5 This file describes how to compile and install Freeciv. Last time we
6 made sure this file is up to date was 16-Jul-06.
7 Last minor update was 21-Apr-15.
9 There may be a localized version of this file in the ./doc directory,
10 named INSTALL.<locale> (e.g., INSTALL.de).
12 This document contains sections and subsections as follows:
14 1. Prerequisites for the clients:
15 1a. Prerequisites for the Gtk2 client:
16 1b. Prerequisites for the Gtk3 client:
17 1c. Prerequisites for the SDL client:
18 1d. Prerequisites for the SDL2 client:
19 1e. Prerequisites for the Xaw client:
20 1f. Prerequisites for the Qt client:
21 2. Generating Makefiles
22 2a. Generating the Makefile for svn versions:
23 2b. Generating the Makefile for release versions:
26 5. Native Language Support:
28 7. Reinier's Solaris Installation Notes:
29 8. Reinier's libXpm Solaris Installation Notes:
30 9. Mac OS X and Darwin notes:
31 10. Debian GNU/Linux notes:
38 Freeciv has a number of prerequisites. Note, that apart from the first
39 prerequisite, the Freeciv configuration process is smart enough to work
40 out whether your system is suitable. If in doubt, just try it.
44 The Unix operating system, a work-alike such as Linux or FreeBSD,
45 or some OS that provides a very Unix-like personality or mode, like
46 EMX under OS/2 or the Cygnus Cygwin toolkit under Windows.
47 (See http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/). Support for
48 BSD-style TCP/IP sockets is essential, as is a Bourne-shell
49 compatible shell, such as GNU "bash". (Most Unixes fit the bill...)
53 Freeciv is written in very portable (almost) ANSI C. Both 32- and 64-
54 bit machines are supported. You cannot use a "K&R C" compiler, or
57 Development of Freeciv is primarily done with "gcc", the GNU
58 project's excellent C compiler. Releases can be compiled with gcc
59 or most other compilers (such as the unbundled Solaris C compiler).
60 Note that there have been reports that gcc with -O3 miscompiled
65 Freeciv developers generally use "gmake", the GNU make program.
67 Officially released versions of Freeciv are designed to have
68 makefiles which work with most make programs.
70 You can check if you have GNU make installed on your system by
73 % make -v [and if this doesn't work, try "gmake -v"]
75 The output should include "GNU Make" somewhere.
77 - libcurl version 7.12.1 or better
79 Libcurl takes care of http communication with the metaserver, and
80 file transfers of modpack installers
84 The svn version has additional requirements. A release version
85 contains the generated files.
87 - The programs from GNU gettext version 0.14 or better
89 Especial the xgettext program is required to create the *.gmo
90 files which aren't included in the svn tree.
92 - GNU autoconf version 2.61 or better
94 Autoconf is required to create configure from configure.ac.
96 - GNU automake version 1.10 or better
98 Automake is required to create the various Makefile.in from
101 1. Prerequisites for the clients:
102 =================================
104 The Freeciv client comes in the following forms:
105 * Gtk+ 2.0 widget library ("Gtk+ 2.0").
106 * Gtk+ 3.0 widget library ("Gtk+ 3.0").
107 * X Athena Widgets library ("Xaw").
111 These forms have different prerequisites, explained separately below.
113 Your system will need to satisfy at least one of these sets of prerequisites.
115 Note that most Linux systems have separate library packages for "runtime"
116 library support and for development support (for compiling programs
117 which use those libraries). To compile Freeciv on such systems you
118 will need to have the appropriate "development" packages installed.
121 1a. Prerequisites for the Gtk+ 2.0 client:
122 ==========================================
126 "pkg-config" is a system for managing library compile/link flags that
127 works with automake and autoconf. You may obtain it at:
129 http://pkgconfig.freedesktop.org/releases/pkg-config-0.26.tar.gz
131 - The "Glib" utility library.
133 The "Glib" utility library provides non-graphical functions used by the
134 "Gdk" and "Gtk+" libraries, like hash tables, single linked lists, etc.
136 Freeciv requires a version of "Glib" greater or equal to 2.6.0.
138 If the Freeciv configure process tells you that you don't have the
139 Glib library installed, then it may be obtained from here:
141 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/glib/2.30/glib-2.30.2.tar.xz
143 - The "Atk" accessibility library.
