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kc3-lang/freetype/docs/INSTALL
Werner Lemberg
- docs/INSTALL
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There are several ways to build the FreeType library, depending on your system and the level of customization you need. Here is a short overview of the documentation available: I. Prerequisites and dependencies ================================= FreeType is a low level C library that only depends on the standard C library with very few platform-dependent optimizations utilized at build time. Any C99-compliant compiler should be able to compile FreeType. System libraries, such as zlib, Gzip, bzip2, Brotli, and libpng, might be used to handle compressed fonts or decode embedded PNG glyphs. FreeType auto-configuration scripts should be able to detect the prerequisites if the necessary headers are available at the default locations. Otherwise, modify `include/freetype/config/ftoption.h` to control how the FreeType library gets built. Normally, you don't need to change anything. Applications have very limited control over FreeType's behaviour at run-time; look at the documentation of function `FT_Property_Set`. II. Normal installation and upgrades ==================================== 1. Unix and Unix-like systems This also includes MacOS, Cygwin, MinGW + MSYS, Mingw-w64 + MSYS2, and possibly other, similar environments. Please read `INSTALL.UNIX` to install or upgrade FreeType 2 on a Unix system. Note that you *need* GNU Make for automatic compilation, since other make tools won't work (this includes BSD Make). GNU Make VERSION 3.81 OR NEWER IS NEEDED! 2. Other systems using GNU Make On some non-Unix platforms, it is possible to build the library using only the GNU Make utility. Note that *NO OTHER MAKE TOOL WILL WORK*[1]! This methods supports several compilers on Windows, OS/2, and BeOS, including MinGW* (without MSYS*), Visual C++, Borland C++, and more. Instructions are provided in the file `INSTALL.GNU`. 3. Other build tools and platforms. A few other tools can be used to build FreeType. You can find the corresponding instruction files in the FreeType root folder or the builds/ sub-folder. CMake :: see `CMakeLists.txt` for more information Meson :: see `meson.build` for more information MSBuild :: see `MSBuild.sln` for more information MMS :: see `vms_make.com` and `docs/INSTALL.VMS` 4. With an IDE Project File (e.g., for Visual Studio or CodeWarrior) We provide a small number of 'project files' for various IDEs to automatically build the library as well. Note that these files are not actively supported by FreeType developers, they can break or become obsolete. To find them, have a look at the content of the `builds/<system>` directory, where <system> stands for your OS or environment. 5. From you own IDE, or own Makefiles If you want to create your own project file, follow the instructions given in the `INSTALL.ANY` document of this directory. III. Custom builds of the library ================================= Customizing the compilation of FreeType is easy, and allows you to select only the components of the font engine that you really need. For more details read the file `CUSTOMIZE`. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] make++, a make tool written in Perl, has sufficient support of GNU make extensions to build FreeType. See https://makepp.sourceforge.net for more information; you need version 2.0 or newer, and you must pass option `--norc-substitution`. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (C) 2000-2025 by David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg. This file is part of the FreeType project, and may only be used, modified, and distributed under the terms of the FreeType project license, LICENSE.TXT. By continuing to use, modify, or distribute this file you indicate that you have read the license and understand and accept it fully. --- end of INSTALL ---