[x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm] Target doesn't ship with a linker, can't build simple test application

[ColinFinck]

I intend to move to the x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm target, because x86_64-pc-windows-msvc requires a Visual Studio installation and x86_64-pc-windows-gnu is plagued by bugs like #139070 and currently unmaintained.

When I set up nightly-2025-09-15-x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm on a pristine Windows OS and attempt to build the simplest possible application, I get:

> cargo new testapp
    Creating binary (application) `testapp` package
note: see more `Cargo.toml` keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html

> cargo build
   Compiling testapp v0.1.0 (C:\Users\Test User\testapp)
error: linker `x86_64-w64-mingw32-clang` not found
  |
  = note: program not found

error: could not compile `testapp` (bin "testapp") due to 1 previous error

This works out of the box with x86_64-pc-windows-gnu, because that target ships a minimal x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc.exe that is used for linking.

Expected result
I expect x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm to also ship with all required components out of the box to build and link Rust applications. It's totally understandable if Rust projects importing C code need an external C compiler, but Rust-only projects should build without external components.

Not having this feature would seriously impact the usefulness of this target: On the one hand, the target wouldn't work out of the box. Another downside is that there's currently only a single source for a compatible toolchain: https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw

What are the plans to get x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm to work out of the box?
Can Rust ship a minimal linker-only x86_64-w64-mingw32-clang.exe just like the corresponding -gnu target does?

CC @mati865

[mati865]

Another downside is that there's currently only a single source for a compatible toolchain: mstorsjo/llvm-mingw

There is a second one: https://www.msys2.org, using CLANG64 environment.

What are the plans to get x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm to work out of the box?

This was my deliberate decision to not ship rust-mingw like component for gnullvm. Over the years, it was a big pain point for windows-gnu hosts. Even though it mostly works now, it's a matter of time until the problems with it appear again.

My long-term plan is to use rust-lld that is shipped anyway, while providing a minimal rust-mingw component, that would contain only startup objects and the minimal set of mingw-w64 libraries. It'd still prefer <arch>-w64-mingw32-clang from the system as the linker if it finds one.

[ColinFinck]

@mati865 Thank you for the quick reply!

My long-term plan is to use rust-lld that is shipped anyway

Cool! How can we get there? Any issue you can point me to that is blocking this? I'm willing to help if I can.

[mati865]

Cool! How can we get there? Any issue you can point me to that is blocking this? I'm willing to help if I can.

There is no blocker, really. Until recently, windows-gnullvm didn't even provide host tools (still doesn't on the stable), so there was no point in putting the effort in it.
It only needs to be implemented.