145 The "Atk" library provides a set of interfaces for accessibility.
146 It allows people with disabilities to utilize all the functionality
147 provided by Gtk+ apps. You may obtain it at:
149 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/atk/2.2/atk-2.2.0.tar.xz
151 - The "Pango" text layout and rendering library.
153 "Pango" is library for layout and rendering of text, with an emphasis
154 on internationalization. You may obtain it at:
156 http://ftp.acc.umu.se/pub/gnome/sources/pango/1.28/pango-1.28.4.tar.bz2
158 - The "Gtk+" widget library.
160 The "Gtk+" widget library was designed for the GIMP graphics program.
161 Since then it has gained popularity as an easy to program, free toolkit.
163 The "Gtk+" library comes with two companion libraries:
166 Provides an abstraction layer over X-Windows/LinuxFB/Win32 to implement
167 basic drawing functions, windows, clipping, etc.
170 Provides image loading/saving facilities.
172 Freeciv requires a version of "Gtk+" greater or equal to 2.12.0.
173 At least 2.16.0 is recommended; some minor UI features will be
174 missing with earlier versions.
176 If the Freeciv configure process tells you that you don't have the
177 Gtk+ library installed, then it may be obtained from here:
179 http://ftp.acc.umu.se/pub/gnome/sources/gtk+/2.24/gtk+-2.24.9.tar.xz
181 "Gtk+" depends on the "Glib", "Atk" and "Pango" libraries.
183 If you are going to make these yourself, build and install them in the
184 following order: pkg-config, Glib, Atk, Pango, Gtk+.
186 1b. Prerequisites for the Gtk+ 3.0 client:
187 ==========================================
191 "pkg-config" is a system for managing library compile/link flags that
192 works with automake and autoconf. You may obtain it at:
194 http://pkgconfig.freedesktop.org/releases/pkg-config-0.28.tar.gz
196 - The "Glib" utility library.
198 The "Glib" utility library provides non-graphical functions used by the
199 "Gdk" and "Gtk+" libraries, like hash tables, single linked lists, etc.
201 Freeciv requires a version of "Glib" greater or equal to 2.36
203 If the Freeciv configure process tells you that you don't have the
204 Glib library installed, then it may be obtained from here:
206 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/glib/2.36/glib-2.36.1.tar.xz
208 - The "Atk" accessibility library.
210 The "Atk" library provides a set of interfaces for accessibility.
211 It allows people with disabilities to utilize all the functionality
212 provided by Gtk+ apps. You may obtain it at:
214 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/atk/2.8/atk-2.8.0.tar.xz
216 - The "Pango" text layout and rendering library.
218 "Pango" is library for layout and rendering of text, with an emphasis
219 on internationalization. You may obtain it at:
221 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/pango/1.34/pango-1.34.0.tar.xz
223 - The "Gdk-Pixbuf" image loading/saving library
225 "Gdk-Pixbuf" used to be part of "Gtk+" itself, but is now separate
226 project. It may be obtained from:
228 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/gdk-pixbuf/2.28/gdk-pixbuf-2.28.1.tar.xz
230 - The "Gtk+" widget library.
232 The "Gtk+" widget library was designed for the GIMP graphics program.
233 Since then it has gained popularity as an easy to program, free toolkit.
235 "Gtk+ 3" is the default client. If you don't specify any client with
236 "--enable-client" to configure, you will get "Gtk+ 3" client.
238 The "Gtk+" library comes with one companion libraries:
241 Provides an abstraction layer over X-Windows/LinuxFB/Win32 to implement
242 basic drawing functions, windows, clipping, etc.
244 Freeciv requires a version of "Gtk+" greater or equal to 3.8.0.
246 If the Freeciv configure process tells you that you don't have the
247 Gtk+ library installed, then it may be obtained from here:
249 http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/gtk+/3.12/gtk+-3.12.2.tar.xz
251 "Gtk+" depends on the "Glib", "Atk", "Gdk-Pixbuf", and "Pango" libraries.
253 If you are going to make these yourself, build and install them in the
254 following order: pkg-config, Glib, Atk, Pango, Gdk-Pixbuf, Gtk+.
