# Botan

# Support Information

## Supported Platforms

For Botan 3, the tier-1 supported platforms are

- Linux x86-64, GCC 11.2 or later

- Linux x86-64, Clang 14 or later

- Linux aarch64, GCC 11.2 or later

- Linux ppc64le, GCC 11.2 or later

- Windows x86-64, Visual C++ 2022 or later

These platforms are all tested by continuous integration, and the developers have access to hardware in order to test patches. Problems affecting these platforms are considered release blockers.

For Botan 3, the tier-2 supported platforms are

- macOS aarch64, latest XCode Clang

- macOS x86-64, latest XCode Clang

- iOS aarch64, latest XCode Clang

- Windows x86-64, latest MinGW GCC

- Android aarch64, latest NDK Clang

- Linux arm32, GCC 11.2 or later

- Linux x86-32, GCC 11.2 or later

- FreeBSD x86-64, Clang 14 or later

Note

Notice that the minimum version requirements for XCode and NDK is different from other compilers. With GCC or Clang, we fix the minimum required compiler version and aim to maintain that support for the entire lifecycle of Botan 3. In contrast, for XCode and NDK the minimum version is floating; namely, we will only support the very latest version. It’s possible earlier versions will work, but this is not guaranteed.

Note

As of May 2024, it is known that at least XCode 15.0 is required, since earlier versions did not support certain C++20 language features that the library uses.

Note

For Android, NDK 26 is required

Some (but not all) of the tier-2 platforms are tested by CI. Everything should work, and if problems are encountered, the developers will probably be able to help. But they are not as carefully tested as tier-1.

Of course most other modern OSes such as QNX, AIX, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and Solaris also work just fine. Some are tested occasionally, usually just before a new release. But very little code specific to these platforms is written by the primary developers. For example, any functionality in the library which utilizes OpenBSD specific APIs was likely contributed by someone interested in that platform.

In theory any working C++20 compiler is fine but in practice, we only regularly test with GCC, Clang, and Visual C++. Several other compilers (such as IBM XLC and Intel C++) are supported by the build system but are not tested by the developers and may have build or codegen problems. Patches to improve support for these compilers is welcome.

## Branch Support Status

Following table provides the support status for Botan branches, as of August 2025.

“Active development” refers to adding new features and optimizations. At the conclusion of the active development phase, only bugfixes are applied.

End of life dates may be extended as circumstances warrant.

Branch | First Release | End of Active Development | End of Life
--- | --- | --- | ---
Botan2 | 2017-01-06 | 2020-11-05 | 2024-12-31
Botan3 | 2023-04-11 | 2027? | 2028-12-31 or later
Botan4 | 2027? | ? | ?

## Getting Help

To get help with Botan, open an issue on GitHub