Hopefully this helps someone in the future
Find a cross compiler supporting the Pi Zero
Start at https://sourceforge.net/projects/raspbe ... ers/files/
Click on See All Activity and search for "Zero"
I chose to download the most modern build which for me was 14.2.0
(https://sourceforge.net/projects/raspbe ... z/download)
You will now see Downloads cross-gcc-14.2.0-pi_0-1.tar.gz
The following steps detail how to extract the cross compiler
Install Ubuntu and WSL on your PC
From here on in all commands are run in the Ubuntu shell
Open Ubuntu
Navigate to the Downloads folder: Ubuntu> cd mnt/c/Users/<your username>/Downloads
Unzip the archive: Ubuntu> tar -xvf cross-gcc-14.2.0-pi_0-1.tar.gz
Move the folder somewhere useful: Ubuntu> cp -r cross-pi-gcc-14.2.0-0 ~/x-tools
Make the files executable: Ubuntu> chmod -R +x ~/x-tools/bin
Add a path variable to the tools: Ubuntu> echo 'export PATH="$HOME/x-tools/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
Refresh path variable: Ubuntu> source ~/.bashrc
Quick tests:
Ubuntu> file arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc -> Returned string should include: "ELF 64-bit"
Ubuntu> arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc --version -> Returned string should include: "for GNU/Linux 3.2.0,"
Move to the source code folder because you are now ready to compile your code!
Ubuntu> arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc helloworld.c -o helloworld
Move the generated output to the Raspberry Pi Zero: Ubuntu> scp helloworld pi@<IP Address>:/home/pi/
Connect to the Pi: Ubuntu> ssh pi@<IP Address>
Make the file executable: Ubuntu> chmod +x helloworld
Execute the file: Ubuntu> ./helloworld
Final Note
This question was originally posted hoping someone could provide the compile options to produce Pi Zero (armv6) code using the "official arm toolchains" (see https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/a ... -downloads)
Some sources have suggested the modern toolchains ignore the -arch=arm6 compiler option, leading to "Segmentation fault" I was seeing
The above shows how to obtain a cross compiler specifically for the Pi Zero
Find a cross compiler supporting the Pi Zero
Start at https://sourceforge.net/projects/raspbe ... ers/files/
Click on See All Activity and search for "Zero"
I chose to download the most modern build which for me was 14.2.0
(https://sourceforge.net/projects/raspbe ... z/download)
You will now see Downloads cross-gcc-14.2.0-pi_0-1.tar.gz
The following steps detail how to extract the cross compiler
Install Ubuntu and WSL on your PC
From here on in all commands are run in the Ubuntu shell
Open Ubuntu
Navigate to the Downloads folder: Ubuntu> cd mnt/c/Users/<your username>/Downloads
Unzip the archive: Ubuntu> tar -xvf cross-gcc-14.2.0-pi_0-1.tar.gz
Move the folder somewhere useful: Ubuntu> cp -r cross-pi-gcc-14.2.0-0 ~/x-tools
Make the files executable: Ubuntu> chmod -R +x ~/x-tools/bin
Add a path variable to the tools: Ubuntu> echo 'export PATH="$HOME/x-tools/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
Refresh path variable: Ubuntu> source ~/.bashrc
Quick tests:
Ubuntu> file arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc -> Returned string should include: "ELF 64-bit"
Ubuntu> arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc --version -> Returned string should include: "for GNU/Linux 3.2.0,"
Move to the source code folder because you are now ready to compile your code!
Ubuntu> arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc helloworld.c -o helloworld
Move the generated output to the Raspberry Pi Zero: Ubuntu> scp helloworld pi@<IP Address>:/home/pi/
Connect to the Pi: Ubuntu> ssh pi@<IP Address>
Make the file executable: Ubuntu> chmod +x helloworld
Execute the file: Ubuntu> ./helloworld
Final Note
This question was originally posted hoping someone could provide the compile options to produce Pi Zero (armv6) code using the "official arm toolchains" (see https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/a ... -downloads)
Some sources have suggested the modern toolchains ignore the -arch=arm6 compiler option, leading to "Segmentation fault" I was seeing
The above shows how to obtain a cross compiler specifically for the Pi Zero
Statistics: Posted by RatherBeSailing — Tue Dec 23, 2025 1:26 am