aarch64linuxgnu

aarch64linuxgnu is the GNU/Linux target triplet used to denote a combination of the AArch64 architecture (the 64-bit ARM instruction set, also known as ARMv8-A) with the Linux kernel and the GNU userland. In practice, it is most commonly written as aarch64-linux-gnu in toolchains and build systems, where it serves as a canonical target for cross-compilation and for identifying prebuilt binaries.

The AArch64 architecture provides 64-bit addressing and instruction sets, and is used by many ARM-based devices, ranging from servers and cloud instances to embedded systems. The aarch64-linux-gnu target indicates that software should be built against the Linux userland and its customary GNU libraries and utilities for the 64-bit ARM environment. The exact libc implementation may vary by distribution or project, with glibc being common on many GNU/Linux distros and musl used in some lightweight or custom environments.

Toolchains and workflows that target aarch64-linux-gnu are widely supported in both open source and commercial ecosystems. GCC and binutils provide cross-compilers and linkers with prefixes such as aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc and aarch64-linux-gnu-ld. Popular Linux distributions supply ready-made cross-compiler packages (for example, gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu on Debian/Ubuntu) and build systems such as Buildroot, OpenEmbedded, and Yocto Project use this triplet to generate complete root filesystems for ARM64 targets.

Variations in naming exist in some toolchains, and the triplet may appear with additional qualifiers (for example, aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu). Nevertheless, aarch64-linux-gnu remains the standard and most widely used descriptor for 64-bit ARM GNU/Linux development.