cbindgen
generate C/C++ headers from Rust FFI libraries
TLDR
Generate C header from Rust library
$ cbindgen -o [header.h]
Generate C++ header$ cbindgen --lang c++ -o [header.hpp]
Generate C header explicitly$ cbindgen --lang c -o [header.h]
Use specific config file$ cbindgen --config [cbindgen.toml] -o [header.h]
Generate from specific crate$ cbindgen --crate [crate_name] -o [header.h]
Show help$ cbindgen --help
SYNOPSIS
cbindgen [options] [cratedirectory_]
DESCRIPTION
cbindgen generates C and C++11 headers from Rust libraries that expose a public C API. It parses Rust source code and creates corresponding C declarations for FFI-exported types and functions.Developed by Mozilla, it ensures generated headers match Rust's type layout and ABI guarantees.
PARAMETERS
-o, --output file
Output header file path--lang language
Output language: c or c++ (default: c++)--config file
Path to cbindgen.toml configuration--crate name
Crate name to generate bindings for--profile name
Cargo profile to use-v, --verbose
Enable verbose output-q, --quiet
Suppress output--verify
Verify existing header matches generated--help
Show help
CONFIGURATION
cbindgen.toml
Controls output language, header guards, include directives, formatting style, and type renaming rules.
BUILD SCRIPT USAGE
Add to build.rs for automatic generation on build.
INSTALL
sudo apt install cbindgen
sudo dnf install cbindgen
sudo pacman -S cbindgen
sudo apk add cbindgen
brew install cbindgen
CAVEATS
Only generates headers for pub extern "C" functions and #[repr(C)] types. Requires proper FFI annotations in Rust code. Configuration file customizes output format.