Change the location here, if you want the Cygwin files to use a different drive or folder. Next, you select the location on your Windows computer that you want to install Cygwin.
The wizard begins with an informational screen (Figure 1). Scroll down the page until you see a link for setup.exe,Īnd click that link to launch the installation wizard. On the system you want to install Cygwin, open a browser and point it to The disk cost for these files is minimal compared with the final installation size. Keep the temporary staging directory intact for future installations and customizations. For the installation I chose for this article, my required space was approximately 300MB, and just under 100MB for the temporary staging space.
If you decide to install to an alternative location, you’ll have to check available space there too.Īdditionally, you’ll need a bit of temporary space in which to download the Cygwin files and perform the install. , but you can change that during the installation process.
Preparing for Cygwinīefore you download and install Cygwin, I suggest you check available space on your C:ĭrive (or system drive) because a full installation of Cygwin consumes 1GB or more of space. I can’t teach you Linux commands in a single article, but the scope of this treatment is to give you access to this very powerful toolkit as a starting point for further study. column, but this month’s post is a start to finish look at Cygwin and its features. I gave you an overview of Cygwin in last month’s Eat. In this article, I will guide you through the installation and introduce you to the use of Cygwin, so you can hone your Linux- and Unix-related skills and expand your capability and knowledge in the *nix world. For scripted solutions, Cygwin includes a rich set of command-line tools but also has the ability to use graphical ones through its X Window utilities. Although tools are out there that you can add to *nix systems to make them more compatible with Windows, Cygwin creates a true hybrid Windows/*nix system. Cygwin is the answer to bridging that gap painlessly.Ĭygwin is a powerful set of Linux and Unix (*nix) tools, but its real power comes from being able to turn your heterogeneous environment into a more homogeneous one. For the 99% of you who work in a heterogeneous environment, you need to expand your skills to include Linux or Unix. The exception would be Hyper-V: It’s possible, although not likely, that you work in an all-Windows shop. If you’re using virtualization technology as a Windows administrator, you’re using Linux whether you know it or like it.
Official OverviewĬygwin is a a large collection of GNU and Open Source tools which provide functionality similar to a Linux distribution on Windows. A DLL (cygwin1.dll) which provides substantial POSIX API functionality. The Cygwin DLL currently works with all recent, commercially released x86 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows, starting with Windows Vista. Yes, Cygwin is safe to install on Windows 10.