✅ RISC-V GCC Toolchain Installation Guide (Ubuntu)

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This guide explains two methods for installing the RISC-V GCC toolchain on Ubuntu:

1. Prebuilt binaries for quick setup
2. Building from source for full control and customization

🔹 Method 1: Installing Prebuilt RISC-V GCC Toolchain

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This method is ideal for quick setup and testing.

🧩 Required Dependencies (applies to both methods)

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sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential wget tar libgmp-dev libmpfr-dev libmpc-dev libisl-dev texinfo -y

📥 1.1 Downloading the Toolchain

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You can get prebuilt toolchains from the NEORV32 project or community builds.

📦 Example (Download via terminal)

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wget https://github.com/stnolting/riscv-gcc-prebuilt/releases/download/rv32i-131023/riscv32-unknown-elf.gcc-13.2.0.tar.gz

🛠 1.2 Installing the Toolchain

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Create install directory:

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sudo mkdir -p /opt/riscv

Extract the archive:

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sudo tar -xzf riscv32-unknown-elf.gcc-13.2.0.tar.gz -C /opt/riscv/

🧭 1.3 Setting the PATH

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echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/opt/riscv/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

✅ 1.4 Verifying the Installation

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riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc -v

You should see something like:

Using built-in specs.
COLLECT_GCC=riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc
Target: riscv32-unknown-elf
...

🔸 Method 2: Building the Toolchain from Source

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This method gives you full control over architecture, ABI, C library, etc.

📦 2.1 Additional Dependencies

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sudo apt install autoconf automake curl python3 gawk bison flex texinfo gperf libtool patchutils -y

📁 2.2 Cloning the Toolchain Repository

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git clone --recursive https://github.com/riscv-collab/riscv-gnu-toolchain
cd riscv-gnu-toolchain

🔧 2.3 Configure the Build

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Example for rv32imc + newlib:

./configure --prefix=/opt/riscv --with-arch=rv32imc --with-abi=ilp32 --with-newlib

• --prefix = install path
• --with-arch = architecture
• --with-abi = ABI format
• --with-newlib = use newlib C library (bare-metal)

🛠 2.4 Build the Toolchain

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make newlib

For Linux-hosted toolchain (e.g., for Linux OS targets), use make linux instead.

⚠️ This step may take 30–60 minutes depending on your system.

🧭 2.5 Set PATH

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echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/opt/riscv/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

✅ 2.6 Verify the Build

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riscv32-unknown-elf-gcc -v

🧠 Tips & Comparison

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📚 Resources

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• NEORV32 Project
• riscv-gnu-toolchain
• RISC-V International