feat(build): add freestanding, lto, strip, panic-abort, and codegen-units support in dcr.toml

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -93,20 +93,22 @@ jobs:
           set -euo pipefail
           tag="${{ needs.setup.outputs.version }}"
           notes_file=".github/release-notes.md"
-          if grep -q "^## \\[${tag}\\]" CHANGELOG.md; then
+          # Strip -dev suffix to match base version in CHANGELOG
+          changelog_tag="${tag%-dev}"
+          if grep -q "^## \\[${changelog_tag}\\]" CHANGELOG.md; then
             # Extract release name from header: ## [0.7.1] - 2026-06-02 "Title"
-            release_name=$(awk -v ver="$tag" '
+            release_name=$(awk -v search_ver="$changelog_tag" -v display_ver="$tag" '
-              $0 ~ "^## \\[" ver "\\]" {
+              $0 ~ "^## \\[" search_ver "\\]" {
                 match($0, /"([^"]+)"/, arr)
                 if (arr[1] != "") {
-                  print "v" ver " - " arr[1]
+                  print "v" display_ver " - " arr[1]
                 } else {
-                  print "v" ver
+                  print "v" display_ver
                 }
               }
             ' CHANGELOG.md)
             echo "release_name=${release_name}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-            awk -v ver="$tag" '
+            awk -v ver="$changelog_tag" '
               $0 ~ "^## \\[" ver "\\]" {found=1; next}
               found && $0 ~ "^## \\[" {exit}
               found {print}

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,35 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [0.7.4] - 2026-06-16 "Bare-Metal и Оптимизация Сборки / Bare-Metal & Build Optimization"
+
+### RU
+
+**Добавлено:**
+
+- **Полноценная автоматизация Bare-Metal / Freestanding** — добавлен конфигурационный флаг `build.freestanding = true`. При его включении (или при обнаружении bare-metal таргета) DCR автоматически инжектирует флаг `-ffreestanding` на этапе компиляции, а также `-nostdlib` и `-static` на этапе линковки.
+- **Оптимизация артефактов (LTO и Strip)** — в `dcr.toml` добавлены параметры `build.lto` (авто-инжекция флага `-flto` для компилятора и линкера) и `build.strip` (автоматическое отсекание отладочной информации через флаг `-s` линкера).
+- **Контроль многопоточности сборки** — добавлен параметр `build.codegen-units`, позволяющий жестко ограничить максимальное количество параллельных потоков сборки для кастомного движка `parallel_build`.
+- **Управление паникой (Panic Abort)** — добавлен параметр `build.panic = "abort"`. Для C++ проектов он автоматически отключает генерацию таблиц раскрутки стека и исключений через флаги `-fno-exceptions`, `-fno-unwind-tables` и `-fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables`.
+
+**Изменено:**
+
+- **Интеллектуальные дефолтные флаги (DCR Defaults)** — генерация дефолтных флагов оптимизации (`-O3`/`-O0`), отладки (`-g`) и предупреждений (`-Wall -Wextra`) теперь автоматически отключается для bare-metal и freestanding целей, если пользователь переопределил `build.cflags`.
+- **Глобальный вынос bare-metal детектора** — функция `is_bare_metal_target` вынесена в общие утилиты `src/utils/build.rs` для сквозного использования в конвейере сборки.
+
+### EN
+
+**Added:**
+
+- **Full Bare-Metal / Freestanding Automation** — introduced the `build.freestanding = true` configuration option. When enabled (or when a bare-metal target is detected), DCR automatically injects `-ffreestanding` during compilation and both `-nostdlib` and `-static` during linking.
+- **Artifact Optimization (LTO & Strip)** — added `build.lto` (auto-injects `-flto` for compiler and linker) and `build.strip` (automatically strips debug symbols via linker `-s` flag) options to `dcr.toml`.
+- **Compilation Thread Control** — added the `build.codegen-units` option to strictly limit the maximum number of parallel jobs utilized by the custom `parallel_build` worker pool.
+- **Panic Behavior Management** — added `build.panic = "abort"` support. For C++ targets, it automatically strips exception handling and unwind tables via `-fno-exceptions`, `-fno-unwind-tables`, and `-fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables`.
+
+**Changed:**
+
+- **Intelligent Default Flags Generation** — automated injection of fallback optimization (`-O3`/`-O0`), debug (`-g`), and warning (`-Wall -Wextra`) flags is now suppressed for bare-metal and freestanding builds if `build.cflags` are overridden.
+- **Centralized Bare-Metal Detection** — relocated the `is_bare_metal_target` helper to common build utilities (`src/utils/build.rs`) for unified access across the building core.
+
 ## [0.7.3] - 2026-06-13 "Оптимизация Зависимостей и VCS / Dependency Optimization & VCS"
 
