site/docs/platforms.md - bazel - Git at Google

 ---
 layout: documentation
 title: Platforms
 ---

 # Platforms


 Bazel can build and test code on a variety of hardware, operating systems, and
 system configurations, using many different versions of build tools such as
 linkers and compilers. To help manage this complexity, Bazel has a concept of
 *constraints* and *platforms*. A constraint is a dimension in which build or
 production environments may differ, such as CPU architecture, the presence or
 absence of a GPU, or the version of a system-installed compiler. A platform is a
 named collection of choices for these constraints, representing the particular
 resources that are available in some environment.

 Modeling the environment as a platform helps Bazel to automatically select the
 appropriate
 [toolchains](toolchains.html)
 for build actions. Platforms can also be used in combination with the
 [config_setting](be/general.html#config_setting)
 rule to write
 <a href="configurable-attributes.html"> configurable attributes</a>.

 Bazel recognizes three roles that a platform may serve:

 *  **Host** - the platform on which Bazel itself runs.
 *  **Execution** - a platform on which build tools execute build actions to
    produce intermediate and final outputs.
 *  **Target** - a platform on which a final output resides and executes.

 Bazel supports the following build scenarios regarding platforms:

 *  **Single-platform builds** (default) - host, execution, and target platforms
    are the same. For example, building a Linux executable on Ubuntu running on
    an Intel x64 CPU.

 *  **Cross-compilation builds** - host and execution platforms are the same, but
    the target platform is different. For example, building an iOS app on macOS
    running on a MacBook Pro.

 *  **Multi-platform builds** - host, execution, and target platforms are all
    different.

 ## Defining constraints and platforms

 The space of possible choices for platforms is defined by using the
  [`constraint_setting`](be/platform.html#constraint_setting) and
  [`constraint_value`](be/platform.html#constraint_value) rules within `BUILD` files. `constraint_setting` creates a new dimension, while
 `constraint_value` creates a new value for a given dimension; together they
 effectively define an enum and its possible values. For example, the following
 snippet of a `BUILD` file introduces a constraint for the system's glibc version
 with two possible values.

 ```python
 constraint_setting(name = "glibc_version")

 constraint_value(
     name = "glibc_2_25",
     constraint_setting = ":glibc_version",
 )

 constraint_value(
     name = "glibc_2_26",
     constraint_setting = ":glibc_version",
 )
 ```

 Constraints and their values may be defined across different packages in the
 workspace. They are referenced by label and subject to the usual visibility
 controls. If visibility allows, you can extend an existing constraint setting by
 defining your own value for it.

 The
  [`platform`](be/platform.html#platform) rule introduces a new platform with certain choices of constraint values. The
 following creates a platform named `linux_x86`, and says that it describes any
 environment that runs a Linux operating system on an x86_64 architecture with a
 glibc version of 2.25. (See below for more on Bazel's built-in constraints.)

 ```python
 platform(
     name = "linux_x86",
     constraint_values = [
         "@platforms//os:linux",
         "@platforms//cpu:x86_64",
         ":glibc_2_25",
     ],
 )
 ```

 Note that it is an error for a platform to specify more than one value of the
 same constraint setting, such as `@platforms//cpu:x86_64` and
 `@platforms//cpu:arm` for `@platforms//cpu:cpu`.


 ## Generally useful constraints and platforms

 To keep the ecosystem consistent, Bazel team maintains a repository with
 constraint definitions for the most popular CPU architectures and operating
 systems. These are all located in
 [https://github.com/bazelbuild/platforms](https://github.com/bazelbuild/platforms).

 Bazel ships with the following special platform definition:
 `@local_config_platform//:host`. This is the autodetected host platform value -
 represents autodetected platform for the system Bazel is running on.

 ## Specifying a platform for a build

 You can specify the host and target platforms for a build using the following
 command-line flags:

 *  `--host_platform` - defaults to `@bazel_tools//platforms:host_platform`
 *  `--platforms` - defaults to `@bazel_tools//platforms:target_platform`

 ## Skipping incompatible targets

 When building for a specific target platform it is often desirable to skip
 targets that will never work on that platform. For example, your Windows device
 driver is likely going to generate lots of compiler errors when building on a
 Linux machine with `//...`. Use the
 [`target_compatible_with`](be/common-definitions.html#common.target_compatible_with)
 attribute to tell Bazel what target platform constraints your code has.

