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diff --git a/docs/setup/windows_build.rst b/docs/setup/windows_build.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..99f5fdf5d9 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/setup/windows_build.rst @@ -0,0 +1,209 @@ +Building Firefox On Windows +====================================== + +This document will help you get set up to build Firefox on your own +computer. Getting set up can take a while - we need to download a +lot of bytes! Even on a fast connection, this can take ten to fifteen +minutes of work, spread out over an hour or two. + +If you'd prefer to build Firefox for Windows in a virtual machine, +you may be interested in the `Windows images provided by Microsoft +<https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/virtual-machines/>`_. + +Requirements +------------ + +- **Memory:** 4GB RAM minimum, 8GB+ recommended. +- **Disk Space:** At least 40GB of free disk space. +- **Operating System:** Windows 10. It is advisable to have Windows Update be fully + up-to-date. See :ref:`build_hosts` for more information. + +Recommended (For Windows 11 Users) +---------------------------------- +Setup a `Dev Drive +<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dev-drive/#how-to-set-up-a-dev-drive>`_. + +.. note:: + + - A Dev Drive has been shown to make Firefox builds and VCS operations 5-10% faster. + - This guide assumes no Dev Drive, so all instructions of ``C:\mozilla-source`` should be to your Dev Drive letter instead (eg: ``D:\mozilla-source``), as your ``C:\`` drive can never be a Dev Drive. + +1. Install MozillaBuild +----------------------- + +Install `MozillaBuild +<https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/libraries/win32/MozillaBuildSetup-Latest.exe>`_. + +Accept the default installation directory. +Windows may prompt you to "reinstall with the correct settings", which you +should click to accept. + +When working with Firefox tooling, you'll need to do so from within the MozillaBuild +shell. You can start it by running ``C:\mozilla-build\start-shell.bat`` (you may want +to make a shortcut to this file so it's easier to start). + +.. note:: + + The MozillaBuild shell is a lot more like a Linux shell than the Windows ``cmd``. You can + learn more about it `here <https://wiki.mozilla.org/MozillaBuild>`_. + +2. Bootstrap a copy of the Firefox source code +---------------------------------------------- + +Now that your system is ready, we can download the source code and have Firefox +automatically download the other dependencies it needs. The below command +will download a lot of data (years of Firefox history!) then guide you through +the interactive setup process. + +.. code-block:: shell + + # Using the C:\mozilla-build\start-shell.bat shell from step 1: + cd c:/ + mkdir mozilla-source + cd mozilla-source + wget https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/raw-file/default/python/mozboot/bin/bootstrap.py + python3 bootstrap.py +.. note:: + + When running ``bootstrap.py`` there will be a `UAC (User Account Control) prompt <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/user-account-control/how-user-account-control-works>`_ for PowerShell after + selecting the destination directory for the source code clone. This is + necessary to add the Microsoft Defender Antivirus exclusions automatically. You + should select ``Yes`` on the UAC prompt, otherwise you will need + to :ref:`follow some manual steps below <Ensure antivirus exclusions>`. + +.. note:: + + To use ``git``, you can grab the source code in "git" form by running the + bootstrap script with the ``vcs`` parameter: + + .. code-block:: shell + + python3 bootstrap.py --vcs=git + + This uses `Git Cinnabar <https://github.com/glandium/git-cinnabar/>`_ under the hood. + +Choosing a build type +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +If you aren't modifying the Firefox backend, then select one of the +:ref:`Artifact Mode <Understanding Artifact Builds>` options. If you are +building Firefox for Android, you should also see the :ref:`GeckoView Contributor Guide <geckoview-contributor-guide>`. + +.. _Ensure antivirus exclusions: + +Ensure antivirus exclusions +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Microsoft Defender Antivirus and some third-party antivirus products +are known to significantly degrade build times and sometimes even cause failed +builds (due to a "missing file"). This is usually because we have tests for +well-known security bugs that have code samples that antivirus software identifies +as a threat, automatically quarantining/corrupting the files. + +To avoid this, add the following folders to your third-party antivirus exclusion list: + +- The ``C:\mozilla-build`` folder. +- The directory where the Firefox