 ### RU

Cargo.lock

@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "dcr"
-version = "0.7.3"
+version = "0.7.4"
 dependencies = [
  "ctrlc",
  "glob",

Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "dcr"
-version = "0.7.3"
+version = "0.7.4"
 edition = "2024"
 build = "build.rs"
 description = "DCR is a utility for managing C/C++ projects in a Cargo-like style."

TODO.md

@@ -2,38 +2,35 @@
 
 Priority list of tasks to turn DCR into a true Cargo killer for C/C++ developers.
 
-## 🔥 High Priority (Next Releases)
+**Legend:** `[ ]` — not implemented | `[-]` — partially implemented | `[x]` — implemented
 
-- [x] **Git dependencies support**  
+## 🔥 High Priority
-  `git = "https://github.com/user/repo.git#branch"` and `git = "..."@tag`
+
-- [ ] **Conan and vcpkg integration**  
+- [ ] **CLI Output Refactoring & Cleanup**
-  Automatic download, installation and linking of packages
+  - [ ] Move all terminal strings to a dedicated module (`src/ui/messages.rs`)
-- [ ] **Full freestanding / embedded support**  
+  - [ ] Standardize logging formats (`error:`, `warning:`, `status:`)
-  `-nostdlib`, linker scripts, bare-metal targets (i686-elf, aarch64-none-elf, etc.)
+  - [x] Add build execution time statistics to the final output (e.g., `Finished in 4.23s`)
-- [ ] **EFI support**  
+- [ ] **Internationalization (i18n) / Localization**
-  Dedicated platform configuration for EFI targets
+  - [ ] Integrate a lightweight localization engine (`fluent` or `gettext` pure-Rust port)
-- [ ] **Custom project name**  
+  - [ ] Create initial translation catalogs (`en.ftl`, `ru.ftl`)
-  Override binary name in `dcr.toml`
+- [x] **Self-Update Stability Validation**
-- [ ] **Custom build steps / targets**  
+  - [x] Self-update implemented via `self-replace` + `ureq` in `flag_update.rs`
-  Ability to define custom pre-build, post-build, codegen steps in `dcr.toml`
+- [-] **Freestanding / Embedded Automation**
-- [ ] **Improved mixed C/C++/ASM projects**  
+  - *`-ffreestanding` injected at compile time, `-nostdlib -static` at link time for bare-metal targets or `build.freestanding = true`. Config option `build.freestanding` (bool) added.*
-  Better handling of `.S` and `.asm` files with correct flags
+- [ ] **Conan and vcpkg integration** Automatic download, installation and linking of packages
-- [ ] **dcr publish + official package registry**  
-  Publish and fetch your own libraries easily
 
 ## ✅ Medium Priority
 
 - [ ] **Static analysis** (`dcr check`)  
   Integration with clang-tidy, cppcheck, include-what-you-use
-- [ ] **Linter + Formatter** (`dcr fmt`, `dcr lint`)
+- [-] **Linter + Formatter** (`dcr fmt`, `dcr lint`)  
+  *`dcr fmt` (clang-format) implemented; `dcr lint` does not exist yet*
 - [ ] **Hot reload / Live reload** for applications (raylib, SFML, SDL, etc.)
-- [ ] **Better cross-compilation experience**  
+- [-] **Workspaces improvements** Per-member include directories, selective builds, better dependency graph  
-  Ready-to-use toolchains + automatic download
+  *Basic workspaces with dep ordering + topological sort work; advanced features missing*
-- [ ] **Linker script support** + direct linker control
+- [-] **Build-time code generation** Support for protobuf, flatbuffers, Qt moc, custom generators  
-- [ ] **Workspaces improvements**  
+  *Generic `build.steps` machinery + Qt toolchain (uic/moc/rcc) work; no dedicated protobuf/flatbuffers generators*
-  Per-member include directories, selective builds, better dependency graph
+- [-] **dcr publish + official package registry** *Registry consumption (fetch, resolve, link) works; `dcr publish` command / local packing missing*
-- [ ] **Build-time code generation**  
-  Support for protobuf, flatbuffers, Qt moc, custom generators
 
