Cross-Compile for Multiple OS/Arch Targets

Intermediate10 min

Build Go binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows across amd64 and arm64 architectures from a single machine.

Prerequisites

-Go 1.21+ installed

Steps

Build for a specific target

Set GOOS and GOARCH environment variables to cross-compile for a different platform.

$ GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o bin/myapp-linux-amd64 ./cmd/myapp

Run 'go tool dist list' to see all supported OS/arch combinations.

Build for macOS ARM (Apple Silicon)

Compile a binary targeting macOS on Apple Silicon processors.

$ GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 go build -o bin/myapp-darwin-arm64 ./cmd/myapp

Build for Windows

Produce a Windows executable with the .exe extension.

$ GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -o bin/myapp-windows-amd64.exe ./cmd/myapp

Build all targets with a script

Automate multi-platform builds by looping over target combinations.

$ for pair in linux/amd64 linux/arm64 darwin/amd64 darwin/arm64 windows/amd64; do GOOS=${pair%/*} GOARCH=${pair#*/} go build -o bin/myapp-${pair%/*}-${pair#*/} ./cmd/myapp; done

Verify binary targets with file command

Confirm that each binary was compiled for the correct platform.

$ file bin/myapp-*

Full Script

full-script.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Go Cross-Compile for Multiple Targets
set -euo pipefail

APP=${1:?"Usage: $0 <app-name>"}
CMD_PATH=${2:-"./cmd/$APP"}
OUTPUT_DIR="bin"

TARGETS=(
  "linux/amd64"
  "linux/arm64"
  "darwin/amd64"
  "darwin/arm64"
  "windows/amd64"
)

mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"

echo "=== Cross-Compiling $APP ==="
for target in "${TARGETS[@]}"; do
  GOOS=${target%/*}
  GOARCH=${target#*/}
  OUTPUT="$OUTPUT_DIR/$APP-$GOOS-$GOARCH"
  [ "$GOOS" = "windows" ] && OUTPUT="$OUTPUT.exe"

  echo "Building $GOOS/$GOARCH -> $OUTPUT"
  GOOS=$GOOS GOARCH=$GOARCH go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o "$OUTPUT" "$CMD_PATH"
done

echo ""
echo "=== Build Artifacts ==="
ls -lh "$OUTPUT_DIR"/
file "$OUTPUT_DIR"/*

FAQ

Discussion

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#!/bin/bash # Go Cross-Compile for Multiple Targets set -euo pipefail APP=${1:?"Usage: $0 <app-name>"} CMD_PATH=${2:-"./cmd/$APP"} OUTPUT_DIR="bin" TARGETS=( "linux/amd64" "linux/arm64" "darwin/amd64" "darwin/arm64" "windows/amd64" ) mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR" echo "=== Cross-Compiling $APP ===" for target in "${TARGETS[@]}"; do GOOS=${target%/*} GOARCH=${target#*/} OUTPUT="$OUTPUT_DIR/$APP-$GOOS-$GOARCH" [ "$GOOS" = "windows" ] && OUTPUT="$OUTPUT.exe" echo "Building $GOOS/$GOARCH -> $OUTPUT" GOOS=$GOOS GOARCH=$GOARCH go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o "$OUTPUT" "$CMD_PATH" done echo "" echo "=== Build Artifacts ===" ls -lh "$OUTPUT_DIR"/ file "$OUTPUT_DIR"/*