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Recommend --config-cache for ./configure #1794

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30a3410
gh-1547: Recommend --config-cache for configure
johnslavik Apr 22, 2026
05ad04c
gh-1547: Also mention --cache-file=config.cache alias
johnslavik Apr 22, 2026
69463e6
gh-1547: Remove --config-cache from platform-specific configure commands
johnslavik Apr 22, 2026
7e8285f
gh-1547: Restructure --config-cache as optional speedup tip
johnslavik Apr 22, 2026
f9a2af1
gh-1547: Use tip admonition for --config-cache
johnslavik Apr 22, 2026
091f2fc
gh-1547: Add --config-cache to macOS platform-specific configure comm…
johnslavik Apr 22, 2026
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22 changes: 18 additions & 4 deletions getting-started/setup-building.rst
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@hugovk hugovk Apr 22, 2026

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If you click macOS from the front page:

See also more detailed instructions, how to install and build dependencies, and the platform-specific pages for Unix, macOS, and Windows.

That takes you to this tab:

https://cpython-devguide--1794.org.readthedocs.build/getting-started/setup-building/#macos

Which includes this (and a 3.10 version):

$ GDBM_CFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix gdbm)/include" \
   GDBM_LIBS="-L$(brew --prefix gdbm)/lib -lgdbm" \
   ./configure --with-pydebug \
               --with-openssl="$(brew --prefix openssl@3)"

Let's include --config-cache in those:

$ GDBM_CFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix gdbm)/include" \
   GDBM_LIBS="-L$(brew --prefix gdbm)/lib -lgdbm" \
   ./configure --config-cache \
               --with-pydebug \
               --with-openssl="$(brew --prefix openssl@3)"

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@johnslavik johnslavik Apr 22, 2026 •
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Oh I just reverted that in 69463e6. If you want me to add these back, I'll add.

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@hugovk hugovk Apr 22, 2026

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Let's add it back, it's good to have useful snippets because people will copy and paste them (at least I do :)

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@johnslavik johnslavik Apr 22, 2026

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I added back to all 4 (brew, macports).

Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -197,6 +197,16 @@ Configuration is typically::
More flags are available to ``configure``, but this is the minimum you should
do to get a pydebug build of CPython.

.. tip::
To speed up repeated ``configure`` runs, use ``--config-cache`` (short:
``-C``, equivalent: ``--cache-file=config.cache``)::
Comment on lines +201 to +202
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@hugovk hugovk Apr 22, 2026

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Is this saying -C is short for --cache-file=config.cache?

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@johnslavik johnslavik Apr 22, 2026

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Yes. What I meant to say precisely is that -C = --config-cache = --config-file=config.cache.


$ ./configure --config-cache --with-pydebug

This caches results in a ``config.cache`` file. If you switch compilers or
significantly change your build environment, delete ``config.cache`` before
re-running ``configure``.

.. note::
You might need to run ``make clean`` before or after re-running ``configure``
in a particular build directory.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -864,7 +874,8 @@ some of CPython's modules (for example, ``zlib``).

$ GDBM_CFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix gdbm)/include" \
GDBM_LIBS="-L$(brew --prefix gdbm)/lib -lgdbm" \
./configure --with-pydebug \
./configure --config-cache \
--with-pydebug \
--with-openssl="$(brew --prefix openssl@3)"

.. tab:: Python 3.10
Expand All @@ -873,7 +884,8 @@ some of CPython's modules (for example, ``zlib``).

$ CPPFLAGS="-I$(brew --prefix gdbm)/include -I$(brew --prefix xz)/include" \
LDFLAGS="-L$(brew --prefix gdbm)/lib -L$(brew --prefix xz)/lib" \
./configure --with-pydebug \
./configure --config-cache \
--with-pydebug \
--with-openssl="$(brew --prefix openssl@3)" \
--with-tcltk-libs="$(pkg-config --libs tcl tk)" \
--with-tcltk-includes="$(pkg-config --cflags tcl tk)" \
Expand All @@ -895,7 +907,8 @@ some of CPython's modules (for example, ``zlib``).

$ GDBM_CFLAGS="-I$(dirname $(dirname $(which port)))/include" \
GDBM_LIBS="-L$(dirname $(dirname $(which port)))/lib -lgdbm" \
./configure --with-pydebug \
./configure --config-cache \
--with-pydebug \
--with-system-libmpdec

.. tab:: Python 3.11-3.12
Expand All @@ -904,7 +917,8 @@ some of CPython's modules (for example, ``zlib``).

$ GDBM_CFLAGS="-I$(dirname $(dirname $(which port)))/include" \
GDBM_LIBS="-L$(dirname $(dirname $(which port)))/lib -lgdbm" \
./configure --with-pydebug
./configure --config-cache \
--with-pydebug

And finally, run ``make``::

Expand Down
4 changes: 2 additions & 2 deletions index.rst
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -43,13 +43,13 @@ instructions please see the :ref:`setup guide <setup>`.

.. code-block:: shell

./configure --with-pydebug && make -j $(nproc)
./configure --config-cache --with-pydebug && make -j $(nproc)

.. tab:: macOS

.. code-block:: shell

./configure --with-pydebug && make -j8
./configure --config-cache --with-pydebug && make -j8

.. tab:: Windows

Expand Down
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