Navigate to the official MSYS2 portal or download it directly via the MSYS2 Distribution . Run the executable installer ( msys2-x86_64-...exe ).
Includes winpthreads to natively execute multi-threaded C++11 code.
Complete Guide to MinGW-w64: Download, Setup, and Microsoft Ecosystem Integration mingw-w64 download microsoft
Set breakpoints inside your code effortlessly; the toolchain automatically integrates with the native GNU Debugger (GDB) included inside your MinGW package. 📦 Managing Native Libraries with Microsoft vcpkg
[System Properties] -> [Environment Variables] -> [Edit Path] -> Add: C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin Adding MinGW-w64 to the System PATH: Navigate to the official MSYS2 portal or download
MinGW-w64 is the foundational engine behind C++ execution inside Microsoft's lightweight IDE, VS Code.
To download the standard (which uses the modern Universal C Runtime preferred by Microsoft), run the following command: Complete Guide to MinGW-w64: Download, Setup, and Microsoft
If configured correctly, the terminal will return the active version details of the GNU compiler collection.
Open VS Code, navigate to the Extensions Marketplace ( Ctrl+Shift+X ), and install the official Microsoft C/C++ extension .
When opening a .cpp file, you can automatically compile your program by hitting Ctrl+Shift+B . Choose the g++.exe build active file configuration provided by the freshly installed MinGW toolchain.