Man pages › Compared with Linux and the BSDs

`windres(1)` on Solnix vs Linux and the BSDs

windres is the GNU binutils tool that converts Windows resources between rc, res and coff formats. It is not in the base Solnix system: install pkgs.solnix.binutils. The Solnix and Linux pages are textually identical, and the bundle has no BSD counterpart pages.

The manual pages

Solnix: windres(1) from pkgs.solnix.binutils

What Solnix runs

Not installed by default: add pkgs.solnix.binutils. The bundle lists no other illumos variants of windres.

Differences

Compared with	Topic	What differs
Linux	same program	The Solnix and Linux windres pages document the same options and behaviour, including the formats rc, res and coff, the gcc default preprocessor and the @file option. The Linux page is from binutils-2.46. The bundle shows no difference between the two. Source: Solnix windres(1) SYNOPSIS, OPTIONS; Linux windres(1) SYNOPSIS, OPTIONS
FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	no BSD counterpart page	The bundle contains no windres page for FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD, so the manual cannot be compared with them. The manual does not say whether those systems ship windres. Source: Bundle header: only a linux counterpart is listed
Linux	availability	On Solnix, windres is not on PATH by default and comes from pkgs.solnix.binutils. The Linux page does not describe how it is packaged. Source: Solnix bundle header (command on PATH: none: install pkgs.solnix.binutils)
Linux	default preprocessor	Both pages say rc files go through the C preprocessor first, and the default preprocessor is gcc with the arguments `-E`, `-xc-header` and `-DRC_INVOKED`. Without gcc installed on Solnix, use `--preprocessor` to name another one. Source: Solnix windres(1) --preprocessor, --preprocessor-arg; Linux windres(1) --preprocessor, --preprocessor-arg
Linux	`-I` overloaded with `-J`	On both systems, if the `-I` argument matches a format name (res, rc, coff), windres warns that this is deprecated and treats it as `-J`. Prefix a directory with ./ to avoid this. Source: Solnix windres(1) -I; Linux windres(1) -I

Standards

POSIX: windres is not a POSIX.1-2024 utility.

Writing portable scripts

Do not assume windres exists on a Solnix host: install pkgs.solnix.binutils first, and check that a preprocessor (default gcc) is available.
Give -J and -O explicitly instead of relying on file-extension guessing (.rc, .res, .o, .exe).

Every difference here is taken from the manual pages linked above: Solnix's published page, Linux (man-pages and the GNU and util-linux manuals), FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD. Each row names its source. Where a manual is silent, this page is too. Compiled 2026-10-26. Found a mistake? Mail hackers@lists.solnix.io.