How to download and install latest version of MinGW on Windows

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

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🧩 Step 1: Choose Which MinGW You Want

There are two main distributions:

1. MinGW (Original) — older and less frequently updated.
   • Website: http://www.mingw.org/
   • Installer name: mingw-get-setup.exe
2. MinGW-w64 (Recommended) — actively maintained, supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.
   • Official SourceForge page: https://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw-w64/
   • Alternatively, the MSYS2 distribution provides a more modern environment using MinGW-w64.

For most users, MinGW-w64 (or MSYS2) is the best choice.

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⚙️ Step 2: Download MinGW-w64 Installer

1. Go to https://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw-w64/
2. Click Download Latest Version — it will automatically download a file like: mingw-w64-install.exe
3. Run the installer.

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🖥️ Step 3: Configure Installation

When the installer launches:

• Version: Choose the latest (e.g., 8.1.0 or newer)
• Architecture: Select x86_64 (for 64-bit Windows)
• Threads: posix
• Exception: seh (for 64-bit)
• Build revision: Latest available
• Installation directory: e.g. C:\mingw-w64

Click Next and wait for it to finish.

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🔧 Step 4: Add MinGW to PATH

1. Open Start Menu → Edit the system environment variables
2. Click Environment Variables
3. Under System Variables, find and edit Path
4. Click New and add: C:\mingw-w64\bin
5. Click OK to save.

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✅ Step 5: Verify Installation

Open Command Prompt (cmd) and type:

gcc --version

If it prints the version (e.g. gcc (x86_64-posix-seh-rev0) 8.1.0), you’re good to go.

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💡 Alternative: Install via MSYS2 (Recommended for Developers)

If you want a more powerful environment with package management:

1. Go to https://www.msys2.org/
2. Download and install MSYS2.
3. Run: pacman -Syu pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gcc This gives you the latest MinGW-w64 toolchain managed by pacman.