Compiler options listed alphabetically
This table contains an alphabetical list of compiler options. For a list of compiler options by category, see the Compiler options listed by category article.
Compiler options
| Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
@ |
Specifies a response file. |
/? |
Lists the compiler options. |
/AI<dir> |
Specifies a directory to search to resolve file references passed to the #using directive. |
/analyze |
Enables code analysis. |
/arch |
Minimum CPU architecture requirements. |
/arm64EC |
Generate code compatible with the arm64EC ABI. |
/await |
Enable coroutines (resumable functions) extensions. |
/await:strict |
Enable standard C++20 coroutine support with earlier language versions. |
/bigobj |
Increases the number of addressable sections in an .obj file. |
/C |
Preserves comments during preprocessing. |
/c |
Compiles without linking. |
/cgthreads |
Specifies number of cl.exe threads to use for optimization and code generation. |
/clr |
Produces an output file to run on the common language runtime. |
/clr:implicitKeepAlive- |
Turn off implicit emission of System::GC::KeepAlive(this). |
/clr:initialAppDomain |
Enable initial AppDomain behavior of Visual C++ 2002. |
/clr:netcore |
Produce assemblies targeting .NET Core runtime. |
/clr:noAssembly |
Don't produce an assembly. |
/clr:nostdimport |
Don't import any required assemblies implicitly. |
/clr:nostdlib |
Ignore the system .NET framework directory when searching for assemblies. |
/clr:pure |
Produce an IL-only output file (no native executable code). |
/clr:safe |
Produce an IL-only verifiable output file. |
/constexpr:backtrace<N> |
Show N constexpr evaluations in diagnostics (default: 10). |
/constexpr:depth<N> |
Recursion depth limit for constexpr evaluation (default: 512). |
/constexpr:steps<N> |
Terminate constexpr evaluation after N steps (default: 100000) |
/D<name>{=|#}<text> |
Defines constants and macros. |
/diagnostics |
Diagnostics format: prints column information. |
/diagnostics:caret[-] |
Diagnostics format: prints column and the indicated line of source. |
/diagnostics:classic |
Use legacy diagnostics format. |
/doc |
Processes documentation comments to an XML file. |
/E |
Copies preprocessor output to standard output. |
/EHa |
Enable C++ exception handling (with SEH exceptions). |
/EHc |
extern "C" defaults to nothrow. |
/EHr |
Always generate noexcept runtime termination checks. |
/EHs |
Enable C++ exception handling (no SEH exceptions). |
/EP |
Copies preprocessor output to standard output. |
/errorReport |
Deprecated. Windows Error Reporting (WER) settings control error reporting. |
/execution-charset |
Set execution character set. |
/experimental:log |
Enables experimental structured SARIF output. |
/experimental:module |
Enables experimental module support. |
/exportHeader |
Create the header units files (.ifc) specified by the input arguments. |
/external:anglebrackets |
Treat all headers included via <> as external. |
/external:env:<var> |
Specify an environment variable with locations of external headers. |
/external:I <path> |
Specify location of external headers. |
/external:templates[-] |
Evaluate warning level across template instantiation chain. |
/external:W<n> |
Set warning level for external headers. |
/F |
Sets stack size. |
/FA |
Configures an assembly listing file. |
/Fa |
Creates an assembly listing file. |
/fastfail |
Enable fast-fail mode. |
/favor:<blend|AMD64|INTEL64|ATOM> |
Produces code that is optimized for a specified architecture, or for a range of architectures. |
/FC |
Displays the full path of source code files passed to cl.exe in diagnostic text. |
/Fd |
Renames program database file. |
/Fe |
Renames the executable file. |
/feature |
Enable architecture features.17.10 |
/FI<file> |
Preprocesses the specified include file. |
/Fi |
Specifies the preprocessed output file name. |
/Fm |
Creates a mapfile. |
/Fo |
Creates an object file. |
/Fp |
Specifies a precompiled header file name. |
/fp:contract |
Consider floating-point contractions when generating code. |
/fp:except[-] |
Consider floating-point exceptions when generating code. |
