Product Information
What is Msys2?
MSYS2 is an independent rewrite of MSYS, based on modern Cygwin (a POSIX compatibility layer) and MinGW-w64, designed for better interoperability with native Windows software.
The name stands for Minimal SYStem 2, and it aims to provide support for using the MinGW-w64 toolchain to build native Windows applications with ease, leveraging tools like the bash shell, Autotools, and version control systems.
We wanted a package management system to simplify package installation, so we adapted Arch Linux's Pacman. This brings powerful features such as dependency resolution, straightforward full-system upgrades, and a build system—makepkg{,-mingw}—for creating these packages. The build recipes (PKGBUILDs and patches) for MSYS2 itself are hosted at:
https://github.com/Alexpux/MSYS2-packages
Those for MinGW-w64 (native Windows software) can be found at:
https://github.com/Alexpux/MINGW-packages
Both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures are supported.
How to use Msys2?
MSYS2 is a software distribution and building platform based on modern Cygwin and MinGW-w64, designed to provide a POSIX-compatible layer for Windows and support the creation of native Windows applications using tools like bash shell and Autotools. It integrates Arch Linux's Pacman package manager for easy software installation and management.
Core Functions of Msys2
Command line/bash
Linux on Windows
Package manager
Command Line Interface
Supports script writing
POSIX-compatible
Usage Scenarios of Msys2
- Build native Windows applications.
- Use bash shell, Autotools, and version control systems on Windows.
- Install and manage software packages via the Pacman package manager.
- Obtain various libraries needed for compilers.
- Provide environments for both command-line and GUI utilities.
Common Questions about Msys2
What does MSYS2 do?
How do I use MSYS2?
What are the core features of MSYS2?
What are the use cases for MSYS2?
