Small Device C Compiler

The Small Device C Compiler (SDCC) is a free-software, partially retargetable C compiler for 8-bit microcontrollers. It is distributed under the GNU General Public License. The package also contains an assembler, linker, simulator and debugger. SDCC is a popular open-source C compiler for microcontrollers compatible with Intel 8051/MCS-51.

Sources, documentation, and binaries are available for Linux (32-bit and 64-bit), macOS (PPC and 64-bit), and Windows (32-bit and 64-bit).

The following include binary compatible derivatives:

• Intel 8031, 8032, 8051, 8052; Maxim/Dallas DS80C390; C8051
• Motorola/Freescale/NXP 68HC08 and S08
• Padauk PDK14 and PDK15
• Sharp SM83, the CPU found in the Nintendo Game Boy LR35902 SoC
• STMicroelectronics STM8
• Zilog Z80, Z180, eZ80 in Z80 mode; Rabbit Semiconductor 2000, 2000A, 3000, 3000A, 4000, 6000; Toshiba TLCS-90; Z80N (ZX Spectrum Next processor), R800.
• MOS Technology 6502, WDC 65C02.

Work in progress:

• Microchip PIC16 and PIC18.
• Padauk PDK13.

Obsolete:

• AVR microcontrollers used to be a supported target, but was made obsolete by avr-gcc in 2010 (SDCC 3.0.0).

• Z88DK - C compiler for Z80-based systems
• cc65 - C compiler for 6502/65C02 systems

• SDCC homepage
• Sandeep Dutta - Anatomy of a Compiler. A Retargetable ANSI-C Compiler. "Circuit Cellar", issue 121, August 2000, page 35
• SDCC Open Knowledge Resource
• SDCC Open Knowledge Resource
• FOSDEM 2015 presentation on SDCC
• FOSDEM 2024 presentation on SDCC
• A port of FreeRTOS to 8051
• Using SDCC on the AT89C52 (8051 derivative)
• Using SDCC for PIC on Windows with MPLABX