MinGW-w64 Install on Windows

Installing MinGW-w64 and Make on Windows

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This guide provides a step-by-step process to install Make and MinGW-w64 on Windows. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to run Makefiles on Windows using 64-bit MinGW-w64 and GNU Make.

1. Download and Install MinGW-w64

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MinGW-w64 is a toolchain that enables the use of GNU tools (GCC, G++, Make, etc.) on Windows.

1.1 Download MinGW-w64

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• Official download page: MinGW-w64

• Alternatively, you can use the Winlibs version:

  • Winlibs MinGW-w64

Recommendation:

• The Winlibs version is usually more up-to-date.
• Choose the x86_64-posix-seh variant for better exception handling.

1.2 Installing MinGW-w64

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1. Extract the downloaded .zip file to a directory like C:\mingw-w64.
2. Note the path to the bin directory, for example: C:\mingw-w64\mingw64\bin (This directory contains gcc.exe, g++.exe, etc.)

1.3 Add MinGW-w64 to the System PATH

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1. In the Windows Search Bar, type “View advanced system settings” and open it.

2. Go to the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.

3. Under System variables, find the Path variable and click Edit.

4. Click New and add the following path:

   C:\mingw-w64\mingw64\bin
   

5. Press OK to save and exit all dialogs.

1.4 Verify MinGW-w64 Installation

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Open CMD or PowerShell and run:

gcc --version
g++ --version

You should see output like:

gcc (MinGW-W64 x86_64-posix-seh) 12.2.0
Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

If not, double-check your PATH configuration.