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The Apache Arrow C++ library is the foundation of the Arrow project, providing high-performance data structures and algorithms for columnar data processing.

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Pre-compiled Binaries

The easiest way to install Apache Arrow C++ is to use pre-compiled binary packages.
For the most up-to-date installation instructions and packages, visit the official Apache Arrow installation page.

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System Package Managers

Install Arrow C++ using your system’s package manager: 
# Add Apache Arrow repository
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y -V ca-certificates lsb-release wget
wget https://apache.jfrog.io/artifactory/arrow/$(lsb_release --id --short | tr 'A-Z' 'a-z')/apache-arrow-apt-source-latest-$(lsb_release --codename --short).deb
sudo apt install -y -V ./apache-arrow-apt-source-latest-$(lsb_release --codename --short).deb
sudo apt update

# Install Arrow C++
sudo apt install -y -V libarrow-dev

# Optional: Install additional Arrow libraries
sudo apt install -y -V libarrow-glib-dev  # GLib bindings
sudo apt install -y -V libarrow-dataset-dev  # Dataset API
sudo apt install -y -V libarrow-flight-dev  # Arrow Flight RPC
sudo apt install -y -V libparquet-dev  # Parquet support

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Verifying Installation

After installation, verify that Arrow C++ is correctly installed:
1

Check pkg-config

Verify the Arrow package configuration:
pkg-config --modversion arrow
This should output the installed Arrow version.
2

Check header files

Ensure the Arrow headers are accessible:
ls /usr/include/arrow/ # Linux
ls /usr/local/include/arrow/ # macOS
3

Test with a simple program

Create a simple C++ program to test the installation:
test.cpp
#include <arrow/api.h>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "Arrow version: " 
              << ARROW_VERSION_STRING << std::endl;
    return 0;
}
Compile and run:
g++ test.cpp -o test $(pkg-config --cflags --libs arrow)
./test

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Building from Source

For development or custom configurations, you can build Arrow C++ from source:
As of Arrow 23.0.0, building from source requires a C++20 compatible compiler:
  • GCC 11 or later
  • Clang 12 or later
  • MSVC 2019 16.10 or later
1

Install dependencies

sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential \
    cmake \
    git \
    libssl-dev \
    libcurl4-openssl-dev
2

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/apache/arrow.git
cd arrow/cpp
3

Configure and build

mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. \
    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
    -DARROW_PARQUET=ON \
    -DARROW_DATASET=ON

make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install
Building from source can take significant time and resources. Pre-compiled binaries are recommended for most users.

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Common Features

When installing Arrow C++, you can enable additional features:
  • Parquet: Read/write Apache Parquet files
  • Dataset API: Work with multi-file datasets
  • Flight RPC: High-performance data transport
  • Compute: Expression evaluation and aggregations
  • CUDA: GPU acceleration support
  • S3: Amazon S3 filesystem support
  • GCS: Google Cloud Storage support
Refer to the C++ Development Documentation for detailed feature configuration.

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Troubleshooting

Ensure the PKG_CONFIG_PATH includes the Arrow installation directory:
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH
Make sure to include all required Arrow libraries:
g++ program.cpp -o program $(pkg-config --cflags --libs arrow arrow-dataset parquet)
Remove old Arrow installations before installing a new version:
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt remove libarrow-dev

# macOS
brew uninstall apache-arrow

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Next Steps

Now that you have Arrow C++ installed:

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