rippled/docs/build/environment.md

Our build instructions assume you have a C++ development environment complete with Git, Python, Conan, CMake, and a C++ compiler. This document explains how to set one up.

Tested compiler versions

xrpld is built in the C++23 dialect by default, so your toolchain has to support it — see compiler support for C++23. The versions currently tested in CI are:

Compiler	Version
GCC	15.2
Clang	22
Apple Clang	21
MSVC	Visual Studio 2026

LLVM tools (clang-tidy and clang-format) are also pinned to version 22.

Older compilers

Older compilers may fail to build the latest develop code: the codebase now relies on C++23 features and has been adjusted for clang-tidy. If the latest code doesn't build for you, update your build toolchain first.

If updating isn't an option for you, we do accept pull requests that fix builds on older compilers, as long as the change is small and doesn't make the code harder to read. What we can't promise is that older compilers will keep working: only the versions in the table above are tested in CI, and we won't hold back the use of C++23 features or add invasive workarounds to keep an untested compiler building. Treat support for anything outside the table as best-effort.

Required tools

Besides a compiler, building xrpld requires:

Tool	Minimum version
Git	any recent
Python	3.11
Conan	2.17
CMake	3.16

On Linux and macOS, the Nix development shell provides all of them (see below). On Windows they have to be installed manually.

Once they are in place, verify that everything is installed and runnable with:

./bin/check-tools.sh

Linux and macOS

The recommended way to get a development environment on Linux and macOS is the Nix development shell. It provides the exact tooling used in CI — git, python, conan, cmake, clang-tidy, clang-format, and everything else — with a single command and without installing anything system-wide:

nix --experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' develop

On Linux, Nix also provides the compiler (GCC); on macOS, it provides Clang. If you instead opt to use your system-wide Apple Clang (via nix develop .#apple-clang), you need to manage its version yourself (see below).

See Using the Nix development shell for installation and usage details, including how to select a different compiler and why we recommend Nix over a hand-maintained environment.

macOS: managing the Apple Clang version

If you use your system-wide Apple Clang on macOS (via nix develop .#apple-clang), the compiler version is whatever your installed Xcode (or Command Line Tools) provides. The following command should return a version greater than or equal to the tested one:

clang --version

If you develop other applications using Xcode, you might be consistently updating to the newest version of Apple Clang, which will likely cause issues building xrpld. You may want to install and pin a specific version of Xcode:

1. Download Xcode

   • Visit Apple Developer Downloads
   • Sign in with your Apple Developer account
   • Search for an Xcode version that includes the expected Apple Clang version
   • Download the .xip file

2. Install and configure Xcode

   # Extract the .xip file and rename for version management
   # Example: Xcode_16.2.app
   
   # Move to Applications directory
   sudo mv Xcode_16.2.app /Applications/
   
   # Set as default toolchain (persistent)
   sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode_16.2.app/Contents/Developer
   
   # Set as environment variable (temporary)
   export DEVELOPER_DIR=/Applications/Xcode_16.2.app/Contents/Developer
   

Windows

Nix is not available on Windows, so the required tools have to be installed manually:

• Visual Studio 2026 with the "Desktop development with C++" workload — this provides MSVC and the "x64 Native Tools Command Prompt". CI configures CMake with the Visual Studio 18 2026 generator.
• Git for Windows
• Python, Conan, and CMake, at the versions listed in Required tools.

Clang-tidy

clang-tidy is required to run static analysis checks locally (see CONTRIBUTING.md). It is not required to build the project. The version this project uses is listed in Tested compiler versions.

On Linux and macOS, the Nix development shell provides that exact version out of the box — run it via run-clang-tidy. No separate installation is needed.