# crosstool-ng/crosstool-ng

A versatile (cross-)toolchain generator.

Repository: https://github.com/crosstool-ng/crosstool-ng
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/crosstool-ng
Language: Shell
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-23T22:58:56+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 88/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 67, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4288, "days_push": 10, "days_rel": 10, "gap_med": 281.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2506, forks 742 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:57.138497+00:00)

## What it is
Crosstool-NG is a versatile toolchain generator that builds cross-compilation toolchains (compiler, linker, libraries) for many target architectures. It is driven by a menuconfig-style configuration and implemented largely as a make script.

## Use cases
- build a cross-compiler for ARM embedded development
- generate a custom gcc toolchain for a specific target architecture
- create a toolchain for cross-compiling Linux for embedded boards
- build a musl or glibc based cross toolchain
- produce reproducible toolchains for CI builds
- cross-compile software for a different CPU architecture

## When to choose
- you need a custom cross-compilation toolchain not provided by your distro
- you target embedded or uncommon architectures
- you want fine-grained control over libc, gcc version, and toolchain options

## When to avoid
- you only need a native compiler available from your package manager
- you want a prebuilt vendor toolchain without building it yourself
- you need a quick setup with minimal build time

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: compiler, build-tool, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, compilers, embedded-systems, cross-platform
- platform: cli
- tags: cross-compilation, toolchain-generator, gcc, embedded-linux, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- crosstool-ng/crosstool-ng (main) score 88

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:57.138497+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:26:42.359053+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/crosstool-ng/crosstool-ng (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:57.138497+00:00, sha 1ffbdf13337b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.