Distribute native per-arch stable binaries (no FPC/make on install)

• Type: feature (release / distribution)
• Status: backlog
• Owner: —
• Opened: 2026-06-24
• Found-by: ./install.sh on aarch64 — committed stable binary is x86-64 only, so install aborted ("pinned compiler did not run a smoke compile").

Goal

A fresh git clone should be runnable on any supported host without FPC or make — the self-bootstrap promise. Today only stable_linux_amd64/ ships an x86-64 binary; on aarch64 / arm32 / i386 there is no runnable compiler in the checkout, so install.sh must fall back to make bootstrap (needs FPC).

(Interim: install.sh now detects this and offers make bootstrap; this ticket is the real fix — ship the binaries.)

Scope

• Commit a native stable binary per host arch: stable_linux_<arch>/… (x86_64 / aarch64 / arm32 / i386), each an ELF that RUNS on that arch. Produced by the existing cross backends: pxx --target=<arch> compiler.pas.
• Host-default target. A cross-built pxx-aarch64 still defaults TargetArch := TARGET_X86_64 at startup (compiler.pas), so by itself it would emit x86-64 code on an aarch64 host. Two options:
  1. the generated ./pxx wrapper passes --target=<host-arch> (cheap, works now — tools/install.sh would add it for the non-x86_64 native binary), or
  2. a real host-default: detect/compile-in the native target so bare pxx emits host code (cleaner; needed for a binary used without the wrapper).
• Verify each native binary self-hosts under QEMU (compile a hello + the regression set) before committing.
• Wire into tools/release.sh so every release ships all four.

Done when

• git clone + ./install.sh on aarch64 (and arm32 / i386) produces a working ./pxx with no FPC/make, building+running the demos.
• make gate unaffected (these are committed artifacts, not built in CI).

Notes

• Binary size: ~3 MB each → ~9 MB added to the repo. Acceptable for the self-bootstrap guarantee; revisit with git-lfs if it grows.
• The pin/stabilize machinery is x86-64-centric (stable_linux_amd64/); this generalises the layout to stable_linux_<arch>/.

Log

• 2026-06-24 — DONE. Committed native cross-built binaries native/pxx-{aarch64, arm32,i386} (x86-64 host keeps the auto-tracking pinned symlink). Built with the pinned compiler (pxx --target=<arch> compiler.pas); each verified end-to-end under QEMU: the binary runs on its arch and compiles+runs a hello. Host-default-target handled by option 1 (wrapper injects --target=<host>): tools/install.sh --target ARCH adds it, and root install.sh selects native/pxx-<arch> for the host and passes the target. So a bare git clone
  • ./install.sh on aarch64/arm32/i386 needs no FPC/make. (Native make-bootstrap remains the fallback if no committed binary matches.) NOTE: these binaries are committed artifacts and go stale on a compiler change; rebuild them when re-pinning (a make target to regenerate is a follow-up). Option-2 (a real compiled-in host default so bare pxx needs no --target) is left for later — the wrapper covers the install UX today.