pkgconf

TLDR

Get compiler flags

$ pkgconf --cflags [library]

Get linker flags

$ pkgconf --libs [library]

Check if library exists

$ pkgconf --exists [library] && echo "Found"

Get version

$ pkgconf --modversion [library]

List all packages

$ pkgconf --list-all

DESCRIPTION

pkgconf is a program that helps configure compiler and linker flags for libraries. It's a drop-in replacement for pkg-config with improved performance and features.

PARAMETERS

--cflags

Compiler flags.

--libs

Linker flags.

--exists

Check existence.

--modversion

Package version.

--list-all

List all packages.

--variable name

Get variable value.

--print-requires

Show dependencies.

$ # Compile with library
gcc $(pkgconf --cflags --libs openssl) -o prog prog.c

# Check version requirement
pkgconf --atleast-version=1.1.0 openssl

# Get library directory
pkgconf --variable=libdir openssl

# In Makefile
CFLAGS += $(shell pkgconf --cflags gtk+-3.0)
LDFLAGS += $(shell pkgconf --libs gtk+-3.0)

ENVIRONMENT

$ PKG_CONFIG_PATH # Additional .pc file paths
PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR # Override default paths

CAVEATS

Reads .pc files. Compatible with pkg-config. Used in most build systems.

HISTORY

pkgconf was created by William Pitcock as a lighter, faster alternative to pkg-config from freedesktop.org.