Building from source

Overview of the FreeRDP CMake-based build system, key flags, dependencies, and build types.

FreeRDP uses CMake as its build system and supports Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS. This page covers the build system fundamentals. For platform-specific instructions follow the links at the bottom of this page.

Requirements

• CMake >= 3.13
• A C compiler (GCC, Clang, or MSVC)
• Ninja (recommended) or another CMake-supported generator

Build types

Pass -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=<type> to CMake to select a build type.

Type	Description
Release	Fully optimised, no debug symbols. Recommended for production.
RelWithDebInfo	Optimised with debug symbols included.
Debug	No optimisations, full debug symbols.

General build example

Assume source is at /tmp/freerdp/src and you want to install to /tmp/freerdp/install:

cmake -GNinja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DWITH_VERBOSE_WINPR_ASSERT=OFF \
  -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/tmp/freerdp/install \
  -B /tmp/freerdp/build \
  -S /tmp/freerdp/src

cmake --build /tmp/freerdp/build --target install

On Windows this command must be run from a Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt or a cmd session that has already executed vcvarsall.bat. Paths must be adjusted for Windows conventions.

Key CMake flags

Build verbosity and assertions

Flag	Default	Description
CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE	—	Build type: Debug, Release, RelWithDebInfo
WITH_VERBOSE_WINPR_ASSERT	ON	Enables runtime sanity checks. Set to OFF for stable/release builds to reduce binary size.
CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE	OFF	Print each compiler command during the build.

SSL

Flag	Description
-DWITH_OPENSSL=ON	Use OpenSSL (default). Also selects LibreSSL as a drop-in replacement.
-DWITH_MBEDTLS=ON	Use MBedTLS (set -DWITH_OPENSSL=OFF first).
-DWITH_INTERNAL_MD4=ON	Ship internal MD4 when the SSL library has deprecated it.
-DWITH_INTERNAL_MD5=ON	Ship internal MD5 when the SSL library has deprecated it.
-DWITH_INTERNAL_RC4=ON	Ship internal RC4 when the SSL library has deprecated it.

Authentication

Flag	Description
-DWITH_KRB5=OFF	Disable Kerberos (MIT or Heimdal). Enabled by default when found.
-DWITH_PCSC=OFF	Disable PC/SC smartcard redirection.
-DWITH_PKCS11=OFF	Disable PKCS#11 NLA smartcard logon.

JSON

Flag	Description
-DWITH_JSON_DISABLED=ON	Disable JSON support (cJSON or json-c). Required for Azure logon.

H.264 / graphics

Flag	Description
-DWITH_OPENH264=ON	Enable OpenH264 codec.
-DWITH_FFMPEG=ON	Enable FFmpeg (x264 or OpenH264).
-DWITH_SWSCALE=ON	Enable Swscale for high-DPI / smart-sizing.
-DWITH_CAIRO=ON	Enable Cairo for high-DPI / smart-sizing.

Audio

Flag	Description
-DWITH_GSM=ON	Enable GSM codec.
-DWITH_DSP_FFMPEG=ON	Use FFmpeg for audio DSP.
-DWITH_DSP_EXPERIMENTAL=ON	Enable experimental codecs (e.g. AAC encoding).

Platform support (Linux)

Flag	Description
-DWITH_X11=OFF	Disable X11 client/server.
-DWITH_WAYLAND=OFF	Disable Wayland client (wlfreerdp).
-DWITH_PULSE=OFF	Disable PulseAudio.
-DWITH_ALSA=OFF	Disable ALSA audio.
-DWITH_CUPS=OFF	Disable CUPS printing.
-DWITH_FUSE=OFF	Disable FUSE-based clipboard file transfer.
-DWITH_LIBSYSTEMD=OFF	Disable journald logging.
-DCHANNEL_URBDRC=OFF	Disable USB redirection channel.

Client and server

Flag	Description
-DWITH_CLIENT_SDL=OFF	Disable the SDL2 client.
-DWITH_SERVER=OFF	Disable server-side builds.
-DWITH_PROXY=OFF	Disable the RDP proxy.
-DWITH_SHADOW=OFF	Disable the shadow server.
-DWITH_SAMPLE=OFF	Disable client/server samples.
-DWITH_WINPR_TOOLS=OFF	Disable helper utilities (certificate/NTLM tools).

CMake preload files

The repository ships preload files under ci/cmake-preloads/ that capture recommended configurations for each platform. Apply one with:

cmake -C ci/cmake-preloads/config-linux-all.txt -GNinja -B build -S .

You can also use ccmake (Linux/macOS) for an interactive curses UI to inspect and change the current CMakeCache.txt.

Dependencies summary

Dependency	Requirement	Notes
SSL library	Required	OpenSSL (default), LibreSSL, or MBedTLS
Kerberos	Optional	MIT or Heimdal; disable with -DWITH_KRB5=OFF
cJSON / json-c	Optional	Azure logon; disable with -DWITH_JSON_DISABLED=ON
OpenH264 / FFmpeg	Optional	H.264 graphics (GFX); required for Windows 8.1+ servers
Swscale / Cairo	Optional	High-DPI and smart-sizing
FAAC / FAAD2 / soxr	Optional	AAC audio encode/decode/resample
libusb 1	Optional	USB redirection channel
ICU	Required (Linux/Android)	UTF-16 ↔ UTF-8 conversion
SDL2	Optional	SDL client

Platform-specific guides

Linux

Ubuntu/Debian and Fedora build instructions.

macOS

Homebrew-based build with OpenSSL setup.

Windows

MSVC and MinGW cross-compilation.

Android

NDK and Android Studio build.

iOS

Xcode and iOS simulator build.