/fp:fast |
"fast" floating-point model; results are less predictable. |
/fp:precise |
"precise" floating-point model; results are predictable. |
/fp:strict |
"strict" floating-point model (implies /fp:except). |
/fpcvt:BC |
Backward-compatible floating-point to unsigned integer conversions. |
/fpcvt:IA |
Intel native floating-point to unsigned integer conversion behavior. |
/FR, /Fr |
Name generated .sbr browser files. /Fr is deprecated. |
/FS |
Forces writes to the PDB file to be serialized through MSPDBSRV.EXE. |
/fsanitize |
Enables compilation of sanitizer instrumentation such as AddressSanitizer. |
/fsanitize-coverage |
Enables compilation of code coverage instrumentation for libraries such as LibFuzzer. |
/Ft<dir> |
Location of the header files generated for #import. |
/FU<file> |
Forces the use of a file name, as if it had been passed to the #using directive. |
/Fx |
Merges injected code with the source file. |
/GA |
Optimizes for Windows applications. |
/Gd |
Uses the __cdecl calling convention. (x86 only) |
/Ge |
Deprecated. Activates stack probes. |
/GF |
Enables string pooling. |
/GH |
Calls hook function _pexit. |
/Gh |
Calls hook function _penter. |
/GL[-] |
Enables whole program optimization. |
/Gm[-] |
Deprecated. Enables minimal rebuild. |
/GR[-] |
Enables run-time type information (RTTI). |
/Gr |
Uses the __fastcall calling convention. (x86 only) |
/GS[-] |
Checks buffer security. |
/Gs[n] |
Controls stack probes. |
/GT |
Supports fiber safety for data allocated by using static thread-local storage. |
/Gu[-] |
Ensure distinct functions have distinct addresses. |
/guard:cf[-] |
Adds control flow guard security checks. |
/guard:ehcont[-] |
Enables EH continuation metadata. |
/Gv |
Uses the __vectorcall calling convention. (x86 and x64 only) |
/Gw[-] |
Enables whole-program global data optimization. |
/GX[-] |
Deprecated. Enables synchronous exception handling. Use /EH instead. |
/Gy[-] |
Enables function-level linking. |
/GZ |
Deprecated. Enables fast checks. (Same as /RTC1) |
/Gz |
Uses the __stdcall calling convention. (x86 only) |
/H |
Deprecated. Restricts the length of external (public) names. |
/headerName |
Build a header unit from the specified header. |
/headerUnit |
Specify where to find the header unit file (.ifc) for the specified header. |
/HELP |
Lists the compiler options. |
/homeparams |
Forces parameters passed in registers to be written to their locations on the stack upon function entry. This compiler option is only for the x64 compilers (native and cross compile). |
/hotpatch |
Creates a hotpatchable image. |
/I<dir> |
Searches a directory for include files. |
/ifcOutput |
Specify output file name or directory for built .ifc files. |
/interface |
Treat the input file as a module interface unit. |
/internalPartition |
Treat the input file as an internal partition unit. |
/J |
Changes the default char type. |
/jumptablerdata |
Put switch case statement jump tables in the .rdata section. |
/JMC |
Supports native C++ Just My Code debugging. |
/kernel |
The compiler and linker create a binary that can be executed in the Windows kernel. |
/LD |
Creates a dynamic-link library. |
/LDd |
Creates a debug dynamic-link library. |
/link |
Passes the specified option to LINK. |
/LN |
Creates an MSIL .netmodule. |
/MD |
Compiles to create a multithreaded DLL, by using MSVCRT.lib. |
/MDd |
Compiles to create a debug multithreaded DLL, by using MSVCRTD.lib. |
/MP |
Builds multiple source files concurrently. |
/MT |
Compiles to create a multithreaded executable file, by using LIBCMT.lib. |
/MTd |
Compiles to create a debug multithreaded executable file, by using LIBCMTD.lib. |
/nologo |
Suppresses display of sign-on banner. |
/O1 |
Creates small code. |
/O2 |
Creates fast code. |
/Ob<n> |
Controls inline expansion. |
/Od |
Disables optimization. |
/Og |
Deprecated. Uses global optimizations. |
/Oi[-] |
Generates intrinsic functions. |
/openmp |
Enables #pragma omp in source code. |
/openmp:experimental |
Enable OpenMP 2.0 language extensions plus select OpenMP 3.0+ language extensions. |
/openmp:llvm |
OpenMP language extensions using LLVM runtime. |
