Build Options - QuickJS-ng

QuickJS-ng provides extensive build configuration options through both CMake and Meson build systems. This guide covers all available options and their usage.

Build Systems

QuickJS-ng supports two build systems:

CMake

Industry-standard build system with broad platform support

Meson

Modern, fast build system with excellent cross-compilation support

CMake Build Options

Library Options

BUILD_SHARED_LIBS

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build QuickJS as a shared library instead of static library.

cmake -B build -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON

QJS_BUILD_LIBC

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build standard library modules as part of the library. When enabled, quickjs-libc.c is compiled into the main library.

cmake -B build -DQJS_BUILD_LIBC=ON

CLI Options

QJS_BUILD_CLI_STATIC

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build a static qjs executable with all dependencies linked statically.

cmake -B build -DQJS_BUILD_CLI_STATIC=ON

QJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_MIMALLOC

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build the qjs executable with mimalloc allocator (dynamically linked).

cmake -B build -DQJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_MIMALLOC=ON

QJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_STATIC_MIMALLOC

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build the qjs executable with mimalloc allocator (statically linked).

cmake -B build -DQJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_STATIC_MIMALLOC=ON

Feature Options

QJS_DISABLE_PARSER

boolean

default:"OFF"

Disable JavaScript source code parser. Useful for environments that only execute bytecode.

cmake -B build -DQJS_DISABLE_PARSER=ON

When QJS_DISABLE_PARSER is enabled, you can only execute pre-compiled bytecode. The qjsc compiler and qjs REPL will not be built.

Examples and Tests

QJS_BUILD_EXAMPLES

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build example programs including:

hello - Simple hello world
hello_module - Module example
test_fib - Fibonacci test
fib.so / point.so - Native module examples

cmake -B build -DQJS_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON

Compiler Options

QJS_BUILD_WERROR

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build with -Werror flag, treating all warnings as errors.

cmake -B build -DQJS_BUILD_WERROR=ON

Sanitizer Options

QuickJS-ng supports multiple sanitizers for development and debugging:

QJS_ENABLE_ASAN

boolean

default:"OFF"

Enable AddressSanitizer (ASan) for detecting memory errors.

cmake -B build -DQJS_ENABLE_ASAN=ON

QJS_ENABLE_MSAN

boolean

default:"OFF"

Enable MemorySanitizer (MSan) for detecting uninitialized memory reads.

cmake -B build -DQJS_ENABLE_MSAN=ON

MSan only works with Clang at the time of writing.

QJS_ENABLE_TSAN

boolean

default:"OFF"

Enable ThreadSanitizer (TSan) for detecting data races.

cmake -B build -DQJS_ENABLE_TSAN=ON

TSan is currently incompatible with other sanitizers.

QJS_ENABLE_UBSAN

boolean

default:"OFF"

Enable UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer (UBSan) for detecting undefined behavior.

cmake -B build -DQJS_ENABLE_UBSAN=ON

WASI Options

QJS_WASI_REACTOR

boolean

default:"OFF"

Build WASI reactor module that exports library functions without _start entry point.

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=WASI -DQJS_WASI_REACTOR=ON

Only available when CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME is set to WASI.

Meson Build Options

Core Options

libc

boolean

default:"false"

Build qjs standard library modules as part of the library.

meson setup build -Dlibc=true

parser

boolean

default:"true"

Enable JavaScript source code parser.

meson setup build -Dparser=false

CLI Options

cli_mimalloc

feature

default:"disabled"

Build qjs CLI with mimalloc allocator.Options: enabled, disabled, auto

meson setup build -Dcli_mimalloc=enabled

Development Options

tests

feature

default:"auto"

Build tests including Test262 runner and benchmarks.

meson setup build -Dtests=enabled

examples

feature

default:"auto"

Build example programs.

meson setup build -Dexamples=enabled

docdir

string

default:""

Documentation installation directory.

meson setup build -Ddocdir=/usr/share/doc/quickjs-ng

Common Build Configurations

Development Build

CMake
Meson

cmake -B build \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
  -DQJS_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON \
  -DQJS_ENABLE_ASAN=ON
cmake --build build

meson setup build \
  --buildtype=debug \
  -Dexamples=enabled \
  -Dtests=enabled
meson compile -C build

