Please explain to me what exactly I should do in the first step

I know, its simply for developers, but I dont understand what I need to do to start crosscompiling

Gemini:

To cross-compile from macOS for the AROS AArch64 platform (ARM64, e.g., for Pinebook, 64-bit Raspberry Pi 3/4, or QEMU virtual machines), your local gcc-16 is not enough.

AROS uses a specific ELF binary format with its own ABI, C standard library (clib2 or AROS libc), and a set of AmigaOS/AROS system headers (<proto/dos.h>, <proto/intuition.h>, etc.).

Here is how to set up the workflow:

Step 1: Set Up the Environment (Docker / Container)
Building the AROS toolchain directly on macOS can be troublesome due to the default case-insensitive filesystem and specific GNU tool requirements. The cleanest approach on macOS Apple Silicon is using a Linux container (e.g., OrbStack or Docker Desktop).
AROS source and configuration script:
The AROS repository includes scripts to configure the cross-toolchain:
Bash

git clone https://github.co...m/AROS.git
cd AROS
./configure --target=arm64-arm-aarch64
make toolchain
make sdk

SDK build output:
The output directory will contain:
The compiler: aarch64-aros-gcc (or a wrapper script calling gcc with the appropriate flags)
The sysroot/SDK tree with AROS headers and libraries: .../AROS/Development

Step 2: Configure a Compiler Wrapper
In practice, compiling a program for AROS involves calling the compiler with the --sysroot parameter pointing to the SDK files:
Bash

aarch64-aros-gcc --sysroot=/path/to/AROS/Development main.c -o my_program

You can create a simple wrapper script on macOS at ~/bin/aros-gcc:

Bash

#!/bin/bash
# If you have the toolchain locally:
/path/to/toolchain/aarch64-aros-gcc --sysroot=/path/to/AROS/Development "$@"

# OR if you run it via Docker:
# docker run --rm -v "$(pwd):/work" -w /work aros-sdk aarch64-aros-gcc "$@"

Remember to make it executable: chmod +x ~/bin/aros-gcc.

Step 3: Integrate with Geany on macOS
Once you have the aros-gcc command accessible in your terminal:
Open your source code file in Geany (e.g., a program using AROS libraries).
Go to: Build $rightarrow$ Set Build Commands.In the C source commands section:
Compile:
Plaintext

aros-gcc -Wall -c "%f"
Build:
Plaintext

aros-gcc -Wall -o "%e" "%f"

Click OK to save.
Example Test Code for AROS

C

#include <proto/dos.h>
#include <proto/exec.h>
#include <stdio.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
PutStr("Hello from AROS AArch64!n";
printf("Called with arguments: %dn", argc);
return 0;
}

Pressing F9 in Geany will produce a binary ready to be transferred to an AROS system or booted inside QEMU (qemu-system-aarch64).