bartman · bartman · Apr 3, 2026 · Apr 3, 2026 · Apr 3, 2026 · Apr 3, 2026
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -15,120 +15,140 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         include:
           # ── Debian stable ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+          # static: true — libgit2-dev ships libgit2.a on Debian
           - os: debian:stable
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Release
+            static: true
 
           - os: debian:stable
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: true
 
           - os: debian:stable
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Release
+            static: true
 
           - os: debian:stable
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: true
 
           # ── Ubuntu LTS (24.04) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+          # static: true — libgit2-dev ships libgit2.a on Ubuntu
           - os: ubuntu:24.04
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Release
+            static: true
 
           - os: ubuntu:24.04
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: true
 
           - os: ubuntu:24.04
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Release
+            static: true
 
           - os: ubuntu:24.04
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: true
 
           # ── Fedora (latest) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+          # static: false — Fedora does not ship libgit2.a / libssh2.a / libssl.a
           - os: fedora:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Release
+            static: false
 
           - os: fedora:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: false
 
           - os: fedora:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Release
+            static: false
 
           - os: fedora:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: false
 
           # ── Arch Linux (stable) ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+          # static: false — Arch does not ship libgit2.a
           - os: archlinux:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Release
+            static: false
 
           - os: archlinux:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: gcc
             cc: gcc
             cxx: g++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: false
 
           - os: archlinux:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Release
+            static: false
 
           - os: archlinux:latest
             runner: ubuntu-latest
             compiler: clang
             cc: clang
             cxx: clang++
             build_type: Debug
+            static: false
 
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
 
@@ -147,7 +167,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Cache CMake FetchContent (spdlog, clipp, fmt)
         uses: actions/cache@v5
         with:
-          path: build/_deps
+          path: build-so/_deps
           key: fetchcontent-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.compiler }}-${{ hashFiles('CMakeLists.txt') }}
           restore-keys: |
             fetchcontent-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.compiler }}-
@@ -159,23 +179,46 @@ jobs:
           git config --global user.name  "GitHub Actions"
           git config --global init.defaultBranch master
 
-      - name: Build
+      - name: Build dynamic
+        env:
+          CC:  ${{ matrix.cc }}
+          CXX: ${{ matrix.cxx }}
+          CI:  "1"
+        run: make BUILD=build-so TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }}
+
+      - name: Test dynamic
+        env:
+          CC:  ${{ matrix.cc }}
+          CXX: ${{ matrix.cxx }}
+          CI:  "1"
+        run: make BUILD=build-so TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} test
+
+      - name: Install static dependencies
+        if: matrix.static
+        env:
+          DEBIAN_FRONTEND: noninteractive
+        run: bash dependencies.sh --compiler=${{ matrix.compiler }} --static
+
+      - name: Build static
+        if: matrix.static
         env:
           CC:  ${{ matrix.cc }}
           CXX: ${{ matrix.cxx }}
           CI:  "1"
-        run: make TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }}
+        run: make BUILD=build-a STATIC=1 TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }}
 
-      - name: Test
+      - name: Test static
+        if: matrix.static
         env:
           CC:  ${{ matrix.cc }}
           CXX: ${{ matrix.cxx }}
           CI:  "1"
-        run: make TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} test
+        run: make BUILD=build-a STATIC=1 TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} test
 
       - name: Compute artifact name
         if: failure()
         id: artifact-name
+        shell: bash
         run: |
           # Colons and slashes are not allowed in artifact names; replace with dashes.
           raw="test-artifacts-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.compiler }}-${{ matrix.build_type }}"
@@ -187,8 +230,10 @@ jobs:
         with:
           name: ${{ steps.artifact-name.outputs.name }}
           path: |
-            build/test/
-            build/Testing/
+            build-so/test/
+            build-so/Testing/
+            build-a/test/
+            build-a/Testing/
           retention-days: 7
 
   coverage:

diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
 set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)
 
 option(WIP_COVERAGE "Enable code coverage instrumentation" OFF)
+option(WIP_STATIC  "Build a fully static binary"           OFF)
 
 include(FetchContent)
 include(CheckCXXSourceCompiles)
@@ -51,7 +52,47 @@ endif()
 
 include(FindPkgConfig)
 