256 1c. Prerequisites for the SDL client:
257 =====================================
261 "Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform multimedia library designed
262 to provide low level access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, 3D hardware
263 via OpenGL, and 2D video framebuffer." (http://www.libsdl.org)
265 These features make it a good choice for portable games. You may obtain it
268 http://www.libsdl.org/release/SDL-1.2.11.tar.gz
270 To compile the client using the "SDL" library add "--enable-client=sdl"
271 to the Freeciv configure script. See the section below for more
272 information about the configure script.
274 - The "SDL_image" library.
276 This library loads the PNG images (with the help of libpng) and converts
277 them to "SDL surfaces" that can be handled by the "SDL" library. You may
280 http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/release/SDL_image-1.2.12.tar.gz
282 - The "SDL_gfx" library.
284 http://www.ferzkopp.net/Software/SDL_gfx-2.0/SDL_gfx-2.0.25.tar.gz
286 - The "SDL_ttf" library.
288 http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_ttf/release/SDL_ttf-2.0.11.tar.gz
290 - The "freetype" library.
292 This library helps to render text for the SDL client, using an externally
293 provided TrueType font. You may obtain it at:
295 http://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/freetype/freetype-2.3.2.tar.gz
297 1d. Prerequisites for the SDL2 client:
298 =====================================
300 - The "SDL2" library.
302 "Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform multimedia library designed
303 to provide low level access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, 3D hardware
304 via OpenGL, and 2D video framebuffer." (http://www.libsdl.org)
306 These features make it a good choice for portable games. You may obtain it
309 http://www.libsdl.org/release/SDL2-2.0.3.tar.gz
311 To compile the client using the "SDL2" library add "--enable-client=sdl2"
312 to the Freeciv configure script. See the section below for more
313 information about the configure script.
315 - The "SDL2_image" library.
317 This library loads the PNG images (with the help of libpng) and converts
318 them to "SDL surfaces" that can be handled by the "SDL" library. You may
321 http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/release/SDL2_image-2.0.0.tar.gz
323 - The "SDL2_gfx" library.
325 http://www.ferzkopp.net/Software/SDL2_gfx/SDL2_gfx-1.0.1.tar.gz
327 - The "SDL2_ttf" library.
329 http://www.ferzkopp.net/Software/SDL_gfx-2.0/SDL_gfx-2.0.25.tar.gz
331 - The "freetype" library.
333 This library helps to render text for the SDL2 client, using an externally
334 provided TrueType font. You may obtain it at:
336 http://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/freetype/freetype-2.5.4.tar.bz2
338 1e. Prerequisites for the Xaw client:
339 =====================================
343 The Freeciv Xaw client is an X-Windows program, so you'll need
344 some way of running X-Windows programs. (Most Unixes can...)
346 If the Freeciv configuration program can't find X Windows on
347 your system, you may need to use the --x-includes=DIR
348 and --x-libraries=DIR options.
350 - The "Athena" widget library.
352 This library (also known as "Xaw") is usually supplied standard
353 with the rest of X Windows, but some platforms (HP-UX 10 for
354 example) only provide it in a limited form.
356 To compile the client using the "Xaw" library add "--enable-client=xaw"
357 to the Freeciv configure script. See the section below for more
358 information about the configure script.
360 Many modern Unix systems (such as Linux) ship with a variant called
361 "Xaw3d", which has a more modern "3D" look. If you'd like to try
362 compiling with Xaw3d, then add "--with-xaw3d" to the Freeciv
365 There are also other variants of Xaw, such as Nextaw. Freeciv
366 does not work with these, although it should be possible to modify
367 it in the same fashion as for Xaw3d. Another tool which may help
368 is called "xaw_wrappers", although how to use it is beyond the
373 This library is essential for icon and bitmap handling. It is in
374 wide use, and is supplied standard on most modern Unix machines,
375 although it may be missing on traditional or older Unixes, eg,
378 When you run the Freeciv configure script, it may be necessary for
379 you to use the "--with-xpm-prefix=DIR" command-line option, where
380 DIR is the name of the directory containing the "include" and "lib"
381 subdirectories where Xpm may be found.
