# Dependencies
+## Required
+
Before you can start compiling tinc from a fresh git clone, you have
to install the very latest versions of the following packages:
-- `meson`
-- `ninja`
+- `meson` or `muon` (read below)
+- `ninja` or `samurai`
- `pkgconf` or `pkg-config`
- `GCC` or `Clang` (any version with C11 support, although older versions might work)
- `OpenSSL`\* (1.1.0+) or `LibreSSL` or `libgcrypt` (not needed if legacy protocol is disabled)
+### No Python?
+
+If you're on a constrained system that doesn't have (or cannot run) Python, you can try building tinc with [muon][muon],
+which is a pure C reimplementation of the same idea.
+Please note that `meson` is considered to be the main way of building tinc, and `muon` is supported on a best-effort basis.
+
+[muon]: https://git.sr.ht/~lattis/muon
+
+## Optional
+
Plus a few optional dependencies. Support for them will be enabled if they're present:
- `ncurses` or `PDCurses`
## Windows
-You will need to install [msys2][msys2] to build tinc under Windows.
+You can build tinc using either the native [Windows SDK][sdk-ms] (which comes with Visual Studio),
+or with the Unix-like [msys2 environment][sdk-msys2]. Install either one of them, plus
+the latest version of [meson][meson-release].
-[msys2]: https://msys2.org/
+If you prefer the native SDK, you might want to work on tinc (or build it) under Visual Studio.
+To do so, follow [these instructions][meson-vs].
By default, tinc produces a static Windows build, so you don't need to install anything
in order to _run_ the compiled binaries.
-# Building
+[sdk-ms]: https://visualstudio.com/
+[sdk-msys2]: https://msys2.org/
+[meson-release]: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/releases
+[meson-vs]: https://mesonbuild.com/Using-with-Visual-Studio.html
+
+# Building from source
## Native
-Have a look at the available configuration options in `meson_options.txt`, or run:
+### Setup
+
+Tinc's functionality can vary greatly depending on how you configure it.
+Have a look at the available options in [`meson_options.txt`](meson_options.txt), or run:
$ meson configure
-The project can be built as any other meson project:
+First you need to create a build directory. If you want the default experience, run:
+
+ $ meson setup builddir
+
+or with configuration options (your shell can probably autocomplete them on `Tab`, try it):
+
+ $ meson setup builddir -Dprefix=/usr/local -Dbuildtype=release
- $ meson setup build -Dprefix=/usr/local -Dbuildtype=release
+(For autotools users: this is a rough equivalent of `autoreconf -fsi && ./configure --prefix=/usr/local --with-foobar`).
-This creates a build directory (named `build`) with build type set to `release`
+This creates a build directory (named `builddir`) with build type set to `release`
(which enables compiler optimizations) and path prefix set to `/usr/local`.
Pass any additional options in the same way. Typically, this is not needed: tinc will
If you'd like to reconfigure the project after running `setup`, you can either remove
the build directory and start anew, or use:
- $ meson configure build -Dlzo=disabled -Dlz4=enabled
+ $ meson configure builddir -Dlzo=disabled -Dlz4=enabled
+
+### Compile
You then need to build the project:
- $ ninja -C build
+ $ meson compile -C builddir
+
+(For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make -j$(nproc)`).
+
+### Test
You might want to run the test suite to ensure tinc is working correctly:
- $ ninja -C build test
+ $ meson test -C builddir
+
+(For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make -j$(nproc) test`).
+
+### Install
To install tinc to your system, run:
- # ninja -C build install
+ $ meson install -C builddir
+
+(For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make install`).
Please be aware that this is not the best method of installing software
because it will not be tracked by your operating system's package manager. You
should use packages provided by your operating system, or build your own
(this is a large and complicated topic which is out of the scope of this document).
+### Uninstall
+
To uninstall tinc, run:
- # ninja -C build uninstall
+ # ninja -C builddir uninstall
+
+(For autotools users: this is an equivalent of `make uninstall`).
## Cross-compilation
tinc will use its own vendored libraries, so you don't need to install or build anything manually.
-Prepare the [cross file][cross] to let meson know you're building binaries for a different opearting system.
+Prepare the [cross file][cross] to let meson know you're building binaries for a different operating system.
Take a look at the [file](.ci/cross/windows/amd64) used by CI for an example, or refer to examples provided
by the meson project: [x86][mingw32], [x86_64][mingw64].
projects / tinc / blobdiff