 ## 📌 Low Priority / Nice to Have
 
@@ -57,13 +54,12 @@ Priority list of tasks to turn DCR into a true Cargo killer for C/C++ developers
 ---
 
 **Currently in progress:**
-
+- UI/UX terminal output unification and benchmarking metrics.
-- ...
 
 **Completed in recent releases:**
-
+- Extreme binary size optimization (-50% weight reduction via `ureq` + `native-certs`)
-- Workspaces
+- Complete removal of `git2` and `openssl` in favor of system Git execution
-- Cross-compilation
+- Workspaces & Cross-compilation (`--target <triple>`)
 - IDE config generation (VS Code, CLion, compile_commands.json)
-- Self-update (`dcr --update`)
+- EFI support & Linker script support (`build.ldscript`)
-- Header tracking
+- Mixed C/C++/ASM compilation with custom `std::thread::scope` work-stealing engine

docs/reference/build-profiles.mdx

@@ -37,6 +37,23 @@ Set `inherit = false` to disable array inheritance (only profile's own arrays ar
 | `debug` | `-O0 -g -Wall -Wextra -fno-omit-frame-pointer -DDCR_DEBUG` |
 | `release` | `-O3 -DNDEBUG` |
 
+These defaults are composed from the `opt_level`, `debug`, and `warnings` fields and can
+be overridden per-profile:
+
+```toml
+[build.release]
+opt_level = "z"
+lto = true
+strip = true
+panic = "abort"
+codegen-units = "1"
+
+[build.debug]
+opt_level = "1"
+debug = false
+warnings = ["all", "error"]
+```
+
 ## Target-specific profiles
 
 ```toml

docs/reference/build-system.mdx

@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ DCR supports 4 compilation backends. Selection is automatic based on file extens
 - Compiler resolved via `resolve_compiler()`: `DCR_COMPILER` > `DCR_CC` > `[toolchain]` > `build.compiler` > `PATH`
 - Supports `.d` files for header dependency tracking
 - Flags: `-std=`, `-MMD -MF`, `-c -o`, `-I`, `-L`, `-l`
+- Conditional flags based on config:
+  - `freestanding` or bare-metal target: `-ffreestanding` (compile), `-nostdlib -static` (link)
+  - `lto`: `-flto` (compile + link)
+  - `panic = "abort"`: `-fno-exceptions` (C++ only), `-fno-unwind-tables`, `-fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables`
 
 ### MSVC
 

docs/reference/cross-compilation.mdx

@@ -37,9 +37,19 @@ target = "aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu"
 # Auto: cflags += ["--target=aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu"]
 ```
 