Production Build

CMake
Meson

cmake -B build \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local
cmake --build build
cmake --install build

meson setup build \
  --buildtype=release \
  --prefix=/usr/local \
  --default-library=shared
meson compile -C build
meson install -C build

Static Library Build

CMake
Meson

cmake -B build \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
  -DQJS_BUILD_CLI_STATIC=ON
cmake --build build

meson setup build \
  --buildtype=release \
  --default-library=static
meson compile -C build

Bytecode-Only Build

CMake
Meson

cmake -B build \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DQJS_DISABLE_PARSER=ON
cmake --build build

meson setup build \
  --buildtype=release \
  -Dparser=false
meson compile -C build

Environment Variables

All CMake options can also be set via environment variables:

export BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON
export QJS_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON
cmake -B build

Build Type Options

CMake Build Types

Debug - No optimization, full debug symbols
Release - Full optimization, no debug symbols
RelWithDebInfo - Optimization with debug symbols
MinSizeRel - Optimize for size

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

Meson Build Types

debug - No optimization, full debug info
release - Full optimization
debugoptimized - Optimization with debug info
minsize - Optimize for size

meson setup build --buildtype=release

Installation Prefix

CMake
Meson

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local
cmake --install build

meson setup build --prefix=/usr/local
meson install -C build

Using Makefile Wrapper

The included Makefile provides convenient shortcuts for common operations:

# Build with default settings (Release)
make

# Debug build
make debug

# Install to /usr/local (or INSTALL_PREFIX)
make install

# Clean build directory
make clean

# Remove build directory completely
make distclean

# Build with custom settings
make BUILD_TYPE=Debug INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/quickjs

Parallel Builds

Both build systems support parallel builds:

CMake
Meson
Makefile

cmake --build build -j $(nproc)

meson compile -C build -j $(nproc)

make JOBS=$(nproc)

Overview

Core Concepts

CLI Tools

Standard Library

Advanced Topics

Platform Support

​Build Systems

CMake

Meson

​CMake Build Options

​Library Options

​BUILD_SHARED_LIBS

​QJS_BUILD_LIBC

​CLI Options

​QJS_BUILD_CLI_STATIC

​QJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_MIMALLOC

​QJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_STATIC_MIMALLOC

​Feature Options

​QJS_DISABLE_PARSER

​Examples and Tests

​QJS_BUILD_EXAMPLES

​Compiler Options

​QJS_BUILD_WERROR

​Sanitizer Options

​QJS_ENABLE_ASAN

​QJS_ENABLE_MSAN

​QJS_ENABLE_TSAN

​QJS_ENABLE_UBSAN

​WASI Options

​QJS_WASI_REACTOR

​Meson Build Options

​Core Options

​libc

​parser

​CLI Options

​cli_mimalloc

​Development Options

​tests

​examples

​docdir

​Common Build Configurations

​Development Build

​Production Build

​Static Library Build

​Bytecode-Only Build

​Environment Variables

​Build Type Options

​CMake Build Types

​Meson Build Types

​Installation Prefix

​Using Makefile Wrapper

​Parallel Builds

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Build Systems

CMake Build Options

Library Options

BUILD_SHARED_LIBS

QJS_BUILD_LIBC

CLI Options

QJS_BUILD_CLI_STATIC

QJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_MIMALLOC

QJS_BUILD_CLI_WITH_STATIC_MIMALLOC

Feature Options

QJS_DISABLE_PARSER

Examples and Tests

QJS_BUILD_EXAMPLES

Compiler Options

QJS_BUILD_WERROR

Sanitizer Options

QJS_ENABLE_ASAN

QJS_ENABLE_MSAN

QJS_ENABLE_TSAN

QJS_ENABLE_UBSAN

WASI Options

QJS_WASI_REACTOR

Meson Build Options

Core Options

libc

parser

CLI Options

cli_mimalloc

Development Options

tests

examples

docdir

Common Build Configurations

Development Build

Production Build

Static Library Build

Bytecode-Only Build

Environment Variables

Build Type Options

CMake Build Types

Meson Build Types

Installation Prefix

Using Makefile Wrapper

Parallel Builds