MLmlindner·Dec 20, 2022
You can also use rustc as a frontend to GCC through rustc_codegen_gcc.
https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
In GCC now includes Modula-2 and Rust. Do they work on OpenBSD?rust-lang
rustc_codegen_gcc
Rust2021–2026
rust-lang / rustc_codegen_gcc
rustc_codegen_gcc
libgccjit AOT codegen for rustc
18Distinct people
22Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
1.2KGitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
libgccjit AOT codegen for rustc
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use was verified in the last source check.
What people are saying
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Also in these discussions
- rust-gcc/gccrs · linked in 4 of the same discussions
Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 6:01:08 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year22 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2021-12-08 16:07:15 UTC to 2026-07-03 22:09:52 UTC.
* An incomplete calendar period is marked with an outlined bar. Its count is not directly comparable with a full period.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 2026 (partial) | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2027-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
What Hacker News says
9 sourcesWhy not use this instead?
https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
In Rust front-end merged in GCC trunkThat's rather rustc_codegen_gcc. gcc-rs is more for people who don't like LLVM and/or Rust.
https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
In Rust front-end merged in GCC trunkThere is also a project for rustc to use GCC instead of LLVM for codegen.
https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
In Rust front-end merged in GCC trunk> Has the Rust-portability situation been addressed?
The rust portability story is in the process of being addressed, by two different projects:
gcc-rs[0] adds a Rust frontend to GCC.
rustc-codegen-gcc[1] adds a GCC backend to rustc.
Both are progressing pretty well, but it will likely still take a while until they reach maturity.
> Or will this change restrict the number of platforms the Linux kernel will be usable on?
There won't be any Rust inside the Linux core, only for drivers. So no, the linux kernel will always be usable on all platforms. However, the drivers written in Rust won't be usable on platforms not supported by LLVM until a GCC alternative becomes mature.
> what will the advantages be?
There are multiple: Safety, improved stability, and developer productivity. Compile time will likely take a hit (Rust is famously slow t
Read the rest
o compile), but I don't expect a big shift in runtime performance (could be slightly better due to the extra opportunities the compiler has for optimization, but it's not super likely).
As for having any effects on Rust: it already has! A lot of unstable features got prioritized due to being necessary for the kernel, such as fallible allocations.
[0]: https://github.com/Rust-GCC/gccrs - monthly reports at https://thephilbert.io/category/gccrs-status-updates/
[1]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc - monthly reports at https://blog.antoyo.xyz/
That is actually going to happen for rustc itself via the rustc_codegen_gcc project (https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc), this post is about a different project that writes a "from scratch" rust frontend/compiler for the GCC project in C++ . They both compile rust code with GCC as a backend, but one uses the normal rustc/cargo tools, and the other is a separate compiler with a separate cargo shim.
In GCC Rust Approved by GCC Steering CommitteeAnother related project is the libgccjit backend for rustc:
https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
In GCC Rust Approved by GCC Steering CommitteeWhen GCC support [0] lands it's going to be a complete game-changer.
[0] https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
In Memory safety for the world’s largest software projectBecause there is often some confusion, note that there are two different projects in this space with different approaches.
The project discussed in the video above is a new front end to GCC (written in C++, as is typical for GCC frontends) and is developed here: https://github.com/Rust-GCC/gccrs
The other project involves plugging GCC's backend into the existing rustc frontend, and is developed here: https://github.com/rust-lang/rustc_codegen_gcc
Both projects intend to eventually allow Rust code to make use of GCC. But they will likely appeal to different sets of users: the former project appeals to people invested in the GCC ecosystem who want to use Rust without installing a whole separate toolchain, and the latter to people invested in the Rust ecosystem who want to benefit from GCC's broader target support.
In Adding a Rust compiler front end to GCC [video]