# Install snapdir for C/C++

The C/C++ binding is a header-only RAII wrapper (`snapdir.hpp`) over the snapdir
C ABI. It gives you the full snapdir core — the same BLAKE3 walk, manifests, and
64-character snapshot IDs as the CLI — built from source against the
`snapdir-ffi` crate. There is no C++ package registry, so you compile the C ABI
once and link your program against it.

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## Install

The published artifact is the [`snapdir-ffi`](https://crates.io/crates/snapdir-ffi)
**source crate** on crates.io. Build the static library, generate the C header
with `cbindgen`, then compile your program against it with `snapdir.hpp`:

```sh
# needs a Rust toolchain + cbindgen (apk add rust cargo cbindgen on Alpine)
# fetch the snapdir-ffi source (e.g. `cargo fetch`/vendor), then:
cargo build --release                       # -> target/release/libsnapdir_ffi.a
cbindgen --config cbindgen.toml --crate snapdir-ffi --output snapdir.h .
g++ -std=c++20 app.cpp -I. -L. -lsnapdir_ffi -lpthread -ldl -lm -o app
```

You need a C++17 compiler (C++20 tested — the header uses `std::optional`,
`std::filesystem`, and `std::future`), a Rust toolchain, and `cbindgen`. Drop
`snapdir.hpp` next to `snapdir.h` and include it. This exact flow is CI-verified
from crates.io on a blank-slate `alpine:3.20` (musl) image before every release.

## Platform support

Every binding runs on Linux (glibc and Alpine/musl, x64 and arm64) and macOS;
Windows is unsupported, since snapdir is Unix-only.

| Platform | Supported |
| --- | --- |
| Linux glibc (x64 + arm64) | yes |
| Linux musl / Alpine (x64 + arm64) | yes |
| macOS | yes |
| Windows | no |

The one binding-wide exception is **Java**, which is glibc-only today (musl
support is planned for 1.11.1). The C/C++ binding has no such caveat — it builds
and links on glibc and musl alike.

## Next

- [C/C++ quickstart](/quickstart/cpp/) — a 60-second push → pull round-trip.
- [snapdir for C/C++](/bindings/cpp/) — the full binding reference.