-pkg_check_modules(LIBGIT2 REQUIRED libgit2)
+if(WIP_STATIC)
+    message(STATUS "WIP_STATIC=ON — building a mostly-static binary (libgit2 and all its deps statically linked; glibc stays shared)")
+    pkg_check_modules(LIBGIT2 REQUIRED libgit2)
+
+    # Collect the full transitive static link flags from pkg-config.
+    # We split them into two groups so CMake can handle each token cleanly:
+    #   LIBGIT2_STATIC_LIBS  — -lfoo tokens (library names, no -L prefix)
+    #   LIBGIT2_STATIC_DIRS  — -L/path tokens (search paths)
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND pkg-config --static --libs libgit2
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE _git2_raw
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND pkg-config --static --libs-only-l libgit2
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE _git2_libs_raw
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND pkg-config --static --libs-only-L libgit2
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE _git2_dirs_raw
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+    # Also pull in the transitive deps of libssh2 (uses OpenSSL on Debian)
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND pkg-config --static --libs-only-l libssh2
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE _ssh2_libs_raw
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+    string(REPLACE "-l" "" _git2_libs_stripped "${_git2_libs_raw}")
+    string(REPLACE "-L" "" _git2_dirs_stripped "${_git2_dirs_raw}")
+    string(REPLACE "-l" "" _ssh2_libs_stripped "${_ssh2_libs_raw}")
+    separate_arguments(LIBGIT2_STATIC_LIBS UNIX_COMMAND "${_git2_libs_stripped}")
+    separate_arguments(LIBGIT2_STATIC_DIRS UNIX_COMMAND "${_git2_dirs_stripped}")
+    separate_arguments(SSH2_STATIC_LIBS    UNIX_COMMAND "${_ssh2_libs_stripped}")
+    # Deduplicate (SSH2 libs are a subset)
+    list(APPEND LIBGIT2_STATIC_LIBS ${SSH2_STATIC_LIBS})
+    list(REMOVE_DUPLICATES LIBGIT2_STATIC_LIBS)
+else()
+    pkg_check_modules(LIBGIT2 REQUIRED libgit2)
+endif()
 
 # Optional: GTest/GMock for unit tests (only available on some distros)
 find_package(GTest QUIET)

diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
@@ -32,21 +32,25 @@ NPROC ?= $(shell nproc || echo 1)
 CC ?= $(shell which clang gcc cc | head -n1)
 CXX ?= $(shell which clang g++ c++ | head -n1)
 COVERAGE ?= false
+STATIC   ?= 0
 # Locate the right gcov-compatible tool to match the compiler:
 # - if CC is clang, use llvm-cov (prefer plain symlink, fall back to versioned)
 # - otherwise use plain gcov
 # Use = (recursive) not := (immediate) so CC override on the command line is respected.
 _IS_CLANG = $(shell $(CC) --version 2>/dev/null | grep -c clang)
 GCOV_TOOL = $(if $(filter 1,$(_IS_CLANG)),$(shell which llvm-cov 2>/dev/null || ls /usr/bin/llvm-cov-* 2>/dev/null | sort -V | tail -1) gcov,gcov)
-$(info ## TYPE=${TYPE} CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} COVERAGE=${COVERAGE})
+$(info ## TYPE=${TYPE} CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} COVERAGE=${COVERAGE} STATIC=${STATIC})
 
 # Coverage flag for CMake
 COVERAGE_FLAG = $(if $(filter 1 yes true YES TRUE,${COVERAGE}),-DWIP_COVERAGE=ON,)
 
+# Static flag for CMake
+STATIC_FLAG = $(if $(filter 1 yes true YES TRUE,${STATIC}),-DWIP_STATIC=ON,)
+
 GIT_WIP      = ${BUILD}/src/git-wip
 
