---
sidebar_label: dcr.toml overview
---

# dcr.toml

Main project configuration file. Located at the project root.

## Structure

```toml
[package]
# required fields

[build]
# build settings

[build.debug]       # optional: debug override
[build.release]     # optional: release override

[build.linux]       # optional: Linux override
[build.windows]     # optional: Windows override
[build.windows.debug]  # target + profile combination

[toolchain]
# compiler/linker paths

[dependencies]
# project dependencies

[workspace]
# multi-package configuration

[run]
# run settings
```

## [package]

| Field     | Required | Description                                 |
| --------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `name`    | yes      | Project name                                |
| `version` | yes      | Semantic version                            |
| `type`    | no       | `app`, `lib`, `none` (defaults to `"none"`) |
| `license` | no       | SPDX license identifier                     |
| `author`  | no       | Author                                      |

```toml
[package]
name = "my-app"
version = "0.1.0"
type = "app"
license = "MIT"
author = "John Doe"
```

## [build]

...

* `build.qt` — (bool) Enable automatic Qt meta-object handling (MOC, UIC, RCC). Requires `qt6` modules installed via `pkg-config`.

| Field            | Default       | Description                                                                                          |
| ---------------- | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `language`       | `"c"`         | `"c"`, `"c++"`, `"cpp"`, `"cxx"`, `"asm"` (optional, defaults to `"c"`)                              |
| `standard`       | `"c11"`       | C standard (`c11`, `c17`, `c23`)                                                                     |
| `cxx_standard`   | —             | C++ standard (`c++17`, `c++20`, `c++23`)                                                             |
| `compiler`       | `"clang"`     | Preferred compiler (optional, defaults to `"clang"`)                                                 |
| `kind`           | `"bin"`       | `bin`, `staticlib`, `sharedlib`, `efi`, `elf`, `none`, `custom`                                      |
| `target`         | host          | Target triple for cross-compilation                                                                  |
| `platform`       | `"native"`    | `native`, `efi`                                                                                      |
| `cflags`         | `[]`          | Additional C/C++/ASM flags                                                                           |
| `ldflags`        | `[]`          | Additional linker flags                                                                              |
| `filename`       | `""`          | Custom output file name                                                                              |
| `extension`      | `""`          | Custom file extension                                                                                |
| `roots`          | `["src"]`     | Source root directories                                                                              |
| `exclude`        | `[]`          | Exclude patterns                                                                                     |
| `include`        | `[]`          | Additional include directories                                                                       |
| `src_disable`    | `false`       | Disable auto source discovery                                                                        |
| `inherit`        | `false`       | Inherit build from workspace root                                                                    |
| `clean`          | `[]`          | Glob patterns for custom clean paths                                                                 |
| `out_dir`        | `""`          | Custom output directory                                                                              |
| `workspace_only` | `false`       | Workspace-only, not built standalone (no `language`/`compiler` required)                             |
| `freestanding`   | `false`       | Compile in freestanding mode (`-ffreestanding` + `-nostdlib -static`)                                |
| `opt_level`      | —             | Optimization level: `0`-`3`, `"s"`, `"z"` (derived from profile if omitted)                          |
| `debug`          | profile-based | Emit debug symbols (`-g`): `true` in debug, `false` in release                                       |
| `lto`            | `false`       | Link-time optimization (`-flto` for both compiler and linker)                                        |
| `strip`          | `false`       | Strip symbols from output (`-s` in ldflags)                                                          |
| `warnings`       | `[]`          | Warning flags (e.g. `"all"`, `"extra"`, `"pedantic"`); engine adds `-Wall -Wextra` in debug if empty |
| `panic`          | `""`          | Panic strategy: `"abort"` disables exceptions and unwind tables                                      |
| `codegen-units`  | `""`          | Max parallel compilation jobs (`"0"` = auto)                                                         |
| `qt`             | `false`       | Enable automatic Qt meta-object handling (MOC, UIC, RCC)                                             |

Settings from raw config (not in typed struct):

* `pkg_config` — list of pkg-config packages
* `ldscript` — linker script path
* `build.steps` / `build.post_steps` — codegen steps

## Per-language overrides: `[build.c]`, `[build.cxx]`, `[build.asm]`

Each language can have its own table that overrides the flat `[build]` settings:

```toml
[build]
compiler = "clang"
standard = "c11"

[build.c]
standard = "c23"
compiler = "gcc"

[build.cxx]
standard = "c++23"
compiler = "g++"

[build.asm]
compiler = "nasm"
flags = ["-felf64"]
```

The flat `[build]` acts as fallback; per-language tables take precedence for their language.

Example:

```toml
[build]
language = "c++"
standard = "c23"
cxx_standard = "c++23"
compiler = "clang"
kind = "sharedlib"
cflags = ["-Wall", "-Wextra"]
opt_level = "z"
lto = true
strip = true
panic = "abort"
codegen-units = "2"
```

## [toolchain]

```toml
[toolchain]
cc = "/usr/bin/clang"
cxx = "/usr/bin/clang++"
as = "/usr/bin/as"
ar = "/usr/bin/ar"
ld = "/usr/bin/ld.lld"
```

Raw config also supports `uic`, `moc`, `rcc` for Qt codegen.

## [dependencies]

See [dependencies](/docs/reference/dependencies).

## [run]

```toml
[run]
cmd = "./target/{profile}/{name}"
```

Substitutions:

* `{version}` — package version
* `{version_major}`, `{version_minor}`, `{version_patch}`, `{version_suffix}`, `{version_suffix_dash}` — version parts
* `{profile}` — debug / release
* `{name}` — package name

Default `cmd` = `./target/{profile}/{name}` (macOS/Windows) or `./target/\<triple>/\<profile>/\<name>` (Linux).

## [workspace]

See [workspaces](/docs/reference/workspaces).