# zig-cross

Guides coding agents through Zig's built-in cross-compilation for Windows, ARM, WebAssembly, and bare-metal targets without external toolchains.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 492 installs · ★ 267
- Author: mohitmishra786
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/zig/zig-cross/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-06-27
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/zig-cross

## What it does

The skill equips coding agents with patterns for Zig's native cross-compilation engine. It covers target triple selection, such as `x86_64-linux-musl` or `aarch64-linux-gnu`, along with CPU feature tuning via `-mcpu` for chips ranging from Cortex-M4 to x86-64 with AVX2.

It includes setups for using `zig cc` to compile C source files, multi-target configurations in `build.zig`, and bare-metal Cortex-M firmware with custom linker scripts and panic handlers. Compiling for macOS from Linux still requires a macOS SDK, but other platforms build without Docker or extra sysroots.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill zig-cross -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/zig-cross/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/zig-cross/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill zig-cross -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/zig-cross/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill zig-cross -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/zig-cross/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills zig-cross
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/zig-cross/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill zig-cross -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --path skills/zig/zig-cross
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/zig-cross/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill zig-cross -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/zig/zig-cross/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- cross-compile Zig applications for ARM64 or Windows
- build C projects for different targets using `zig cc`
- export binaries to WebAssembly and WASI
- configure bare-metal targets with custom linker scripts

## Example prompts
- Cross-compile `src/main.zig` for `aarch64-linux-gnu` using `-O ReleaseFast`.
- Show how to build C code statically with musl using `zig cc`.
- Configure `build.zig` to output binaries for both Linux and Windows.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 4d06d4b36241005d.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 4d06d4b36241005d
````text
---
name: zig-cross
description: Zig cross-compilation skill. Use when cross-compiling Zig programs to different targets, using Zig's built-in cross-compilation for embedded, WASM, Windows, ARM, or using zig cc to cross-compile C code without a system cross-toolchain. Activates on queries about Zig cross-compilation, zig target triples, zig cc cross-compile, Zig embedded targets, or Zig WASM.
---

# Zig Cross-Compilation

## Purpose

Guide agents through Zig's built-in cross-compilation: target triple selection, CPU feature targeting, `zig cc` for cross-compiling C projects, embedded bare-metal targets, and WASM output — all without requiring a system cross-toolchain.

## Triggers

- "How do I cross-compile a Zig program for ARM?"
- "How do I build Zig for a different OS?"
- "How do I use Zig to cross-compile C code for another platform?"
- "How do I build Zig for embedded/bare-metal?"
- "How do I target WebAssembly with Zig?"
- "What Zig target triple do I use for Raspberry Pi?"

## Workflow

### 1. Zig's native cross-compilation

Zig has cross-compilation built in — no cross-toolchain, no Docker, no sysroot needed for pure Zig code:

```bash
# List all supported targets
zig targets | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); [print(t) for t in d['libc']]"

# Build for a specific target
zig build-exe src/main.zig -target aarch64-linux-gnu -O ReleaseFast

# With build system (pass target as option)
zig build -Dtarget=aarch64-linux-gnu -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

# Cross-compile for Windows from Linux/macOS
zig build-exe src/main.zig -target x86_64-windows-gnu

# Cross-compile for macOS from Linux (requires macOS SDK)
zig build-exe src/main.zig -target aarch64-macos-none
```

### 2. Common target triples

| Target triple | Platform |
|---------------|----------|
| `x86_64-linux-gnu` | Linux x86-64 (glibc) |
| `x86_64-linux-musl` | Linux x86-64 (musl, static) |
| `aarch64-linux-gnu` | ARM64 Linux (Pi 4, AWS Graviton) |
| `aarch64-linux-musl` | ARM64 Linux static |
| `armv7-linux-gnueabihf` | ARM 32-bit Linux (Pi 2/3) |
| `x86_64-windows-gnu` | Windows x86-64 |
| `aarch64-macos-none` | macOS Apple Silicon |
| `x86_64-macos-none` | macOS Intel |
| `wasm32-freestanding` | WASM (browser, no OS) |
| `wasm32-wasi` | WASM with WASI |
| `thumbv7m-freestanding-eabi` | Cortex-M3 bare metal |
| `thumbv7em-freestanding-eabihf` | Cortex-M4/M7 with FPU |
| `riscv32-freestanding` | RISC-V 32-bit bare metal |

### 3. CPU feature targeting

```bash
# Native CPU (auto-detect, only for native builds)
zig build-exe src/main.zig -mcpu native

# Baseline for architecture (most compatible)
zig build-exe src/main.zig -target x86_64-linux-gnu -mcpu baseline

# x86-64 with AVX2
zig build-exe src/main.zig -target x86_64-linux-gnu -mcpu x86_64+avx2+bmi2

# Raspberry Pi 4 (Cortex-A72)
zig build-exe src/main.zig -target aarch64-linux-gnu -mcpu cortex_a72

# Cortex-M4 with FPU
zig build-exe src/main.zig \
    -target thumbv7em-freestanding-eabihf \
    -mcpu cortex_m4+vfp4

# List CPU features for a target
zig targets | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)
for c in d['cpus']:
    if 'cortex' in c['name']:
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 4d06d4b36241005d

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 4d06d4b36241005d tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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