 The simplest use of this attribute restricts a target to a single platform.
 The target will not be built for any platform that doesn't satisfy all of the
 constraints. The following example restricts `win_driver_lib.cc` to 64-bit
 Windows.

 ```python
 cc_library(
     name = "win_driver_lib",
     srcs = "win_driver_lib.cc",
     target_compatible_with = [
         "@platforms//cpu:x86_64",
         "@platforms//os:windows",
     ],
 )
 ```

 `:win_driver_lib` is *only* compatible for building with 64-bit Windows and
 incompatible with all else. Incompatibility is transitive. Any targets
 that transitively depend on an incompatible target are themselves considered
 incompatible.

 ### When are targets skipped?

 Targets are skipped when they are considered incompatible and included in the
 build as part of a target pattern expansion. For example, the following two
 invocations skip any incompatible targets found in a target pattern expansion.

 ```console
 $ bazel build --platforms=//:myplatform //...
 ```

 ```console
 $ bazel build --platforms=//:myplatform //:all
 ```

 Incompatible tests in a [`test_suite`](be/general.html#test_suite) are
 similarly skipped if the `test_suite` is specified on the command line with
 [`--expand_test_suites`](command-line-reference.html#flag--expand_test_suites).
 In other words, `test_suite` targets on the command line behave like `:all` and
 `...`. Using `--noexpand_test_suites` prevents expansion and causes
 `test_suite` targets with incompatible tests to also be incompatible.

 Explicitly specifying an incompatible target on the command line results in an
 error message and a failed build.

 ```console
 $ bazel build --platforms=//:myplatform //:target_incompatible_with_myplatform
 ...
 ERROR: Target //:target_incompatible_with_myplatform is incompatible and cannot be built, but was explicitly requested.
 ...
 FAILED: Build did NOT complete successfully
 ```

 ### More expressive constraints

 For more flexibility in expressing constraints, use the
 `@platforms//:incompatible`
 [`constraint_value`](be/platform.html#constraint_value) that no platform
 satisfies.

 Use [`select()`](functions.html#select) in combination with
 `@platforms//:incompatible` to express more complicated restrictions. For
 example, use it to implement basic OR logic. The following marks a library
 compatible with macOS and Linux, but no other platforms. Note that an empty
 constraints list is equivalent to "compatible with everything".

 ```python
 cc_library(
     name = "unixish_lib",
     srcs = "unixish_lib.cc",
     target_compatible_with = select({
         "@platforms//os:osx": [],
         "@platforms//os:linux": [],
         "//conditions:default": ["@platforms//:incompatible"],
     }),
 )
 ```

 The above can be interpreted as follows:

 1. When targeting macOS, the target has no constraints.
 2. When targeting Linux, the target has no constraints.
 3. Otherwise, the target has the `@platforms//:incompatible` constraint. Because
    `@platforms//:incompatible` is not part of any platform, the target is
    deemed incompatible.

 To make your constraints more readable, use
 [skylib](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-skylib)'s
 [`selects.with_or()`](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-skylib/blob/master/docs/selects_doc.md#selectswith_or).

 You can express inverse compatibility in a similar way. The following example
 describes a library that is compatible with everything _except_ for ARM.

 ```python
 cc_library(
     name = "non_arm_lib",
     srcs = "non_arm_lib.cc",
     target_compatible_with = select({
         "@platforms//cpu:arm": ["@platforms//:incompatible"],
         "//conditions:default": [],
     ],
 )
 ```

 ### Detecting incompatible targets using `bazel cquery`

 You can use the
 [`IncompatiblePlatformProvider`](skylark/lib/IncompatiblePlatformProvider.html)
 in `bazel cquery`'s [Starlark output
 format](cquery.html#defining-the-output-format-using-starlark) to distinguish
 incompatible targets from compatible ones.