/options:strict |
Unrecognized compiler options are errors. |
/Os |
Favors small code. |
/Ot |
Favors fast code. |
/Ox |
A subset of /O2 that doesn't include /GF or /Gy. |
/Oy |
Omits frame pointer. (x86 only) |
/P |
Writes preprocessor output to a file. |
/PD |
Print all macro definitions. |
/permissive[-] |
Set standard-conformance mode. |
/PH |
Generate #pragma file_hash when preprocessing. |
/presetPadding |
Zero initialize padding for stack based class types. |
/Qfast_transcendentals |
Generates fast transcendentals. |
/QIfist |
Deprecated. Suppresses the call of the helper function _ftol when a conversion from a floating-point type to an integral type is required. (x86 only) |
/Qimprecise_fwaits |
Removes fwait commands inside try blocks. |
/QIntel-jcc-erratum |
Mitigates the performance impact of the Intel JCC erratum microcode update. |
/Qpar-report:<n> |
Enables reporting levels for automatic parallelization. |
/Qpar |
Enables automatic parallelization of loops. |
/Qsafe_fp_loads |
Uses integer move instructions for floating-point values and disables certain floating point load optimizations. |
/Qspectre[-] |
Enable mitigations for CVE 2017-5753, for a class of Spectre attacks. |
/Qspectre-load |
Generate serializing instructions for every load instruction. |
/Qspectre-load-cf |
Generate serializing instructions for every control flow instruction that loads memory. |
/Qvec-report:<n> |
Enables reporting levels for automatic vectorization. |
/reference |
Use named module IFC. |
/RTC1 |
Enable fast runtime checks (equivalent to /RTCsu). |
/RTCc |
Convert to smaller type checks at run-time. |
/RTCs |
Enable stack frame runtime checks. |
/RTCu |
Enables uninitialized local usage checks. |
/scanDependencies |
List module dependencies in C++ Standard JSON form. |
/sdl |
Enable more security features and warnings. |
/showIncludes |
Displays a list of all include files during compilation. |
/source-charset |
Set source character set. |
/sourceDependencies |
List all source-level dependencies. |
/sourceDependencies:directives |
List module and header unit dependencies. |
/std:c++14 |
C++14 standard ISO/IEC 14882:2014 (default). |
/std:c++17 |
C++17 standard ISO/IEC 14882:2017. |
/std:c++20 |
C++20 standard ISO/IEC 14882:2020. |
/std:c++latest |
The latest draft C++ standard preview features. |
/std:c11 |
C11 standard ISO/IEC 9899:2011. |
/std:c17 |
C17 standard ISO/IEC 9899:2018. |
/std:clatest |
The latest draft C standard preview features. |
/TC |
Specifies all source files are C. |
/Tc |
Specifies a C source file. |
/TP |
Specifies all source files are C++. |
/Tp |
Specifies a C++ source file. |
/translateInclude |
Treat #include as import. |
/U<name> |
Removes a predefined macro. |
/u |
Removes all predefined macros. |
/utf-8 |
Set source and execution character sets to UTF-8. |
/V |
Deprecated. Sets the version string. |
/validate-charset |
Validate UTF-8 files for only compatible characters. |
/vd{0|1|2} |
Suppresses or enables hidden vtordisp class members. |
/vlen |
Specifies vector length. |
/vmb |
Uses best base for pointers to members. |
/vmg |
Uses full generality for pointers to members. |
/vmm |
Declares multiple inheritance. |
/vms |
Declares single inheritance. |
/vmv |
Declares virtual inheritance. |
/volatile:iso |
Acquire/release semantics not guaranteed on volatile accesses. |
/volatile:ms |
Acquire/release semantics guaranteed on volatile accesses. |
/volatileMetadata |
Generate metadata on volatile memory accesses. |
/w |
Disable all warnings. |
/W0, /W1, /W2, /W3, /W4 |
Set output warning level. |
/w1<n>, /w2<n>, /w3<n>, /w4<n> |
Set warning level for the specified warning. |
/Wall |
Enable all warnings, including warnings that are disabled by default. |
/wd<n> |
Disable the specified warning. |
/we<n> |
Treat the specified warning as an error. |
/WL |
Enable one-line diagnostics for error and warning messages when compiling C++ source code from the command line. |
/wo<n> |
Display the specified warning only once. |
/Wv:xx[.yy[.zzzzz]] |
Disable warnings introduced after the specified version of the compiler. |
/WX |
Treat warnings as errors. |