383 If the Freeciv configure process tells you that you don't have the
384 Xpm library installed, then it may be obtained from here:
386 ftp://koala.inria.fr/pub/xpm/xpm-3.4k.tar.gz
387 ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/libraries/xpm-3.4k.tar.gz
389 Install it as you would any other package. If you can't install
390 it in a standard system directory, then use the --with-xpm-prefix
391 option, as described above.
393 If you have problems installing libXpm on Solaris, or don't want to
394 install it as root, see Reinier's libXpm Solaris Installation Notes
395 section near the end of this file.
399 To run the Xaw client a suitable font is required. The X fonts should do.
400 If the Xaw client complains about not being able to open a font your X
401 installation probably don't have them. X fonts can be obtained from:
403 http://xorg.freedesktop.org/releases/individual/font/
405 If you use Debian you can install the package named xfonts-base in stead.
406 After installing a suitable font and restarting X the problem should go
409 1f. Prerequisites for the Qt client:
410 ====================================
414 Qt-client is written in C++, so you need appropriate compiler.
415 In Freeciv development, g++ has been used.
417 - Qt5Core, Qt5Gui, and Qt5Widgets libraries and headers
420 2. Generating Makefiles
421 =======================
422 This section contains two parts, one for generating makefiles from svn
423 versions and one for generating makefiles from release versions.
425 2a. Generating the Makefile for svn versions:
426 =============================================
428 This step is only needed for svn versions.
430 To create the makefile just type
434 This will create the configure script and will run it. All parameters
435 of autogen.sh are passed to configure. Read the next section about the
436 parameters which can be passed to configure.
438 2b. Generating the Makefile for release versions:
439 =================================================
441 Before you compile Freeciv, you must generate a Makefile. This makefile
442 is configured to suit the features available on your machine.
444 This configuration is done using the GNU "configure" script.
446 To use "configure", "cd" into the top directory containing the Freeciv
451 This script will then attempt to determine the relevant features (and
452 misfeatures!!) of your system. It should print a page or two of
453 diagnostics about your machine, then stop gracefully.
455 If you'd like help on the various options supported by the configure
456 script, try the --help option, like this:
460 By default the configure script will choose the Gtk+ client if the
461 required libraries are found. If you prefer to override this default,
462 you can give configure the "--enable-client=xaw" option.
464 If you want to change the compiler options, set the CFLAGS environment
465 variable in your shell before running "configure". For example:
467 % CFLAGS="-O -g -pipe" ./configure [for people using Bourne shell or bash]
471 % setenv CFLAGS "-O -g -pipe"
472 % ./configure [for people using C shell or tcsh]
474 If you're tracking down a "core dump", we suggest that you use
475 a value of "-g" for CFLAGS.
477 When you install Freeciv (later), the game components will be copied into
478 subdirectories of /usr/local by default. If you would like to use some
479 other installation prefix besides /usr/local, you should specify it now:
481 % ./configure --prefix=/opt/freeciv
483 If for some reason using "configure" gives you trouble, follow these steps:
485 - Read the prerequisites section carefully, to determine if your
486 system meets all the requirements.
488 - If you are compiling the Xaw version of the client: Ensure that
489 you have both the Xpm and Xaw libraries installed on your system.
490 Make sure that the configure script can find them, either by
491 installing them in the standard places on your system, or by
492 instructing the configure script with the appropriate command-line
493 options. (See ./configure --help).
495 - If the problem is with "gettext", please read the Native Language
496 Support section, below, for possible work-arounds.
498 - Let us know, so that we can fix it for the next release!!
500 Send mail to the freeciv-dev mailing list, telling us what you did,
501 and what the result is. It would be helpful to include the output
502 of the configure script, and the contents of the "config.status",
503 "config.cache" and "config.log" files, which are generated by the
506 You can find out about the freeciv-dev mailing list on our web
507 site, at http://www.freeciv.org/
510 3. Compiling Freeciv:
511 =====================
513 If all has gone well previous to this point, then compiling Freeciv
514 should be as easy as typing "make" (or preferably, "gmake").
516 If you have problems, read the file BUGS, and follow the advice
517 carefully. If the problem is with "gettext", please read the Native
518 Language Support section, below, for possible work-arounds.
520 After compilation, the important results are:
522 - The "client/freeciv-<GUI>" and "server/freeciv-server" binaries.