-all: ## [default] build the project (uses TYPE={Release,Debug}, COVERAGE={true,false})
-	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" ${COVERAGE_FLAG}
+all: ## [default] build the project (uses TYPE={Release,Debug}, COVERAGE={0,1}, STATIC={0,1})
+	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" ${COVERAGE_FLAG} ${STATIC_FLAG}
 	${Q}${CMAKE} --build "${BUILD}" --config "${TYPE}" --parallel "${NPROC}"
 	${Q}ln -fs "${BUILD}"/compile_commands.json compile_commands.json
 	${Q}ln -fs "${GIT_WIP}" .
@@ -60,14 +64,14 @@ distclean: ## remove build directory completely
 help:
 	${Q}python3 -c "$$PRINT_HELP_PYSCRIPT" < $(MAKEFILE_LIST)
 
-test: ## run unit tests (with ctest, uses REBUILD={true,false}, COVERAGE={true,false})
+test: ## run unit tests (with ctest, uses REBUILD={0,1}, COVERAGE={0,1}, STATIC={0,1})
 	${Q}$(if $(filter 1 yes true YES TRUE,${REBUILD}),rm -rf "${BUILD}"/)
-	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" ${COVERAGE_FLAG}
+	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" ${COVERAGE_FLAG} ${STATIC_FLAG}
 	${Q}${CMAKE} --build "${BUILD}" --config "${TYPE}" --parallel "${NPROC}"
 	${Q}cd "${BUILD}"/ && ctest -C "${TYPE}" $(if ${CI},--output-on-failure -VV)
 	${Q}echo " ✅ Unit tests complete."
 
-coverage: ## check code coverage (with lcov, uses REBUILD={true,false})
+coverage: ## check code coverage (with lcov, uses REBUILD={0,1})
 	${Q}$(if $(filter 1 yes true YES TRUE,${REBUILD}),rm -rf "${BUILD}"/)
 	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" -DWIP_COVERAGE=ON -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER="${CC}" -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="${CXX}"
 	${Q}${CMAKE} --build "${BUILD}" --config "${TYPE}" --parallel "${NPROC}"
@@ -97,15 +101,15 @@ coverage: ## check code coverage (with lcov, uses REBUILD={true,false})
 		--ignore-errors category
 	${Q}echo " ✅ Coverage report generated in coverage-report/"
 
-install: ## install the package (to the `PREFIX`, uses REBUILD={true,false})
+install: ## install the package (to the `PREFIX`, uses REBUILD={0,1}, STATIC={0,1})
 	${Q}$(if $(filter 1 yes true YES TRUE,${REBUILD}),rm -rf "${BUILD}"/)
-	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}"
+	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" ${STATIC_FLAG}
 	${Q}${CMAKE} --build "${BUILD}" --config "${TYPE}" --parallel "${NPROC}"
 	${Q}${CMAKE} --build "${BUILD}" --target install --config "${TYPE}"
 
-format: ## format the project sources (uses REBUILD={true,false})
+format: ## format the project sources (uses REBUILD={0,1})
 	${Q}$(if $(filter 1 yes true YES TRUE,${REBUILD}),rm -rf "${BUILD}"/)
-	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}"
+	${Q}${CMAKE} -G ${GENERATOR} -S. -B${BUILD} -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$(PREFIX)" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${TYPE}" ${STATIC_FLAG}
 	${Q}${CMAKE} --build "${BUILD}" --target clang-format
 
 full-test: ## like test, but with a full rebuild

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -223,6 +223,13 @@ Dependencies (`spdlog`) are fetched automatically by CMake via
 `FetchContent`.  `libgit2` must be installed system-wide (e.g.
 `apt install libgit2-dev`).
 
+If you'd rather build a static binary (tested on Debian/Ubuntu), you can use:
+
+```sh
+$ ./dependencies.sh --static  # install extra dependencies
+$ make STATIC=1               # build the static binary
+```
+
 ---
 
 ## Installation