C Programming Environment for Windows

Install MSYS2 MINGW64

Start by installing MSYS2 command line environment for Windows: https://www.msys2.org/ Install via running the executable installer: https://github.com/msys2/msys2-installer/releases/download/2025-08-30/msys2-x86_64-20250830.exe

Install GCC Compiler

MSYS2 comes with the pacman package manager. Use pacman to install GCC compiler:

pacman -Syu
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc

NOTE: Make sure you run the MINGW64 binary to open the correct shell.

Test installation:

gcc --version

Install VS Code

This is the simplest text editor that still has some decent plugins and features without being a full blown IDE.

Setup GCC for VS Code

Install extension: ms-vscode.cpptools Configure VS Code to use GCC via:

• Ctrl+Shift+P → C/C++: Edit Configurations (UI)
• Choose compiler path: C:\msys64\mingw64\bin\gcc.exe

Configure Build Task

• Open Command Pallete: Ctrl+Shift+P
• Configure Default Build Task
• Choose: C/C++: gcc build active file

NOTE: This should auto-generate a task.json file with pre-defined settings, which should be all you need for a basic setup.

Now you can run your C code via Ctrl+Shift+B. You can tweak any extra settings in the task.json file. By default, this will compile your code into a .exe binary named after whatever your source code .c file is named.

Setup GDB Debugger

Install GDB:

pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gdb

If you stuck with the default task.json settings, you should be compiling with the GCC -g flag. Open the Command Pallete in VS Code again via: Ctrl+Shift+P

Type:

Add Debug Configuration

Choose:

C/C++: (gdb) Launch

Copy/paste the following launch.json and save the file:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Debug C Program",
            "type": "cppdbg",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${fileDirname}\\${fileBasenameNoExtension}.exe",
            "args": [],
            "stopAtEntry": false,
            "cwd": "${fileDirname}",
            "environment": [],
            "externalConsole": false,
            "MIMode": "gdb",
            "miDebuggerPath": "C:\\msys64\\mingw64\\bin\\gdb.exe",
            "setupCommands": [
                {
                    "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
                    "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
                    "ignoreFailures": true
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

You should now be able to set break points and press F5 to run the debugger and step over and into via F10 and F11 etc. You can dive in and out of the terminal via:

Ctrl+`