 This can be used to filter out incompatible targets. The example below will
 only print the labels for targets that are compatible. Incompatible targets are
 not printed.

 ```console
 $ cat example.cquery

 def format(target):
   if "IncompatiblePlatformProvider" not in providers(target):
     return target.label
   return ""


 $ bazel cquery //... --output=starlark --starlark:file=example.cquery
 ```
	---
	layout: documentation
	title: Platforms
	---

	# Platforms


	Bazel can build and test code on a variety of hardware, operating systems, and
	system configurations, using many different versions of build tools such as
	linkers and compilers. To help manage this complexity, Bazel has a concept of
	constraints and platforms. A constraint is a dimension in which build or
	production environments may differ, such as CPU architecture, the presence or
	absence of a GPU, or the version of a system-installed compiler. A platform is a
	named collection of choices for these constraints, representing the particular
	resources that are available in some environment.

	Modeling the environment as a platform helps Bazel to automatically select the
	appropriate
	[toolchains](toolchains.html)
	for build actions. Platforms can also be used in combination with the
	[config_setting](be/general.html#config_setting)
	rule to write
	<a href="configurable-attributes.html"> configurable attributes</a>.

	Bazel recognizes three roles that a platform may serve:

	* Host - the platform on which Bazel itself runs.
	* Execution - a platform on which build tools execute build actions to
	produce intermediate and final outputs.
	* Target - a platform on which a final output resides and executes.

	Bazel supports the following build scenarios regarding platforms:

	* Single-platform builds (default) - host, execution, and target platforms
	are the same. For example, building a Linux executable on Ubuntu running on
	an Intel x64 CPU.

	* Cross-compilation builds - host and execution platforms are the same, but
	the target platform is different. For example, building an iOS app on macOS
	running on a MacBook Pro.

	* Multi-platform builds - host, execution, and target platforms are all
	different.

	## Defining constraints and platforms

	The space of possible choices for platforms is defined by using the
	[`constraint_setting`](be/platform.html#constraint_setting) and
	[`constraint_value`](be/platform.html#constraint_value) rules within `BUILD` files. `constraint_setting` creates a new dimension, while
	`constraint_value` creates a new value for a given dimension; together they
	effectively define an enum and its possible values. For example, the following
	snippet of a `BUILD` file introduces a constraint for the system's glibc version
	with two possible values.

	```python
	constraint_setting(name = "glibc_version")

	constraint_value(
	name = "glibc_2_25",
	constraint_setting = ":glibc_version",
	)

	constraint_value(
	name = "glibc_2_26",
	constraint_setting = ":glibc_version",
	)
	```

	Constraints and their values may be defined across different packages in the
	workspace. They are referenced by label and subject to the usual visibility
	controls. If visibility allows, you can extend an existing constraint setting by
	defining your own value for it.

	The
	[`platform`](be/platform.html#platform) rule introduces a new platform with certain choices of constraint values. The
	following creates a platform named `linux_x86`, and says that it describes any
	environment that runs a Linux operating system on an x86_64 architecture with a
	glibc version of 2.25. (See below for more on Bazel's built-in constraints.)

	```python
	platform(
	name = "linux_x86",
	constraint_values = [
	"@platforms//os:linux",
	"@platforms//cpu:x86_64",
	":glibc_2_25",
	],
	)
	```

	Note that it is an error for a platform to specify more than one value of the
	same constraint setting, such as `@platforms//cpu:x86_64` and
	`@platforms//cpu:arm` for `@platforms//cpu:cpu`.


	## Generally useful constraints and platforms

	To keep the ecosystem consistent, Bazel team maintains a repository with
	constraint definitions for the most popular CPU architectures and operating
	systems. These are all located in
	[https://github.com/bazelbuild/platforms](https://github.com/bazelbuild/platforms).

	Bazel ships with the following special platform definition:
	`@local_config_platform//:host`. This is the autodetected host platform value -
	represents autodetected platform for the system Bazel is running on.

	## Specifying a platform for a build

	You can specify the host and target platforms for a build using the following
	command-line flags:

	* `--host_platform` - defaults to `@bazel_tools//platforms:host_platform`
	* `--platforms` - defaults to `@bazel_tools//platforms:target_platform`

	## Skipping incompatible targets

	When building for a specific target platform it is often desirable to skip
	targets that will never work on that platform. For example, your Windows device
	driver is likely going to generate lots of compiler errors when building on a
	Linux machine with `//...`. Use the
	[`target_compatible_with`](be/common-definitions.html#common.target_compatible_with)
	attribute to tell Bazel what target platform constraints your code has.

