Cygwin for Windows

Need a Bash shell and familiar Unix commands on a Windows PC? Cygwin provides a POSIX-compatible environment plus hundreds of free GNU utilities for the command line and software development.

How does Cygwin provide Unix-style tools?

Cygwin combines a Windows compatibility layer with a big set of free Unix utilities, most of them from the GNU project. Its cygwin1.dll provides substantial POSIX API functionality, giving supported programs access to common Unix-style interfaces.

A Cygwin shell can run command-line tools such as Bash, grep, and SSH. This environment suits shell scripts, development tasks, and workflows that use the same kinds of tools on remote Unix systems.

How do you choose and update Cygwin packages?

The setup program handles both new installations and updates. During setup, choose the packages to include; the resulting environment depends on that selection.

To add tools later, open the setup program again and select additional packages. Individual packages are updated separately from the Cygwin DLL, so the DLL's version alone does not describe the state of every installed tool.

• Select packages for the command-line tools or development workflow you need.
• Reuse setup to add packages or update an existing installation.

Can Cygwin run native Linux applications?

Cygwin applications need to be built for the Cygwin environment. A native Linux executable does not run directly on Windows through Cygwin; its source must be rebuilt to use Cygwin.

System requirements: Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 · 64-bit only

What is cygwin1.dll?

It is Cygwin's DLL, which provides POSIX API functionality to supported programs.

Can the setup program add packages after installation?

Yes. Run the setup program again and select the additional packages to install.

Does Cygwin run Linux executables directly?

No. Applications must be rebuilt from source for the Cygwin environment.