code is (probably ``C:\mozilla-source``). +- The ``%USERPROFILE%/.mozbuild`` directory (probably ``C:\Users\<user>\.mozbuild``). + +The ``bootstrap.py`` script attempts to add the above folders to the Microsoft +Defender Antivirus exclusion list automatically. You should check that they were +successfully added, but if they're missing you will need to `add the exclusions to +Microsoft Defender Antivirus manually +<https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/4028485/windows-10-add-an-exclusion-to-windows-security>`_. + +.. note:: + + If you are using Mercurial and you're already missing files (you'll see them listed in ``hg status``), you can have them + brought back by reverting your source tree: ``hg update -C``. + + If you are using Git and you're already missing files (you'll see them listed in ``git status``), you can have them brought back by discarding changes in your source tree: ``git restore .``. + +1. Build +-------- + +Now that your system is bootstrapped, you should be able to build! + +.. code-block:: shell + + cd c:/mozilla-source/mozilla-unified + hg up -C central + ./mach build + +🎉 Congratulations! You've built your own home-grown Firefox! +You should see the following message in your terminal after a successful build: + +.. code-block:: console + + Your build was successful! + To take your build for a test drive, run: |mach run| + For more information on what to do now, see https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/contributing_code.html + +You can now use the ``./mach run`` command to run your locally built Firefox! + +If your build fails, please reference the steps in the `Troubleshooting section <#troubleshooting>`_. + +Now the fun starts +------------------ + +Time to start hacking! You should join us on `Matrix <https://chat.mozilla.org/>`_, +say hello in the `Introduction channel +<https://chat.mozilla.org/#/room/#introduction:mozilla.org>`_, and `find a bug to +start working on <https://codetribute.mozilla.org/>`_. +See the :ref:`Firefox Contributors' Quick Reference` to learn how to test your changes, +send patches to Mozilla, update your source code locally, and more. + +.. note:: + + If you'd like to interact with Mach from a different command line environment + than MozillaBuild, there's experimental support for it described + :ref:`over here <Using Mach on Windows Outside MozillaBuild>`. + +Troubleshooting +--------------- + +Build errors +~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +If you encounter a build error when trying to setup your development environment, please follow these steps: + 1. Copy the entire build error to your clipboard + 2. Paste this error on `paste.mozilla.org <https://paste.mozilla.org>`_ in the text area and change the "Expire in one hour" option to "Expire in one week". Note: it won't take a week to get help but it's better to have the snippet be around for a bit longer than expected. + 3. Go to the `introduction channel <https://chat.mozilla.org/#/room/#introduction:mozilla.org>`__ and ask for help with your build error. Make sure to post the link to the paste.mozilla.org snippet you created! + +MozillaBuild out-of-date +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The build system expects that you're using the most-recent MozillaBuild release. +However, MozillaBuild doesn't auto-update. If you're running into local issues, +they may be resolved by `upgrading your MozillaBuild <https://wiki.mozilla.org/MozillaBuild>`_. + +Spaces in folder names +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +**Firefox will not build** if the path to MozillaBuild or the Firefox source +contain **spaces** or other breaking characters such as pluses, quotation marks, +or metacharacters. The Visual Studio tools and SDKs are an exception - they may +be installed in a directory which contains spaces. It is strongly recommended +that you accept the default settings for all installation locations. + +Quotation marks in ``PATH`` +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Quotation marks (") aren't translated properly when passed to MozillaBuild +sub-shells. Since they're not usually necessary, you should ensure they're +not in your ``PATH`` environment variable. + +``PYTHON`` environment variable +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +If ``PYTHON`` is set, the build may fail with the error: "``The system +cannot find the file specified``." Ensure that you aren't having +a ``PYTHON`` environment variable set. + +Cygwin interference +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +If you happen to have Cygwin installed, its tools may erroneously be +used when building Firefox. Ensure that MozillaBuild directories (in +``C:\mozilla-build\``) are before Cygwin directories in the ``PATH`` +environment variable. |