	The simplest use of this attribute restricts a target to a single platform.
	The target will not be built for any platform that doesn't satisfy all of the
	constraints. The following example restricts `win_driver_lib.cc` to 64-bit
	Windows.

	```python
	cc_library(
	name = "win_driver_lib",
	srcs = "win_driver_lib.cc",
	target_compatible_with = [
	"@platforms//cpu:x86_64",
	"@platforms//os:windows",
	],
	)
	```

	`:win_driver_lib` is only compatible for building with 64-bit Windows and
	incompatible with all else. Incompatibility is transitive. Any targets
	that transitively depend on an incompatible target are themselves considered
	incompatible.

	### When are targets skipped?

	Targets are skipped when they are considered incompatible and included in the
	build as part of a target pattern expansion. For example, the following two
	invocations skip any incompatible targets found in a target pattern expansion.

	```console
	$ bazel build --platforms=//:myplatform //...
	```

	```console
	$ bazel build --platforms=//:myplatform //:all
	```

	Incompatible tests in a [`test_suite`](be/general.html#test_suite) are
	similarly skipped if the `test_suite` is specified on the command line with
	[`--expand_test_suites`](command-line-reference.html#flag--expand_test_suites).
	In other words, `test_suite` targets on the command line behave like `:all` and
	`...`. Using `--noexpand_test_suites` prevents expansion and causes
	`test_suite` targets with incompatible tests to also be incompatible.

	Explicitly specifying an incompatible target on the command line results in an
	error message and a failed build.

	```console
	$ bazel build --platforms=//:myplatform //:target_incompatible_with_myplatform
	...
	ERROR: Target //:target_incompatible_with_myplatform is incompatible and cannot be built, but was explicitly requested.
	...
	FAILED: Build did NOT complete successfully
	```

	### More expressive constraints

	For more flexibility in expressing constraints, use the
	`@platforms//:incompatible`
	[`constraint_value`](be/platform.html#constraint_value) that no platform
	satisfies.

	Use [`select()`](functions.html#select) in combination with
	`@platforms//:incompatible` to express more complicated restrictions. For
	example, use it to implement basic OR logic. The following marks a library
	compatible with macOS and Linux, but no other platforms. Note that an empty
	constraints list is equivalent to "compatible with everything".

	```python
	cc_library(
	name = "unixish_lib",
	srcs = "unixish_lib.cc",
	target_compatible_with = select({
	"@platforms//os:osx": [],
	"@platforms//os:linux": [],
	"//conditions:default": ["@platforms//:incompatible"],
	}),
	)
	```

	The above can be interpreted as follows:

	1. When targeting macOS, the target has no constraints.
	2. When targeting Linux, the target has no constraints.
	3. Otherwise, the target has the `@platforms//:incompatible` constraint. Because
	`@platforms//:incompatible` is not part of any platform, the target is
	deemed incompatible.

	To make your constraints more readable, use
	[skylib](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-skylib)'s
	[`selects.with_or()`](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel-skylib/blob/master/docs/selects_doc.md#selectswith_or).

	You can express inverse compatibility in a similar way. The following example
	describes a library that is compatible with everything _except_ for ARM.

	```python
	cc_library(
	name = "non_arm_lib",
	srcs = "non_arm_lib.cc",
	target_compatible_with = select({
	"@platforms//cpu:arm": ["@platforms//:incompatible"],
	"//conditions:default": [],
	],
	)
	```

	### Detecting incompatible targets using `bazel cquery`

	You can use the
	[`IncompatiblePlatformProvider`](skylark/lib/IncompatiblePlatformProvider.html)
	in `bazel cquery`'s [Starlark output
	format](cquery.html#defining-the-output-format-using-starlark) to distinguish
	incompatible targets from compatible ones.

	This can be used to filter out incompatible targets. The example below will
	only print the labels for targets that are compatible. Incompatible targets are
	not printed.

	```console
	$ cat example.cquery

	def format(target):
	if "IncompatiblePlatformProvider" not in providers(target):
	return target.label
	return ""


	$ bazel cquery //... --output=starlark --starlark:file=example.cquery
	```