523 - The "data/" directory, which contains the graphics and scenarios.
524 - The "translations/" directory, which contains the localization files.
525 - The "fcgui" and "fcser" scripts.
527 It's perfectly feasible to play Freeciv in this directory, without
528 installing it. If you do this, the "fcgui" and "fcser" scripts may be
529 useful, although they are not as necessary as they used to be.
531 See the README file for more information.
533 (However you cannot use Internationalization when playing Freeciv from
534 the source directory; you must install Freeciv for that.)
540 Installing Freeciv involves installing the components mentioned in the
541 Compiling Freeciv section. These need to be copied to a directory such
542 as /usr/local (the default), /usr/games, /usr/games/freeciv,
543 /usr/local/freeciv, or some other suitable directory.
545 Typing "make install" should install everything correctly on your machine.
546 You may like to use the --prefix=DIR configure option (see the Generating
547 the Makefile section) to ensure the files get placed where you want.
549 When the Freeciv client and Freeciv server are run they both need to
550 find some files from the "data" directory. By default freeciv looks
551 in the following directories, in order, for any data files: the current
552 directory; the "data" subdirectory of the current directory; the
553 subdirectory ".freeciv" in the user's home directory; and the directory
554 where the files are placed by running "make install". You can override
555 this search patch by setting the FREECIV_PATH environment variable, to
556 a single directory or a list of directories separated by colons.
560 % setenv FREECIV_PATH "/usr/games/freeciv/data:./data"
561 (for users of csh, tcsh, etc.)
563 % FREECIV_PATH="/usr/games/freeciv/data:./data"; export FREECIV_PATH
564 (for users of sh, bash, ksh, zsh, etc.)
566 Also, note that you generally must install Freeciv if you wish to use
567 its Native Language Support. See the README file for more information.
569 Finally, if you've chosen to use the Xaw client and you have permission
570 to log in as the 'root' user, you should consider copying the resource
571 file data/Freeciv into your app-defaults directory. (Usually this is
572 /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults).
575 5. Native Language Support:
576 ===========================
578 Freeciv uses the "gettext" system for Native Language Support.
580 If you experience problems with gettext in either configuring or compiling
581 Freeciv, there are a few work-arounds you can try:
583 1. If you don't need Native Language Support, disable it using the
584 "--disable-nls" ./configure option:
586 % ./configure --disable-nls
589 2. You can try to install the latest version of GNU gettext.
590 It may be obtained from here:
592 ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gettext/gettext-0.19.2.tar.xz
598 Freeciv has optional support for the readline library.
600 Readline support is what makes the server command line behave sensibly,
601 making it possible to
602 - Use the backspace key.
603 - Use the cursor to move back and forth on the line you have written.
604 - Use TAB completion of commands and command arguments. Ie, when you
605 push tab the server will finish the word for you if there is only one
607 - Use the up and down cursor to scroll through the history of previously
611 The configure script will check if you have the readline library correctly
612 installed. If so it will automatically set up the makefiles so that readline
613 is compiled into the server. If not then it will just silently configure
614 without readline support.
615 You can force configure to include readline or die trying by giving
616 configure the --with-readline option:
618 % ./configure --with-readline
620 Some linux distributions (and possibly other operating systems) have
621 readline version 4 incorrectly installed, so that readline is not
622 set up to declare it's dynamic dependencies. In that case configure
623 will try to guess which extra libs it should link against and add them.
624 The configure script will give a warning if it had to add extra libs
625 to make readline work. This should be harmless, and is just meant as
626 a reminder to the folks who distribute readline. :)
628 7. Reinier's Solaris Installation Notes:
629 ========================================
631 Solaris (2.5 and up) has its own version of X in /usr/openwin, its own
632 version of make in /usr/ccs/bin/make, and its own compiler (to be purchased
633 separately) which, if you have it, is available in /opt/SUNWspro/bin.
634 Solaris does not provide the XPM library, which is required for the Xaw
635 client; it doesn't provide any of the stuff required for imlib, gdk and gtk,
636 either, which is required to build the GTK+ client. However, with some
637 patience, everything can be compiled without problems.
