Windows - Clang

mkdir build && cd build cmake .. -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang-cl cmake --build . Note: clang-cl is a drop-in driver that accepts most MSVC cl.exe flags. This makes porting existing build scripts trivial. The single best reason to use Clang on Windows is LLD .

# In a VS Developer Command Prompt clang-cl --version # Output: clang version 17.0.3 Target: x86_64-pc-windows-msvc echo int main() {} > test.cpp clang-cl /EHsc test.cpp /Fe:test.exe test.exe windows clang

Traditional MSVC linking of a large C++ project (say, Chrome or Unreal Engine) can take minutes. LLD reduces that to seconds. mkdir build && cd build cmake

The days of treating Clang as a "Unix compiler" are over. On Windows, Clang is a professional, performant, first-class citizen. Give it a week in your CI pipeline—you won't go back. Have you migrated a large Windows codebase to Clang? Share your build time improvements and horror stories in the comments below. This makes porting existing build scripts trivial

It works. No hacks. No cygwin. No WSL.

But over the last five years, a quiet revolution has taken place. is no longer a "Linux cross-compiler" for Windows; it is a fully supported, production-ready, native toolchain.