CODEWITHSUNDEEP
cwindowsgccpathmingw
Lundin
Lundin

Reputation: 213810

'gcc' is not recognized - How to make gcc/mingw work in Windows?

The Mingw binary installation instructions (such as these) tells me to change the PATH environment variable in Windows, in order to use the gcc/g++ etc commands anywhere. This might also be necessary for some programming IDE to find the compiler. Failing to do so yields errors such as this:

'gcc' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

How do I do this specifically in newer versions of Windows (10/11) and which path should I use?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 12664

Answers (2)

Madagascar
Madagascar

Reputation: 7345

Alternatively, for CLI users:

  1. Open cmd.
  2. Type PATH.
  3. Add the absolute path to the bin folder to it.
  4. Place a semi-colon at the end.
  5. Press enter.
  6. Reboot.

And you're done.

Edit: For the full path to the bin folder:

  • cd your way to Mingw installation's bin folder, or alternatively, press windows key + e.
  • Open mingw -> bin.
  • Copy the full path present in the search bar.

As @Lundin said, you should first make a copy of the original PATH and save it, just in case something goes wrong.

Upvotes: 0

Lundin
Lundin

Reputation: 213810

  • Right-click "My Computer"/"This PC" from Windows explorer and pick properties. Alternatively Windows key + X and click "System". An "About" window appears.
  • Scroll down to "Advanced system settings" and click on it.
  • Click on the "Environment Variables" button.
  • Select "Path" in the window that appears and click the edit button.
  • Click on "Edit text" (not on "Edit"!).
  • Before modifying anything, I strongly recommend to copy the text there and save it in a text file for backup, so that you can restore the PATH in case of mistakes.
  • Write a semicolon ; at the end of the text there unless already present. Then after the semicolon add the full path to your Mingw installation's bin folder. For example ;c:\mingw_w64\bin.
  • Important: if you installed Mingw under for example C:\program files\mingw_w64, then the path must be ;C:\Program Files\mingw-w64\bin; without any surrounding " ... ". If using the "Edit" command available in this window, then the " ... " will get added and this may break the gcc path from working. (It just happened to me and that's the reason why I decided to write this Q&A.)
  • Click OK for each open window.
  • Reboot Windows.

Now you should be able to type gcc from the command line or use it from your programming IDE.

Upvotes: 4

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