Build from Sources

This guide describes how to build Wazuh components from source code.

Prerequisites

Before building Wazuh from sources, ensure you have the required toolchain installed as described in the Development Environment Setup guide.

Build Server

To build the Wazuh server (manager) components, first install the dependencies, then compile:

bash

make -C src TARGET=server deps
make -C src TARGET=server

Build Options

You can customize the build with the following options:

bash

make -C src TARGET=server DEBUG=1              # Build with debug symbols
make -C src TARGET=server TEST=1               # Build in testing mode
make -C src TARGET=server -j4                  # Parallel build with 4 jobs
make -C src TARGET=server INSTALLDIR=/custom   # Install to custom directory

Build Agent for UNIX

To build the Wazuh agent for UNIX-like systems (Linux, macOS, BSD, etc.):

bash

make -C src TARGET=agent deps
make -C src TARGET=agent

Build Options

Similar to the server build, you can use:

bash

make -C src TARGET=agent DEBUG=1               # Build with debug symbols
make -C src TARGET=agent TEST=1                # Build in testing mode
make -C src TARGET=agent -j4                   # Parallel build with 4 jobs
make -C src TARGET=agent INSTALLDIR=/custom    # Install to custom directory

Build Agent for Windows

To build the Wazuh agent for Windows, you must first install the Windows build requirements (MinGW, Wine, CMocka) as described in the setup guide.

bash

make -C src TARGET=winagent deps
make -C src TARGET=winagent

Build Output

After a successful build, binaries are located in:

Server/Agent UNIX: src/ directory
Windows Agent: src/win32/ directory

Clean Build

The build system provides several clean targets for different purposes:

bash

make -C src clean                   # Clean all compiled code including external dependencies
make -C src clean-deps              # Clean external dependencies only
make -C src clean-internals         # Clean compiled code, but keep external dependencies
make -C src clean-windows           # Clean Windows resource files

Clean target descriptions:

clean - Removes all build artifacts including external dependencies. Use this for a complete clean build.
clean-deps - Removes only external dependencies (e.g., libraries downloaded during make deps).
clean-internals - Removes compiled binaries and object files but preserves external dependencies. Useful for quick rebuilds.
clean-windows - Removes Windows-specific compiled resource files.

Troubleshooting

Dependencies Not Found

If the build fails due to missing dependencies, ensure you've run the deps target first:

bash

make -C src deps