Building from source

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.

Getting Started