3 This directory contains the C++ implementation of gRPC.
5 # To start using gRPC C++
7 This section describes how to add gRPC as a dependency to your C++ project.
9 In the C++ world, there's no universally accepted standard for managing project dependencies.
10 Therefore, gRPC supports several major build systems, which should satisfy most users.
14 Bazel is the primary build system used by the core gRPC development team. Bazel
15 provides fast builds and it easily handles dependencies that support bazel.
17 To add gRPC as a dependency in bazel:
18 1. determine commit SHA for the grpc release you want to use
19 2. Use the [http_archive](https://docs.bazel.build/versions/master/be/workspace.html#http_archive) bazel rule to include gRPC source
22 name = "com_github_grpc_grpc",
24 "https://github.com/grpc/grpc/archive/YOUR_GRPC_COMMIT_SHA.tar.gz",
26 strip_prefix = "grpc-YOUR_GRPC_COMMIT_SHA",
29 load("@com_github_grpc_grpc//bazel:grpc_deps.bzl", "grpc_deps")
36 `cmake` is your best option if you cannot use bazel. It supports building on Linux,
37 MacOS and Windows (official support) but also has a good chance of working on
38 other platforms (no promises!). `cmake` has good support for crosscompiling and
39 can be used for targeting the Android platform.
41 To build gRPC C++ from source, follow the [BUILDING guide](../../BUILDING.md).
45 The canonical way to discover dependencies in CMake is the
46 [`find_package` command](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/find_package.html).
49 find_package(gRPC CONFIG REQUIRED)
50 add_executable(my_exe my_exe.cc)
51 target_link_libraries(my_exe gRPC::grpc++)
53 [Full example](../../examples/cpp/helloworld/CMakeLists.txt)
55 `find_package` can only find software that has already been installed on your
56 system. In practice that means you'll need to install gRPC using cmake first.
57 gRPC's cmake support provides the option to install gRPC either system-wide
58 (not recommended) or under a directory prefix in a way that you can later
59 easily use it with the `find_package(gRPC CONFIG REQUIRED)` command.
61 The following sections describe strategies to automatically build gRPC
62 as part of your project.
65 If you are using CMake v3.11 or newer you should use CMake's
66 [FetchContent module](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FetchContent.html).
67 The first time you run CMake in a given build directory, FetchContent will
68 clone the gRPC repository and its submodules. `FetchContent_MakeAvailable()`
69 also sets up an `add_subdirectory()` rule for you. This causes gRPC to be
70 built as part of your project.
76 GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/grpc/grpc
79 FetchContent_MakeAvailable(gRPC)
81 add_executable(my_exe my_exe.cc)
82 target_link_libraries(my_exe grpc++)
86 If you cannot use FetchContent, another approach is to add the gRPC source tree
88 [git submodule](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Submodules).
89 You can then add it to your CMake project with `add_subdirectory()`.
90 [Example](../../examples/cpp/helloworld/CMakeLists.txt)
92 ### Support system-installed gRPC
94 If your project builds gRPC you should still consider the case where a user
95 wants to build your software using a previously installed gRPC. Here's a
96 code snippet showing how this is typically done.
99 option(USE_SYSTEM_GRPC "Use system installed gRPC" OFF)
101 # Find system-installed gRPC
102 find_package(gRPC CONFIG REQUIRED)
104 # Build gRPC using FetchContent or add_subdirectory
108 [Full example](../../examples/cpp/helloworld/CMakeLists.txt)
112 If your project does not use CMake (e.g. you're using `make` directly), you can
113 first install gRPC C++ using CMake, and have your non-CMake project rely on the
114 `pkgconfig` files which are provided by gRPC installation.
115 [Example](../../test/distrib/cpp/run_distrib_test_cmake_pkgconfig.sh)
119 The default choice for building on UNIX based systems used to be `make`, but we are no longer recommending it.
120 You should use `bazel` or `cmake` instead.
122 To install gRPC for C++ on your system using `make`, follow the [Building gRPC C++](../../BUILDING.md)
123 instructions to build from source and then install locally using `make install`.
124 This also installs the protocol buffer compiler `protoc` (if you don't have it already),
125 and the C++ gRPC plugin for `protoc`.
127 WARNING: After installing with `make install` there is no easy way to uninstall, which can cause issues
128 if you later want to remove the grpc and/or protobuf installation or upgrade to a newer version.
132 We do not officially support any packaging system for C++, but there are some community-maintained packages that are kept up-to-date
133 and are known to work well. More contributions and support for popular packaging systems are welcome!
135 ### Install using vcpkg package
136 gRPC is available using the [vcpkg](https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg) dependency manager:
139 # install vcpkg package manager on your system using the official instructions
140 git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
143 ./vcpkg integrate install
145 # install gRPC using vcpkg package manager
149 The gRPC port in vcpkg is kept up to date by Microsoft team members and community contributors. If the version is out of date, please [create an issue or pull request](https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg) on the vcpkg repository.
152 ## Examples & Additional Documentation
154 You can find out how to build and run our simplest gRPC C++ example in our
155 [C++ quick start](../../examples/cpp).
157 For more detailed documentation on using gRPC in C++ , see our main
158 documentation site at [grpc.io](https://grpc.io), specifically:
160 * [Overview](https://grpc.io/docs/): An introduction to gRPC with a simple
161 Hello World example in all our supported languages, including C++.
162 * [gRPC Basics - C++](https://grpc.io/docs/tutorials/basic/c.html):
163 A tutorial that steps you through creating a simple gRPC C++ example
165 * [Asynchronous Basics - C++](https://grpc.io/docs/tutorials/async/helloasync-cpp.html):
166 A tutorial that shows you how to use gRPC C++'s asynchronous/non-blocking
170 # To start developing gRPC C++
172 For instructions on how to build gRPC C++ from source, follow the [Building gRPC C++](../../BUILDING.md) instructions.