How to Install GCC Using MSYS2 on Windows

Great choice! MSYS2 is a powerful and flexible environment for GCC development on Windows. Here’s a step-by-step guide to install GCC using MSYS2:

How to Install GCC Using MSYS2 on Windows

Step 1: Download and Install MSYS2

1. Go to the official MSYS2 website:
   👉 https://www.msys2.org
2. Download the installer for 64-bit Windows:
   • msys2-x86_64-XXXXXX.exe (where XXXXXX is the version number)
3. Run the installer and install MSYS2 to a simple directory like:

   C:\msys64

    

Step 2: Update MSYS2 Package Database

1. Open the MSYS2 MSYS terminal from the Start menu (search for MSYS2 MSYS).
2. Run the following command to update the core system:

   pacman -Syu

3. If you’re prompted to close the window after this update, do so.
4. Then reopen MSYS2 MSYS and run:

   pacman -Su

Step 3: Install the GCC Compiler (C/C++)

1. In the MSYS2 terminal, install GCC with:

   pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc

   This installs the 64-bit version of GCC (recommended). If you need 32-bit for some reason, use:

   pacman -S mingw-w64-i686-gcc

Step 4: Use GCC

1. Open the terminal:
   MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit from the Start Menu (this is important — don’t use the plain “MSYS” terminal for compiling).
2. In that terminal, test GCC:

   gcc --version

   Now compile a simple C program:

   • Create a file called hello.c:

     #include <stdio.h> 
     int main()
     { 
     printf("Hello, MSYS2!\n"); 
     return 0; 
     }

      

   • Compile and run:

     gcc hello.c -o hello.exe 
     ./hello.exe

      

Tip: Optional Useful Packages

You can also install other useful tools like:

pacman -S make gdb git vim