Clang on Windows is a mature, high-performance, and highly compliant C++ compiler. It excels in cross-platform development and CI environments. For new cross-platform projects or teams seeking faster compiles and clearer errors, Clang is strongly recommended. However, for deep Windows platform integration or legacy MSVC-dependent codebases, the native MSVC compiler remains a safer choice.
Check the box for (and optionally C++ Clang tools for Windows component ). Click Modify to download and install. Method 2: Installing the Official LLVM Binary (Standalone)
clang -O2 -fuse-ld=lld hello.cpp -o hello.exe
Google's Chromium project compiles for Windows using Clang exclusively. The browser codebase (tens of millions of lines of C++) benefits from Clang's: clang compiler windows
clang++ -O2 -std=c++20 -Wall main.cpp -o main.exe
Configuring to target ARM64 devices from your PC
| Build System | Support Level | | :--- | :--- | | | Excellent: -T ClangCL for Visual Studio generators; -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang for direct. | | MSBuild | Via ClangCl toolset in Visual Studio. | | Ninja | Full support. | | Make (MinGW) | Works with CC=clang . | Clang on Windows is a mature, high-performance, and
You should see output displaying the installed version of Clang and the target architecture (e.g., x86_64-pc-windows-msvc ). Compiling Your First Program with Clang
Use clang-cl if you rely on Windows SDK headers and the MSVC runtime. Use standard clang++ via MinGW if you are building open-source software originally designed for Unix environments.
There are three primary ways to get Clang running on Windows. Choose the method that best fits your existing development environment. 1. Via the Official LLVM Installer (Standalone) However, for deep Windows platform integration or legacy
This installs the standard distribution to C:\Program Files\LLVM .
Under the tab, check Desktop development with C++ .