/X |
Ignores the standard include directory. |
/Y- |
Ignores all other precompiled-header compiler options in the current build. |
/Yc |
Create .PCH file. |
/Yd |
Deprecated. Places complete debugging information in all object files. Use /Zi instead. |
/Yl |
Injects a PCH reference when creating a debug library. |
/Yu |
Uses a precompiled header file during build. |
/Z7 |
Generates C 7.0-compatible debugging information. |
/Za |
Disables some C89 language extensions in C code. |
/Zc:__cplusplus[-] |
Enable the __cplusplus macro to report the supported standard (off by default). |
/Zc:__STDC__ |
Enable the __STDC__ macro to report the C standard is supported (off by default). |
/Zc:alignedNew[-] |
Enable C++17 over-aligned dynamic allocation (on by default in C++17). |
/Zc:auto[-] |
Enforce the new Standard C++ meaning for auto (on by default). |
/Zc:char8_t[-] |
Enable or disable C++20 native u8 literal support as const char8_t (off by default, except under /std:c++20). |
/Zc:enumTypes[-] |
Enable Standard C++ rules for enum type deduction (off by default). |
/Zc:externC[-] |
Enforce Standard C++ rules for extern "C" functions (implied by /permissive-). |
/Zc:externConstexpr[-] |
Enable external linkage for constexpr variables (off by default). |
/Zc:forScope[-] |
Enforce Standard C++ for scoping rules (on by default). |
/Zc:gotoScope |
Enforce Standard C++ goto rules around local variable initialization (implied by /permissive-). |
/Zc:hiddenFriend[-] |
Enforce Standard C++ hidden friend rules (implied by /permissive-) |
/Zc:implicitNoexcept[-] |
Enable implicit noexcept on required functions (on by default). |
/Zc:inline[-] |
Remove unreferenced functions or data if they're COMDAT or have internal linkage only (off by default). |
/Zc:lambda[-] |
Enable new lambda processor for conformance-mode syntactic checks in generic lambdas. |
/Zc:noexceptTypes[-] |
Enforce C++17 noexcept rules (on by default in C++17 or later). |
/Zc:nrvo[-] |
Enable optional copy and move elisions (on by default under /O2, /permissive-, or /std:c++20 or later). |
/Zc:preprocessor[-] |
Use the new conforming preprocessor (off by default, except in C11/C17). |
/Zc:referenceBinding[-] |
A UDT temporary won't bind to a non-const lvalue reference (off by default). |
/Zc:rvalueCast[-] |
Enforce Standard C++ explicit type conversion rules (off by default). |
/Zc:sizedDealloc[-] |
Enable C++14 global sized deallocation functions (on by default). |
/Zc:strictStrings[-] |
Disable string-literal to char* or wchar_t* conversion (off by default). |
/Zc:templateScope[-] |
Enforce Standard C++ template parameter shadowing rules (off by default). |
/Zc:ternary[-] |
Enforce conditional operator rules on operand types (off by default). |
/Zc:threadSafeInit[-] |
Enable thread-safe local static initialization (on by default). |
/Zc:throwingNew[-] |
Assume operator new throws on failure (off by default). |
/Zc:tlsGuards[-] |
Generate runtime checks for TLS variable initialization (on by default). |
/Zc:trigraphs |
Enable trigraphs (obsolete, off by default). |
/Zc:twoPhase[-] |
Use nonconforming template parsing behavior (conforming by default). |
/Zc:wchar_t[-] |
wchar_t is a native type, not a typedef (on by default). |
/Zc:zeroSizeArrayNew[-] |
Call member new/delete for zero-size arrays of objects (on by default). |
/Ze |
Deprecated. Enables C89 language extensions. |
/Zf |
Improves PDB generation time in parallel builds. |
/ZH:[MD5|SHA1|SHA_256] |
Specifies MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256 for checksums in debug info. |
/ZI |
Includes debug information in a program database compatible with Edit and Continue. (x86 only) |
/Zi |
Generates complete debugging information. |
/Zl |
Removes the default library name from the .obj file. |
/Zm |
Specifies the precompiled header memory allocation limit. |
/Zo[-] |
Generate richer debugging information for optimized code. |
/Zp[n] |
Packs structure members. |
/Zs |
Checks syntax only. |
/ZW |
Produces an output file to run on the Windows Runtime. |
17.10 This option is available starting in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.10.