IKVM.Clang

MSBuild SDK and Visual Studio extension for building native projects with the Clang compiler.

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Overview

IKVM.Clang provides two components:

Component	Description
IKVM.Clang.Sdk	MSBuild SDK that drives clang / llvm-ar to compile C, C++, Objective-C, and assembly source files into executables, shared libraries, or static libraries. Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS from the command line or CI.
IKVM.Clang VSIX	Visual Studio extension that integrates the SDK with the IDE: CPS-based project system, Solution Explorer icons, syntax highlighting for C/C++/Objective-C/Assembly, and property pages.

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Requirements

• LLVM / Clang installed and clang / llvm-ar on PATH (or configured via MSBuild properties)
• .NET SDK (for MSBuild) — .NET 6 or later recommended
• Visual Studio 2022 17.0+ (for the VSIX extension, optional)

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Getting Started

1 — Install the Visual Studio Extension (optional)

If you are using Visual Studio, install the IKVM.Clang extension from the Visual Studio Marketplace. When you open a project that uses IKVM.Clang.Sdk, Visual Studio will offer to install the extension automatically if it is not already present.

2 — Create a project

Add the SDK to your project file (.clangproj or any MSBuild project extension):

<Project>
    <Import Project="Sdk.props" Sdk="IKVM.Clang.Sdk" />

    <PropertyGroup>
        <!-- LLVM target triple -->
        <TargetIdentifiers>x86_64-pc-windows-msvc</TargetIdentifiers>
        <!-- exe | dll | lib -->
        <OutputType>exe</OutputType>
    </PropertyGroup>

    <ItemGroup>
        <Compile Include="src\*.c" />
    </ItemGroup>

    <Import Project="Sdk.targets" Sdk="IKVM.Clang.Sdk" />
</Project>

3 — Build

dotnet build

or from Visual Studio: Build → Build Solution.

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Supported Source File Types

Item Type	Extensions
C source	.c
C++ source	.cpp .cc .cxx .c++ .cppm .ixx
C/C++ header	.h .hpp .hh .hxx .h++ .ipp
Objective-C / Objective-C++	.m .mm
Assembly	.s .asm

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Output Types

OutputType	Description	Output
exe	Executable	.exe / (no extension) / .wasm
dll	Shared library	.dll / .so / .dylib
lib	Static library	.lib / .a

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Key MSBuild Properties

Property	Default	Description
TargetIdentifiers	(required)	Semicolon-separated LLVM target triples, e.g. x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
OutputType	dll	Output kind: exe, dll, or lib
ClangToolExe	clang / clang.exe	Path or name of the Clang executable
LlvmArToolExe	llvm-ar / llvm-ar.exe	Path or name of the LLVM archiver
DebugSymbols	true in Debug	Emit debug symbols
UseLd	lld	Linker driver (lld, bfd, gold, etc.)

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Repository Structure

src/
  IKVM.Clang.Sdk/           MSBuild SDK package (targets, props, CPS rules)
  IKVM.Clang.Sdk.Tasks/     Custom MSBuild tasks
  IKVM.Clang.Vsix/          Visual Studio extension (VSIX)
samples/
  IKVM.Clang.Sample1/       Minimal C project example

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss significant changes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.