-## Bare-Metal
+## Bare-Metal / Freestanding
 
-For targets containing `none`, `-elf`, `eabi`, or `baremetal`, DCR default flags are disabled (no system include paths, no `-l` libc).
+For targets containing `none`, `-elf`, `eabi`, or `baremetal`, DCR automatically:
+
+1. **Disables default flags** — no system include paths, no `-l` libc
+2. **Injects `-ffreestanding`** at compile time and `-nostdlib -static` at link time
+
+You can also enable freestanding mode explicitly:
+
+```toml
+[build]
+freestanding = true
+```
 
 ```bash
 dcr build --target aarch64-none-elf

docs/reference/dcr-toml.mdx

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ author = "John Doe"
 | `compiler` | `"clang"` | Preferred compiler |
 | `kind` | `"bin"` | `bin`, `staticlib`, `sharedlib`, `efi`, `elf`, `none`, `custom` |
 | `target` | host | Target triple for cross-compilation |
-| `platform` | `"native"` | `native`, `efi`, `freestanding` |
+| `platform` | `"native"` | `native`, `efi` |
 | `cflags` | `[]` | Additional C/C++/ASM flags |
 | `ldflags` | `[]` | Additional linker flags |
 | `filename` | `""` | Custom output file name |
@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ author = "John Doe"
 | `clean` | `[]` | Glob patterns for custom clean paths |
 | `out_dir` | `""` | Custom output directory |
 | `workspace_only` | `false` | Workspace-only, not built standalone |
+| `freestanding` | `false` | Compile in freestanding mode (`-ffreestanding` + `-nostdlib -static`) |
+| `opt_level` | `"0"` (debug) / `"3"` (release) | Optimization level: `0`-`3`, `"s"`, `"z"` |
+| `debug` | `true` (debug) / `false` (release) | Emit debug symbols (`-g`) |
+| `lto` | `false` | Link-time optimization (`-flto` for both compiler and linker) |
+| `strip` | `false` | Strip symbols from output (`-s` in ldflags) |
+| `warnings` | `["all", "extra"]` (debug) / `[]` (release) | Warning flags (e.g. `"all"`, `"extra"`, `"pedantic"`) |
+| `panic` | `""` | Panic strategy: `"abort"` disables exceptions and unwind tables |
+| `codegen-units` | `""` | Max parallel compilation jobs (`"0"` = auto) |
 
 Settings from raw config (not in typed struct):
 - `pkg_config` — list of pkg-config packages

src/cli/build.rs

@@ -24,8 +24,9 @@ use crate::core::deps::{register, resolve_deps};
 use crate::core::workspace::parse_workspace;
 use crate::utils::build::{
     default_target_triple, get_bool_with_profile, get_config_opt, get_config_str,
-    get_language_with_profile, normalize_target_os, parse_version_info, prepend_clang_target_flag,
+    get_language_with_profile, is_bare_metal_target, normalize_target_os, parse_version_info,
-    profile_table, resolve_compiler, resolve_pkg_config_flags, resolve_tool,
+    prepend_clang_target_flag, profile_table, resolve_compiler, resolve_pkg_config_flags,
+    resolve_tool,
 };
 use crate::utils::fs::{check_dir, find_project_root, with_dir};
 use crate::utils::log::error;
@@ -682,6 +683,63 @@ fn build_project_at(
         let build_roots =
             get_list_with_profile_and_target(&config, "roots", profile, build_target)?;
         let src_disable = get_bool_with_profile(&config, "src_disable", profile, false);
+        let freestanding = get_bool_with_profile(&config, "freestanding", profile, false);
+        let lto = get_bool_with_profile(&config, "lto", profile, false);
+        let strip = get_bool_with_profile(&config, "strip", profile, false);
+        let opt_level =
+            get_string_with_profile_and_target(&config, "opt_level", profile, build_target);
+        let debug = get_bool_with_profile(&config, "debug", profile, profile != "release");
+        let warnings =
+            get_list_with_profile_and_target(&config, "warnings", profile, build_target)?;
+        let panic_val = get_string_with_profile_and_target(&config, "panic", profile, build_target);
+        let panic_abort = panic_val == "abort";
+        let codegen_units: usize =
+            get_string_with_profile_and_target(&config, "codegen-units", profile, build_target)
+                .parse()
+                .unwrap_or(0);
+
+        if build_cflags.is_empty() && !freestanding && !is_bare_metal_target(build_target) {
