error: linker `cc` not found — how to fix

error: linker `cc` not found
  |
  = note: No such file or directory (os error 2)

error: could not compile `hello` (bin "hello") due to 1 previous error

Quick fix: Debian/Ubuntu/WSL: sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential. Fedora: sudo dnf install gcc. Arch: sudo pacman -S base-devel. Alpine: apk add build-base. macOS: xcode-select --install. Then run cargo build again. On Windows link.exe not found needs the Visual Studio C++ Build Tools.

What it means

rustup installs the Rust compiler and standard library, but not a linker. On Linux and macOS, rustc invokes cc (the system C compiler driver) to link object files into an executable. If cc isn't on your PATH, you get this error at the end of cargo build — your code compiled fine.

Check:

which cc gcc clang

Fix 1: Debian, Ubuntu, WSL

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential

build-essential provides gcc, make, libc headers and the cc symlink. Fresh WSL distributions and minimal cloud images don't include it.

Fix 2: other Linux distributions

sudo dnf install gcc            # Fedora, RHEL, Rocky, Alma
sudo pacman -S base-devel       # Arch, Manjaro
sudo zypper install gcc         # openSUSE
apk add build-base              # Alpine

Fix 3: macOS

xcode-select --install

This installs the Command Line Tools (clang, ld, and the cc shim). After a macOS upgrade the tools sometimes break; reinstall with the same command, or reset with sudo xcode-select --reset.

Fix 4: Docker images

Use the official image, which already includes gcc:

FROM rust:1 AS build
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN cargo build --release

On a slim or custom base, install the toolchain in the build stage:

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends build-essential \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

For rust:alpine, add RUN apk add --no-cache musl-dev (or build-base), otherwise you'll see linker or missing crt1.o errors.

Fix 5: Windows (link.exe not found)

The MSVC target (x86_64-pc-windows-msvc, the default) needs Microsoft's linker. Install Visual Studio Build Tools with the Desktop development with C++ workload (it includes MSVC and the Windows SDK), then open a new terminal. The alternative is the GNU target:

rustup toolchain install stable-x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

which also needs a MinGW-w64 toolchain.

Fix 6: cross-compiling

When building for another target (e.g. aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu), the host cc can't link for that architecture. Install a cross linker and tell Cargo to use it in .cargo/config.toml:

[target.aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu]
linker = "aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc"

sudo apt install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu
rustup target add aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
cargo build --target aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu

Tools like cross (Docker-based) or cargo zigbuild avoid installing per-target toolchains.

If gcc is installed but cc isn't

Some setups have gcc or clang but no cc symlink. Point Cargo at the one you have, either per target in .cargo/config.toml (linker = "gcc") or for one build:

RUSTFLAGS="-C linker=clang" cargo build

Last updated 2026-10-30.