v/cmd/v/help/build-c.txt

Usage: v [build flags] ['build'] <file.v|directory>

This command compiles the given target, along with their dependencies, into an executable.

This help topic explores C-backend specific build flags.
For help regarding building an executable, see `v help build`.

These build flags are enabled on `build` and `run` as long as the backend is set to `c`:

   -arch <architecture>
      Change the architecture that V will tell the C compiler to build.
      List of supported architectures: `x86` and `x64` (default).

   -cc <compiler>
      Change the C compiler V invokes to the specified compiler.
      The C compiler is required to support C99.
      Officially supported/tested C compilers include: `clang`, `gcc`, `tcc`, `mingw-w64` and `msvc`.

   -cflags <flag>
      Pass the provided flag as is to the C compiler.
      Can be specified multiple times to provide multiple flags.
      Use quotes to wrap the flag argument if it contains spaces.

   -printfn <fn_name>
      Prints the content of the generated C function named fn_name. You can repeat that many times.
      This is useful when you just want to quickly tweak the generated C code, 
      without opening the generated .c file in an text editor.

   -cg
      Enable generating more debug information in the compiled executable.
      This makes program backtraces more useful.
      Using debuggers like gdb/lldb with such executables is easier too.

   -compress
      Strip the compiled executable to compress it.

   -keepc
      Specify that you want V to not delete the intermediate generated C source code.
      Use with -cg for best debugging experience.

   -freestanding
      Build the executable without dependency on libc.
      Supported only on `linux` targets currently.

   -live
      Build the executable with live capabilities (`[live]`).

   -manual-free
      Enable manually freeing on all V code. This will cause memory leaks in vlib.
      Currently enabled until a stable auto-free system is in place.

   -os <os>, -target-os <os>
      Change the target OS that V tries to compile for.
      By default, the target OS is the host system.
      When OS is `cross`, V will attempt to output cross-platform C code.
      List of OS supported by V: `linux`, `windows`, `mac`, `freebsd`, `openbsd`, `netbsd`,
                                 `dragonfly`, `solaris`, `android` and `haiku`.

   -sanitize
      Pass flags related to sanitization to the C compiler.

   -shared
      Tell V to compile a shared object instead of an executable.
      The resulting file extension will be `.dll` on Windows and `.so` on Unix systems