH MODE PACKAGE ONLY     Specify raspberry triple set CROSS FLAGS  --target   TARGET TRIPLE       Specify other raspberry related flags set RASP FLAGS  -D  STDC CONSTANT MACROS -D  STDC LIMIT MACROS      Gather and distribute flags specified at prev steps  set CMAKE C FLAGS    CMAKE C FLAGS    CROSS FLAGS    RASP FLAGS    set CMAKE CXX FLAGS    CMAKE CXX FLAGS    CROSS FLAGS    RASP FLAGS       Use clang linker  Why    Well  you may install custom arm-linux-gnueabihf binutils    but then  you also need to recompile clang  with customized triple    otherwise clang will try to use host  ld  for linking    so    use clang linker  set CMAKE EXE LINKER FLAGS   CMAKE EXE LINKER FLAGS  -fuse-ld lld

User · Answer

Building for newer Raspbian Debian Buster images and ARMv6  The answer by  Stenyg only works for older Raspbian images  The recently released Raspbian based on Debian Buster requires an updated toolchain   In Debian Buster the gcc compiler and glibc was updated to version 8 3  The toolchain in git   github com raspberrypi tools git is still based on the older gcc 6 version  This means that using git   github com raspberrypi tools git will lead to many compile errors   This tutorial is based on  Stenyg answer  In addition to many other solutions in the internet  this tutorial also supports older Rasperry Pi  A  B  B   Zero  based on the ARMv6 CPU  See also  GCC 8 Cross Compiler outputs ARMv7 executable instead of ARMv6  Set up the toolchain  There is no official git repository containing an updated toolchain  See https   github com raspberrypi tools issues 102    I created a new github repository which includes building and precompiled toolchains for ARMv6 based on GCC8 and newer   https   github com Pro raspi-toolchain  As mentioned in the project s readme  these are the steps to get the toolchain  You can also build it yourself  see the README for further details     Download the toolchain    wget https   github com Pro raspi-toolchain releases latest download raspi-toolchain tar gz    Extract it  Note  The toolchain has to be in  opt cross-pi-gcc since it s not location independent    sudo tar xfz raspi-toolchain tar gz --strip-components 1 -C  opt    You are done  The toolchain is now in  opt cross-pi-gcc Optional  add the toolchain to your path  by adding    export PATH  PATH  opt cross-pi-gcc bin   to the end of the file named    bashrc  Now you can either log out and log back in  i e  restart your terminal session   or run      bashrc in your terminal to pick up the PATH addition in your current terminal session   Get the libraries from the Raspberry PI  To cross-compile for your own Raspberry Pi  which may have some custom libraries installed  you need to get these libraries onto your host   Create a folder  HOME raspberrypi  In your raspberrypi folder  make a folder called rootfs   Now you need to copy the entire  liband  usr directory to this newly created folder  I usually bring the rpi image up and copy it via rsync   rsync -vR --progress -rl --delete-after --safe-links pi 192 168 1 PI   lib usr opt vc lib   HOME raspberrypi rootfs   where 192 168 1 PI is replaced by the IP of your Raspberry Pi   Use CMake to compile your project  To tell CMake to take your own toolchain  you need to have a toolchain file which initializes the compiler settings   Get this toolchain file from here  https   github com Pro raspi-toolchain blob master Toolchain-rpi cmake  Now you should be able to compile your cmake programs simply by adding this extra flag  -D CMAKE TOOLCHAIN FILE  HOME raspberrypi pi cmake and setting the correct environment variables   export RASPBIAN ROOTFS  HOME raspberry rootfs export PATH  opt cross-pi-gcc bin  PATH export RASPBERRY VERSION 1 cmake -DCMAKE TOOLCHAIN FILE  HOME raspberry Toolchain-rpi cmake      An example hello world is shown here  https   github com Pro raspi-toolchain blob master build hello world sh

User · Answer

For Windows host  I want to highly recommend this tutorial     Download and install the toolchain Sync sysroot with your RPi include lib directories Compile your code Drag and drop the executable to your RPi using SmarTTY Run it    Nothing more  nothing less   Prebuilt GNU Toolchains available for Raspberry  Beaglebone  Cubieboard  AVR  Atmel  and more

User · Answer

there is a CDP Studio IDE available that makes cross compile and deploy quite simple from both windows and linux and you can just check the raspberry toolchain checkbox during the installation   PS  it has GPIO and I2C support so no code is needed to access those   The IDE demo of raspberry use is up here  https   youtu be 4SVZ68sQz5U  and you can download the IDE here  https   cdpstudio com home-edition

User · Answer

I couldn t get the compiler  x64 version  to use the sysroot until I added SET CMAKE SYSROOT  ENV HOME  raspberrypi rootfs  to pi cmake

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