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TinyCC includes an integrated linker that can directly output relocatable ELF files, executable files, and dynamic libraries without relying on an external linker. This self-contained approach makes TCC uniquely portable and fast.

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Output file generation

TCC can directly generate multiple output formats without external tools.

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ELF file generation

TCC can directly output relocatable ELF files (object files), executable ELF files, and dynamic ELF libraries without an external linker.
# Generate relocatable object file
tcc -c file.c              # Creates file.o

# Combine multiple files into one object
tcc -r -o combined.o a.c b.c

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PE-i386 file generation (Windows)

TCC for Windows supports native Win32 executable formats: 
# Console executable
tcc -o program.exe main.c

# GUI executable
tcc -Wl,-subsystem=gui -o program.exe gui_app.c

# DLL (Dynamic Link Library)
tcc -shared -o mylib.dll mylib.c
For detailed Windows usage information, see tcc-win32.txt in the TCC distribution.

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Linking behavior

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Library linking

TCC linker eliminates unreferenced object code in libraries: 
# Link with libraries
tcc -o program main.c -lm -lpthread

# Specify library search paths
tcc -o program main.c -L/opt/libs -lmylib

# Link object files and libraries
tcc -o program main.o utils.o -lm
Important limitation: The linker does a single pass on object and library lists. Order matters! Libraries should come after the object files that use them. Grouping options (--start-group and --end-group) are not supported.
# Correct order (library after objects that need it)
tcc -o program main.o utils.o -lmath

# Wrong order (may have undefined references)
tcc -o program -lmath main.o utils.o

# Multiple libraries (specify in dependency order)
tcc -o program main.o -lhighlevel -llowlevel -lc

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File types

TCC can load multiple input formats:
  • ELF object files (.o)
  • Archives (.a files) - static libraries
  • Dynamic libraries (.so files on Unix, .dll on Windows)
  • Assembly files (.s and .S)
  • C source files (.c)
# Mix different input types
tcc -o program main.c utils.o libhelper.a -ldynamic

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Output format options

TCC supports multiple output formats through linker options.

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ELF variants

tcc -Wl,--oformat=elf32-i386 -o program main.c
The binary output format is useful for embedded systems, bootloaders, and firmware where you need a raw binary image without ELF headers.

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Linker options

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Basic options

# Specify output file
tcc -o myprogram main.c

# Generate shared library
tcc -shared -o libtest.so test.c

# Generate relocatable object combining inputs
tcc -r -o combined.o file1.c file2.c

# Add library search path
tcc -L/usr/local/lib -lmylib main.c

# Link with specific library
tcc -lm -lpthread main.c

# Set TCC internal library path
tcc -B/opt/tcc/lib main.c

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Advanced linker options

These options are passed to the linker with -Wl, prefix: 
# Don't link with standard libraries
tcc -nostdlib -o bare.elf bare.c

# Don't search default library paths
tcc -Wl,-nostdlib main.c

# Static linking
tcc -static -o program main.c

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Windows-specific options

# Set Windows subsystem
tcc -Wl,-subsystem=console -o app.exe main.c
tcc -Wl,-subsystem=gui -o winapp.exe gui.c
tcc -Wl,-subsystem=wince -o ceapp.exe ce.c

# Modify executable layout
tcc -Wl,-Ttext=0x400000 -o program.exe main.c
tcc -Wl,-section-alignment=4096 -o program.exe main.c
tcc -Wl,-file-alignment=512 -o program.exe main.c
tcc -Wl,-image-base=0x10000000 -o dll.dll lib.c
tcc -Wl,-stack=0x100000 -o program.exe main.c

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GNU Linker Scripts

TCC’s linker supports a subset of GNU ld scripts. This is necessary because many Linux systems use linker scripts for dynamic libraries (like /usr/lib/libc.so).

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Supported commands

Group multiple libraries together:
/* GNU ld script example from /usr/lib/libc.so */
GROUP ( /lib/libc.so.6 /usr/lib/libc_nonshared.a )
This allows using both shared and static libraries together.
Specify individual files:
FILE ( /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 )
These commands are recognized but ignored:
OUTPUT_FORMAT(elf64-x86-64)
TARGET(elf64-x86-64)

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Position Independent Code (PIC)

Current limitation: TCC does not generate position independent code (PIC) for dynamic libraries. This means:
  • Dynamic library code generated by TCC cannot be shared among processes
  • Each process gets its own copy of the library code in memory
  • This may increase memory usage when multiple processes use the same TCC-compiled shared library
# This creates a shared library, but without PIC
tcc -shared -o libtest.so test.c

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Practical examples

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Building a complete application

# Single file
tcc -o hello hello.c

# Multiple files
tcc -o app main.c utils.c parser.c -lm

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Advanced linking scenarios

// Build main program with exported symbols
tcc -rdynamic -o app main.c -ldl

// Build plugin as shared library
tcc -shared -o plugin.so plugin.c
The -rdynamic flag exports symbols so plugins can access them via dlopen().
# Create raw binary for embedded system
tcc -nostdlib -Wl,--oformat=binary -Wl,-Ttext=0x8000 \
    -o firmware.bin startup.S main.c

# Custom linker script (partial support)
tcc -nostdlib -o firmware.elf -Wl,-T,custom.ld main.c

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Platform support

Linker capabilities by platform:
PlatformObject FilesExecutablesShared LibsNotes
Linux i386ELF32YesYesFull support
Linux x86_64ELF64YesYesFull support
Windows i386PEEXE/DLLDLLFull support
Windows x86_64PE+EXE/DLLDLLFull support
ARMELF32YesYesSupported
ARM64ELF64YesYesSupported
RISC-VELF64YesYesSupported
For best cross-platform compatibility, stick to standard library linking and avoid platform-specific linker scripts when possible.

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