+            if !opt_level.is_empty() {
+                build_cflags.push(format!("-O{opt_level}"));
+            } else {
+                build_cflags.push(match profile {
+                    "release" => "-O3".to_string(),
+                    _ => "-O0".to_string(),
+                });
+            }
+            if debug {
+                build_cflags.push("-g".to_string());
+            }
+            if warnings.is_empty() {
+                if profile == "debug" {
+                    build_cflags.push("-Wall".to_string());
+                    build_cflags.push("-Wextra".to_string());
+                }
+            } else {
+                for w in &warnings {
+                    build_cflags.push(format!("-W{w}"));
+                }
+            }
+            match profile {
+                "debug" => {
+                    build_cflags.push("-fno-omit-frame-pointer".to_string());
+                    build_cflags.push("-DDCR_DEBUG".to_string());
+                }
+                "release" => {
+                    build_cflags.push("-DNDEBUG".to_string());
+                }
+                _ => {}
+            }
+        }
+
+        if lto {
+            build_cflags.push("-flto".to_string());
+            build_ldflags.push("-flto".to_string());
+        }
+        if strip {
+            build_ldflags.push("-s".to_string());
+        }
+
         let build_expects =
             get_list_with_profile_and_target(&config, "expect", profile, build_target)?;
         let pkg_configs =
@@ -909,6 +967,9 @@ fn build_project_at(
             } else {
                 Some(build_type.as_str())
             },
+            freestanding,
+            panic_abort,
+            codegen_units,
             source_roots: &source_roots,
             exclude_dirs: &combined_excludes,
             include_paths: &combined_includes,

src/cli/gen.rs

@@ -367,6 +367,9 @@ fn collect_project_info_inner(root: &Path, profile: &str) -> Result<ProjectInfo,
         linker: resolved_linker.as_deref(),
         archiver: resolved_archiver.as_deref(),
         package_type: None,
+        freestanding: false,
+        panic_abort: false,
+        codegen_units: 0,
         source_roots: &source_roots,
         exclude_dirs: &combined_excludes,
         include_paths: &combined_includes,

src/core/builder/common.rs

@@ -164,13 +164,18 @@ pub fn has_glob_magic(value: &str) -> bool {
     value.chars().any(|c| matches!(c, '*' | '?' | '['))
 }
 
-pub fn parallel_build<F>(total_tasks: usize, task_fn: F) -> Result<(), String>
+pub fn parallel_build<F>(total_tasks: usize, task_fn: F, max_jobs: usize) -> Result<(), String>
 where
     F: Fn(usize) -> Result<(), String> + Sync + Send,
 {
-    let num_threads = std::thread::available_parallelism()
+    let available = std::thread::available_parallelism()
         .map(|n| n.get())
         .unwrap_or(1);
+    let num_threads = if max_jobs > 0 {
+        max_jobs.min(available)
+    } else {
+        available
+    };
 
     let counter = std::sync::atomic::AtomicUsize::new(0);
     let err_msg = std::sync::Mutex::new(None);

src/core/builder/gas.rs

@@ -151,9 +151,11 @@ fn build_objects(
         .map(|s| common::object_path(obj_dir, s, obj_ext))
         .collect();
 
-    common::parallel_build(sources.len(), |i| {
+    common::parallel_build(
-        build_object(assembler, &sources[i], &objects[i], ctx)
+        sources.len(),
-    })?;
+        |i| build_object(assembler, &sources[i], &objects[i], ctx),
+        ctx.codegen_units,
+    )?;
 
     Ok(objects)
 }

src/core/builder/mod.rs

@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ pub struct BuildContext<'a> {
     pub linker: Option<&'a str>,
     pub archiver: Option<&'a str>,
     pub package_type: Option<&'a str>,
+    pub freestanding: bool,
+    pub panic_abort: bool,
+    pub codegen_units: usize,
     pub source_roots: &'a [std::path::PathBuf],
     pub exclude_dirs: &'a [std::path::PathBuf],
     pub include_paths: &'a [String],

src/core/builder/msvc.rs

@@ -228,9 +228,11 @@ fn build_objects(
         .map(|s| common::object_path(obj_dir, s, obj_ext))