639 For information on how to install XPM on Solaris, see the next section.
641 Many Solaris installations also have MIT X (usually, in /usr/X11), GNU make,
642 the gcc compiler, and the XPM library installed somewhere. The standard
643 command "./configure && make" may not be able to find your XPM library and
644 it is likely to confuse the different versions.
646 Make sure your environment variables, especially $PATH and $LD_LIBRARY_PATH,
647 and the ./configure options do not point to an inconsistent set of software,
648 and compiling will be fine.
650 A simple recipe to compile with Sun X, Sun make and Sun cc, assuming the xpm
651 libraries are on their own in the nonstandard location /path/to/xpm:
653 % setenv PATH /opt/SUNWspro/bin:/usr/ccs/bin:/bin
654 % unsetenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH
655 % ./configure --with-xpm-prefix=/path/to/xpm
658 You can set up your $PATH and ./configure to use only GNU
659 tools. Furthermore, Freeciv is known to compile with MIT X, and with
660 certain combinations of GNU and Sun tools. The exact recipes depend on your
664 8. Reinier's libXpm Solaris Installation Notes:
665 ===============================================
667 When I was root on my Solaris system, I *still* didn't want to install
668 third-party software as root. It's bad practice.
670 Unfortunately, the libXpm installation procedure assumes installation
671 in /usr/openwin, which is owned by root. But it's not all that hard to
676 - Make sure /usr/ucb/install is in your $PATH before /usr/bin/install,
677 otherwise 'make install' will break with strange error messages.
679 - The destination you want to install to can be specified with $DESTDIR;
680 however, installation will actually take place in $DESTDIR/$OPENWINDIR,
681 so the additional $OPENWINDIR subdir must be stripped afterwards
682 (changing the value of $OPENWINHOME doesn't work).
686 - Get the source from somewhere, untar it, cd into the source directory,
689 % setenv MYXPMDEST /usr/local # or wherever you want to install it
690 % xmkmf; make Makefiles includes depend; make
691 % setenv PATH /usr/local/bin:/usr/ucb:$PATH
692 % make DESTDIR=$MYXPMDEST install
693 % make DESTDIR=$MYXPMDEST install.man
694 % cd $MYXPMDEST; mv ./$OPENWINHOME/* .; rm -rf ./$OPENWINHOME
696 (If you use sh, bash, ksh, zsh, etc., the "setenv"s above should be:
697 % MYXPMDEST=/usr/local; export MYXPMDEST
698 % PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/ucb:$PATH
701 - You can now configure Freeciv with
703 % ./configure --with-xpm-prefix=$MYXPMDEST
705 which will add the proper -I/-L/-R options to the compile and link
709 9. Mac OS X and Darwin notes:
710 =============================
712 Apple's version of GCC uses precompiled headers that does not support
713 vararg macros (a GCC extension). This causes GCC to fail when
714 compiling Freeciv since the compiler is otherwise (mostly)
715 indistinguishable from vanilla GCC. So instead of the usual
719 you should use either
722 $ CC="gcc -no-cpp-precomp" ./configure <...>
727 % env CC="gcc -no-cpp-precomp" ./configure <...>
729 depending on whether your shell is a Bourne or C shell variant. (If
730 in doubt, just try both to see which one will work.)
732 Replace <...> with whatever additional arguments you want to give to
736 10. Debian GNU/Linux notes:
737 ===========================
739 To compile freeciv on a debian system you need the following packages:
752 If you want to compile the xaw client you should give configure the
753 argument --with-xaw3d, ie
755 % ./configure --with-xaw3d
757 If you need to run aclocal (if you don't know what aclocal is then you
758 don't need it) you also need to install imlib-dev to get the
759 AM_PATH_GDK_IMLIB macro. It is a bug in debian that this macro isn't
760 in gdk-imlib-dev, and it will hopefully be fixed in future debian
766 Windows version of Freeciv can be built either with MinGW or Cygwin.
767 Official Windows binaries are built with MinGW, and they are self-contained
768 packages. For using Cygwin version, you need Cygwin environment installed.
770 Build instructions for MinGW versions are documented on top of file
771 win32/installer/Makefile
773 Cygwin specific installation notes can be found in doc/INSTALL.Cygwin.