Cross-Platform Building

Quick Start

Wails v3 supports building for Windows, macOS, and Linux from any host operating system. The build system automatically detects your environment and chooses the right compilation method.

Want to cross-compile to macOS and Linux? Run this once to set up the Docker images (~800MB download):

wails3 task setup:docker

Then build for any platform:

# Build for current platform (production by default)
wails3 build

# Build for specific platforms
wails3 build GOOS=windows
wails3 build GOOS=darwin
wails3 build GOOS=linux

# Build for ARM64 architecture
wails3 build GOOS=windows GOARCH=arm64
wails3 build GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64
wails3 build GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64

# Environment variable style also works
GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 wails3 build

Windows

Windows is the simplest cross-compilation target because it doesn’t require CGO by default.

wails3 build GOOS=windows

This works from any host OS with no additional setup. Go’s built-in cross-compilation handles everything.

If your app requires CGO (e.g., you’re using a C library or CGO-dependent package), you’ll need Docker when building from macOS or Linux:

# One-time setup
wails3 task setup:docker

# Build with CGO enabled
wails3 task windows:build CGO_ENABLED=1

The Taskfile detects CGO_ENABLED=1 on non-Windows hosts and automatically uses the Docker image.

macOS

macOS builds require CGO for WebView integration, which means cross-compilation needs special tooling.

# Build for Apple Silicon (arm64) - default
wails3 build GOOS=darwin

# Build for Intel (amd64)
wails3 build GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64

# Build universal binary (both architectures)
wails3 task darwin:build:universal

From Linux or Windows, you’ll need to set up Docker first:

wails3 task setup:docker

Once the images are built, the build system detects that you’re not on macOS and uses Docker automatically. You don’t need to change your build commands.

Note that cross-compiled macOS binaries are not code-signed. You’ll need to sign them on macOS or in CI before distribution.

Linux

Linux builds require CGO for WebView integration.

wails3 build GOOS=linux

# Build for specific architecture
wails3 build GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64
wails3 build GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64

From macOS or Windows, you’ll need to set up Docker first:

wails3 task setup:docker

The build system detects that you’re not on Linux and uses Docker automatically.

On Linux without a C compiler, the build system checks for gcc or clang. If neither is found, it falls back to Docker. This is useful for minimal containers or systems without build tools installed. You can either:

1. Install a C compiler: sudo apt install build-essential (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo pacman -S base-devel (Arch)
2. Build the Docker image and let it be used automatically

ARM Architecture

All platforms support ARM64 cross-compilation using GOARCH:

# Windows ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Windows on ARM)
wails3 build GOOS=windows GOARCH=arm64

# Linux ARM64 (Raspberry Pi 4/5, AWS Graviton)
wails3 build GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64

# macOS ARM64 (Apple Silicon - this is the default on macOS)
wails3 build GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64

# macOS Intel (amd64)
wails3 build GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64

The Docker image includes Zig cross-compiler targets for both amd64 and arm64 on all platforms, so ARM builds work from any host:

Build ARM64 for	From Windows	From macOS	From Linux
Windows ARM64	Native Go	Native Go	Native Go
macOS ARM64	Docker	Native	Docker
Linux ARM64	Docker	Docker	Docker*

*Linux ARM64 from Linux x86_64 uses Docker because CGO cross-compilation requires a different toolchain.

How It Works

Cross-Compilation Matrix

Host → Target	Windows	macOS	Linux
Windows	Native	Docker	Docker
macOS	Native Go	Native	Docker
Linux	Native Go	Docker	Native

• Native = Platform’s native toolchain, no additional setup
• Native Go = Go’s built-in cross-compilation (CGO_ENABLED=0)
• Docker = Docker image with Zig cross-compiler

CGO Requirements

Target	CGO Required	Cross-Compilation Method
Windows	No (default)	Native Go. Docker only if CGO_ENABLED=1
macOS	Yes	Docker with macOS SDK
Linux	Yes	Docker, or native if C compiler available

Auto-Detection

The Taskfiles automatically choose the right build method based on your environment:

• Windows target: Uses native Go cross-compilation by default. If you explicitly set CGO_ENABLED=1 on a non-Windows host, it switches to Docker.
• macOS target: Uses Docker automatically when not on macOS. No manual intervention needed.
• Linux target: Checks for gcc or clang. Uses native compilation if found, otherwise falls back to Docker.

Docker Image

Wails uses a single Docker image (wails-cross) that can build for all platforms. It uses Zig as the cross-compiler, which can target any platform from any host. The macOS SDK is included for darwin targets.

wails3 task setup:docker

You can check if the image is ready by running wails3 doctor.

macOS SDK

The Docker image downloads the macOS SDK from joseluisq/macosx-sdks during the image build process. This is required because macOS headers are needed for CGO compilation.

By default, the image uses macOS SDK 14.5 (Sonoma). To use a different version, rebuild with:

docker build -t wails-cross \
  --build-arg MACOS_SDK_VERSION=15.0 \
  -f build/docker/Dockerfile.cross build/docker/

See the available SDK versions for options.

Important: Wails does not distribute the macOS SDK. Users are responsible for reviewing Apple’s SDK license terms before using this feature.

CI/CD Integration

For production releases, we recommend using CI/CD with native runners for each platform. This avoids cross-compilation entirely and ensures you get properly signed binaries.

name: Build

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    strategy:
      matrix:
        include:
          - os: ubuntu-latest
            goos: linux
          - os: macos-latest
            goos: darwin
          - os: windows-latest
            goos: windows

    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with:
          go-version: '1.24'

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'

      - name: Install Wails CLI
        run: go install github.com/wailsapp/wails/v3/cmd/wails3@latest

      - name: Install Task
        uses: arduino/setup-task@v2

      - name: Build
        run: wails3 build

      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: app-${{ matrix.goos }}
          path: bin/

Troubleshooting

Docker image not found

Docker image 'wails-cross' not found.

Run wails3 task setup:docker to build the Docker image. You only need to do this once.

Docker daemon not running

Docker is required for cross-compilation. Please install Docker.

Start Docker Desktop or the Docker daemon. On Linux, you may need to run sudo systemctl start docker.

No C compiler on Linux

If you see CGO-related errors when building on Linux, you have two options:

1. Install a C compiler:

   • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install build-essential
   • Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S base-devel
   • Fedora: sudo dnf install gcc

2. Use Docker instead: Run wails3 task setup:docker and the Taskfile will use it automatically when no compiler is detected.

macOS binaries not signed

Cross-compiled macOS binaries are not code-signed. Apple requires code signing for distribution, so you’ll need to:

1. Sign the binary on a macOS machine, or
2. Sign in CI using a macOS runner

See Signing Applications for details.

Universal binary creation

Universal binaries (arm64 + amd64 combined) can be built on any platform:

wails3 task darwin:build:universal

On Linux and Windows, Wails uses its built-in wails3 tool lipo command (powered by konoui/lipo) to combine the binaries. This creates a single binary that runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

Next Steps

• Building Applications - Basic build commands and options
• Signing Applications - Code signing for distribution