         .collect();
 
-    common::parallel_build(sources.len(), |i| {
+    common::parallel_build(
-        build_object(compiler, &sources[i], &objects[i], ctx)
+        sources.len(),
-    })?;
+        |i| build_object(compiler, &sources[i], &objects[i], ctx),
+        ctx.codegen_units,
+    )?;
 
     Ok(objects)
 }

src/core/builder/nasm.rs

@@ -153,9 +153,11 @@ fn build_objects(
 
     let format = nasm_format(ctx.platform);
 
-    common::parallel_build(sources.len(), |i| {
+    common::parallel_build(
-        build_object(assembler, &sources[i], &objects[i], format, ctx)
+        sources.len(),
-    })?;
+        |i| build_object(assembler, &sources[i], &objects[i], format, ctx),
+        ctx.codegen_units,
+    )?;
 
     Ok(objects)
 }

src/core/builder/unix_cc.rs

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 use crate::core::builder::BuildContext;
 use crate::core::builder::common;
 use crate::platform;
+use crate::utils::build::is_bare_metal_target;
 use std::fs;
 use std::path::Path;
 use std::process::Command;
@@ -80,6 +81,9 @@ pub fn build(ctx: &BuildContext) -> Result<f64, String> {
         cmd.arg("-nostdlib");
         cmd.arg("-Wl,-dll");
         cmd.arg("-Wl,--subsystem,10");
+    } else if ctx.freestanding || is_bare_metal_target(ctx.target) {
+        cmd.arg("-nostdlib");
+        cmd.arg("-static");
     }
     for obj in &objects {
         cmd.arg(obj);
@@ -172,19 +176,6 @@ fn default_flags(profile: &str) -> &'static [&'static str] {
     }
 }
 
-fn is_bare_metal_target(target: Option<&str>) -> bool {
-    if let Some(t) = target {
-        let lower = t.to_lowercase();
-        lower.contains("none")
-            || lower.contains("-elf")
-            || lower.contains("eabi")
-            || lower.contains("baremetal")
-            || lower.contains("bare-metal")
-    } else {
-        false
-    }
-}
-
 fn build_objects(
     compiler: &str,
     sources: &[String],
@@ -197,9 +188,11 @@ fn build_objects(
         .map(|s| common::object_path(obj_dir, s, obj_ext))
         .collect();
 
-    common::parallel_build(sources.len(), |i| {
+    common::parallel_build(
-        build_object(compiler, &sources[i], &objects[i], ctx)
+        sources.len(),
-    })?;
+        |i| build_object(compiler, &sources[i], &objects[i], ctx),
+        ctx.codegen_units,
+    )?;
 
     Ok(objects)
 }
@@ -231,6 +224,23 @@ fn build_object(
         cmd.arg("-fPIC");
     }
 
+    if (ctx.freestanding || is_bare_metal_target(ctx.target))
+        && ctx.language.to_lowercase() != "asm"
+    {
+        cmd.arg("-ffreestanding");
+    }
+
+    if ctx.panic_abort && ctx.language.to_lowercase() != "asm" {
+        if ctx.language.contains("++")
+            || ctx.language.contains("cpp")
+            || ctx.language.contains("cxx")
+        {
+            cmd.arg("-fno-exceptions");
+        }
+        cmd.arg("-fno-unwind-tables");
+        cmd.arg("-fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables");
+    }
+
     if let Some(platform) = ctx.platform
         && !platform.trim().is_empty()
     {
@@ -250,7 +260,8 @@ fn build_object(
         }
     }
 
-    let use_dcr_defaults = ctx.cflags.is_empty() && !is_bare_metal_target(ctx.target);
+    let use_dcr_defaults =
+        ctx.cflags.is_empty() && !(ctx.freestanding || is_bare_metal_target(ctx.target));
     if use_dcr_defaults {
         for flag in default_flags(ctx.profile) {
             cmd.arg(flag);

src/utils/build.rs

@@ -187,6 +187,19 @@ pub fn get_list_with_profile(config: &Config, field: &str, profile: &str) -> Vec
     out
 }
 
+pub fn is_bare_metal_target(target: Option<&str>) -> bool {
+    if let Some(t) = target {
+        let lower = t.to_lowercase();
+        lower.contains("none")
+            || lower.contains("-elf")
+            || lower.contains("eabi")
+            || lower.contains("baremetal")
+            || lower.contains("bare-metal")
+    } else {
+        false
+    }
+}
+
 pub fn get_bool_with_profile(config: &Config, field: &str, profile: &str, default: bool) -> bool {
     let base = config
         .get(&format!("build.{field}"))