icp-dev-env-rust: missing clang prevents cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown for canisters with C dependencies
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Description
Problem
The icp-dev-env-rust image cannot build Rust canisters that have C/C++ FFI dependencies (e.g. secp256k1, ring, openssl) when cross-compiling to wasm32-unknown-unknown.
The root cause is that the cc Rust crate — used internally by secp256k1-sys and similar — selects clang as the C compiler when targeting wasm32-unknown-unknown. gcc has no wasm32 backend, so clang is required. The current image has neither clang nor llvm-ar installed.
Current Dockerfile
FROM rust:1.95.0-slim-bookworm
RUN apt-get -yq update && apt-get -yq upgrade && apt-get -yqq install --no-install-recommends \
curl ca-certificates git jq make libdbus-1-3 && \
apt-get autoremove -y && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
# ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# Package lists are wiped after install (standard slim image practice).
# Any subsequent apt-get install in CI requires apt-get update first.
RUN rustup target add wasm32-unknown-unknown
Observed error
When running cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release inside the container for any crate with a C dependency (bitcoin, secp256k1, ring, etc.):
error occurred in cc-rs: failed to find tool "clang": No such file or directory (os error 2)
Important: The @dfinity/rust icp-cli recipe runs cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release verbatim with no C toolchain setup. So icp build and icp deploy fail identically for affected canisters.
Real-world impact
Discovered while migrating rust/threshold-schnorr in dfinity/examples to icp-cli. The canister uses bitcoin = "0.32" (pulls in secp256k1-sys). Neither cargo build nor icp build/icp deploy work in the container without clang.
Affected: any canister using bitcoin, secp256k1, k256, p256, ring, or any crate with a C build script targeting wasm32.
Current workaround
Add an explicit step before any build in affected CI workflows:
- name: Install clang
run: apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends clang
apt-get update is required because the slim image wipes /var/lib/apt/lists/*. This adds ~30-60 s per CI job and must be repeated in every workflow.
Proposed fix
Add clang to the apt install step in rust/Dockerfile:
RUN apt-get -yq update && apt-get -yq upgrade && apt-get -yqq install --no-install-recommends \
curl ca-certificates git jq make libdbus-1-3 clang && \
apt-get autoremove -y && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
On Debian Bookworm, clang installs the current default LLVM release and creates /usr/bin/clang. No version pinning needed.
Tradeoff: ~80 MB image size increase. Once in the image, no per-workflow overhead, and all cargo and icp-cli workflows work uniformly for any Rust canister.
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with rust/Dockerfile and inspect the existing apt package installation and wasm target setup. Add the required compiler tooling, rebuild the image, and verify that cargo build --target wasm32-unknown-unknown --release works for a canister with a C dependency, matching the icp-cli build path.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- docker, rust
- Domain
- build-system, devops
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 1/5
- Estimated time
- 1-3 hours
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 90/100