Alexander J. Semenuk
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## Problem Windows builds break with a current local toolchain (Scoop LLVM 22.1.8, CMake 4.4.0, VS 2026), in two independent ways: 1. The build stops at curl's deliberate guard: `#error "no non-blocking method was found/used/set"` in `third-party/curl/lib/nonblock.c`. 2. From the second configure onward, `cmake --build` re-runs CMake in an endless loop (observed 42 consecutive reconfigure cycles in a single build). Likely the same mechanism behind the "endlessly building" VS 2026 note in `docs/setup/dev/vs.md`. ## Root cause 1. `third-party/curl/CMake/CurlTests.c` passes `int *` to `ioctlsocket()`, whose third parameter is `u_long *`. Clang 22 promotes `-Wincompatible-pointer-types` to a hard error in C, so the `HAVE_IOCTLSOCKET_FIONBIO` try_compile silently fails and `curl_config.h` never defines it. Upstream CI does not see this because the windows-2022 runner image ships an older LLVM. GCC 14 promotes the same warning to a hard error, which is very likely the `CurlTests.c.obj` failure reported from MSYS2 in open-goal/jak-project#3551. Upstream curl hit the identical problem with GCC 14 and fixed the probe in curl 8.8.0 (curl/curl#13578). 2. The root CMakeLists copies the build tree's `compile_commands.json` into `<src>/build/` for clangd using `configure_file()`, which registers its input as a configure dependency. CMake rewrites `compile_commands.json` late in every generation, after `CTestTestfile.cmake` and `cmake_install.cmake` (outputs of the same Ninja regen rule), so once the dependency is registered the rule is deterministically dirty and every `ninja` invocation re-runs CMake. A pristine first configure is safe (the file does not exist yet, so the `if(EXISTS ...)` guard skips the copy), which is why the loop looks machine- or IDE-specific. ## Fix 1. Per review, re-vendor `third-party/curl` at the `curl-8_21_0` tag (previously `curl-8_3_0`), which carries the upstream probe fix plus two years of upstream development; `vendor.yaml` updated to match. Adjustments the version jump forced: - curl 8.15 removed the native macOS Secure Transport backend (`CURL_USE_SECTRANSP`), so macOS now builds curl against OpenSSL like Linux. The two macOS workflows install Homebrew `openssl@3` and export `OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR` (keg-only), and the macOS setup docs gained the same two lines. - `CURL_BROTLI` / `CURL_ZSTD` switched to AUTO-detection in curl 8.10; pinned OFF to keep the previous no-compression behavior and avoid silently linking whatever the CI images happen to have. - curl's new top-level `BUILD_EXAMPLES` cache option (default ON) leaked into discord-rpc's identically named option and broke configure at a nonexistent `examples/send-presence` directory; pinned OFF ahead of the third-party subdirectories. The diff is dominated by the mechanical tag-tree swap under `third-party/curl` (linguist-vendored, collapsed in review). The hand-written changes are `CMakeLists.txt`, the two macOS workflows, `docs/setup/system/macos.md`, and `vendor.yaml`. 2. Swap `configure_file()` for `file(COPY ...)`: the same clangd copy with no configure dependency registered. (`file(COPY_FILE ... ONLY_IF_DIFFERENT)` would be cleaner still but requires CMake 3.21, above the declared `cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)`.) ## Test plan - [x] Fresh `cmake --preset Release-windows-clang` (LLVM 22, no cache seeding) completes and logs `Enabled SSL backends: Schannel`; the FIONBIO probe passes without the previous `#error` - [x] Full Windows Release build from scratch in the branch worktree (all 1422 targets) - [x] goalc-test suite: 1509 passed, 0 failed - [x] Second consecutive configure with `compile_commands.json` present: the regen rule in `build.ninja` has no `compile_commands.json` input; `<src>/build/compile_commands.json` is still refreshed for clangd - [x] Repeated `ninja` invocations after a full build no longer re-run CMake - [x] macOS Intel and ARM CI green (first exercise of the OpenSSL backend switch) --- I work off a self-hosted forge, so this GitHub account is quiet; the configure logs and ninja dirty-node traces from the investigation are available if anyone wants the raw data. (AI-assisted)
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How to get started helping out in the curl project
We are always in need of more help. If you are new to the project and are looking for ways to contribute and help out, this document aims to give a few good starting points.
You may subscribe to the curl-library mailing list to keep track of the current discussion topics; or if you are registered on GitHub, you can use the Discussions section on the main curl repository.
Scratch your own itch
One of the best ways is to start working on any problems or issues you have found yourself or perhaps got annoyed at in the past. It can be a spelling error in an error text or a weirdly phrased section in a man page. Hunt it down and report the bug. Or make your first pull request with a fix for that.
Smaller tasks
Some projects mark small issues as "beginner friendly", "bite-sized" or similar. We do not do that in curl since such issues never linger around long enough. Simple issues get handled fast.
If you are looking for a smaller or simpler task in the project to help out with as an entry-point into the project, perhaps because you are a newcomer or even maybe not a terribly experienced developer, here's our advice:
- Read through this document to get a grasp on a general approach to use
- Consider adding a test case for something not currently tested (correctly)
- Consider updating or adding documentation
- One way to get started gently in the project, is to participate in an existing issue/PR and help out by reproducing the issue, review the code in the PR etc.
Help wanted
In the issue tracker we occasionally mark bugs with help wanted, as a sign that the bug is acknowledged to exist and that there is nobody known to work on this issue for the moment. Those are bugs that are fine to "grab" and provide a pull request for. The complexity level of these of course varies, so pick one that piques your interest.
Work on known bugs
Some bugs are known and have not yet received attention and work enough to get fixed. We collect such known existing flaws in the KNOWN_BUGS page. Many of them link to the original bug report with some additional details, but some may also have aged a bit and may require some verification that the bug still exists in the same way and that what was said about it in the past is still valid.
Fix autobuild problems
On the autobuilds page we show a collection of test results from the automatic curl build and tests that are performed by volunteers. Fixing compiler warnings and errors shown there is something we value greatly. Also, if you own or run systems or architectures that are not already tested in the autobuilds, we also appreciate more volunteers running builds automatically to help us keep curl portable.
TODO items
Ideas for features and functions that we have considered worthwhile to implement and provide are kept in the TODO file. Some of the ideas are rough. Some are well thought out. Some probably are not really suitable anymore.
Before you invest a lot of time on a TODO item, do bring it up for discussion on the mailing list. For discussion on applicability but also for ideas and brainstorming on specific ways to do the implementation etc.
You decide
You can also come up with a completely new thing you think we should do. Or not do. Or fix. Or add to the project. You then either bring it to the mailing list first to see if people shoot down the idea at once, or you bring a first draft of the idea as a pull request and take the discussion there around the specific implementation. Either way is fine.
CONTRIBUTE
We offer guidelines that are suitable to be familiar with before you decide to contribute to curl. If you are used to open source development, you probably do not find many surprises there.