fix: ARM64 cross-compile presets missing CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR#21662
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fix: ARM64 cross-compile presets missing CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR#21662AztecBot wants to merge 1 commit intomerge-train/spartanfrom
AztecBot wants to merge 1 commit intomerge-train/spartanfrom
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…ip -march for cross-compiled ARM The M3 devcontainer fix (#21611) changed arch.cmake to auto-detect TARGET_ARCH but didn't account for cross-compile presets (arm64-android, arm64-ios, arm64-ios-sim) that lack CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR. Without it, ARM detection fails and -march=skylake is incorrectly passed to aarch64 targets. For arm64-macos, ARM was detected but -march=generic conflicted with zig's -mcpu=apple_a14, causing libdeflate NEON/AES compilation failures. Fix: - Add CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: aarch64 to arm64-android/ios/ios-sim - Add CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: x86_64 and TARGET_ARCH: skylake to x86_64-android - Skip -march entirely for cross-compiled ARM targets (zig already has -target/-mcpu)
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Mar 17, 2026
# fix: ARM64 devcontainer builds — skip `-march` on ARM and use explicit zig aarch64 target ## Summary Fixes SIGILL (Illegal Instruction) crashes and build failures on ARM64 Mac (M3/Apple Silicon) devcontainers caused by incorrect `-march` handling introduced in #21611. ## Problem PR #21611 originally fixed ARM64 devcontainer builds by using explicit `aarch64-linux-gnu.2.35` zig targets. During the merge, that approach was replaced with cmake-based auto-detection that sets `TARGET_ARCH=generic` on ARM and passes `-march=generic` to the compiler. This caused two distinct failures: ### 1. SIGILL crashes (`Illegal instruction`) The zig compiler wrappers still used `-target native-linux-gnu.2.35`, which auto-detects the host CPU. On CI (AWS Graviton with SVE extensions), this produces binaries containing SVE instructions. These cached binaries are then downloaded on Apple Silicon devcontainers (ARM64 without SVE), causing SIGILL when executed — e.g. `honk_solidity_key_gen` crashing during `barretenberg/sol` bootstrap. The `-march=generic` flag was supposed to override this, but `-march=generic` is **not a valid value on aarch64**. It's an x86 concept. LLVM/zig silently ignored it, so the native CPU detection still produced SVE instructions. ### 2. Build failures (`unknown CPU: 'armv8'`) Even attempting `-march=armv8-a` (a valid GCC/Clang aarch64 value) fails because zig uses its own CPU naming scheme (e.g. `generic`, `cortex_a72`, `apple_m3`), not GCC-style architecture strings. Zig interprets `-march=armv8-a` as CPU name `armv8`, which doesn't exist → `error: unknown CPU: 'armv8'`. **Bottom line:** The `-march` cmake approach fundamentally doesn't work with zig on ARM. Zig has its own architecture targeting via `-target`, which is the correct mechanism. ## What this PR changes ### 1. `arch.cmake` — Skip `-march` auto-detection on ARM Removed the ARM branch from the auto-detection. On x86_64, we still auto-detect `TARGET_ARCH=skylake`. On ARM, we don't set `TARGET_ARCH` at all, so no `-march` flag is passed — the zig wrappers handle architecture targeting instead. ### 2. `zig-cc.sh` / `zig-c++.sh` — Explicit aarch64 target on ARM Linux Restored the original fix from #21611 that was dropped during merge. On ARM64 Linux, the wrappers now use `-target aarch64-linux-gnu.2.35` instead of `-target native-linux-gnu.2.35`. This produces generic ARM64 code without CPU-specific extensions (SVE, etc.), ensuring cached binaries work on all ARM64 machines — Graviton, Apple Silicon, Ampere, etc. x86_64 behavior is unchanged (still uses `-target native`). ## Context: what happened after #21611 After #21611 merged with the cmake auto-detection approach, it triggered a cascade of follow-up PRs trying to fix the fallout: | PR | Status | Issue | |----|--------|-------| | #21621 | Merged | Introduced the auto-detect approach (replaced zig wrapper fix with cmake `-march`) | | #21356 | Merged | Added `NOT CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING` guard for cross-compile failures | | #21637 | Open | Attempting to fix cross-compiles + restore `native_build_dir` | | #21660 | Open | Attempting to fix cross-compile targets | | #21632 | Open | Attempting to fix cross-compile targets | | #21662 | Open | Adding `CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR` to ARM64 cross-compile presets | | #21653 | Open | Attempting to skip auto-detection when cross-compiling | | #21655 | Open | Attempting to skip auto-detection for cross-compilation targets | This PR supersedes the still-open PRs above by addressing the root cause: `-march` via cmake doesn't work with zig on ARM. The zig `-target` mechanism is the correct approach.
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Summary
Fixes CI failure in
merge-train/spartancaused by commit 6845b72 (#21611, M3 devcontainer fix) which changedarch.cmaketo auto-detectTARGET_ARCHbut didn't account for cross-compile presets lackingCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR.Two issues fixed:
arm64-android/arm64-ios/arm64-ios-simpresets had noCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR, so ARM detection failed and-march=skylakewas incorrectly passed to aarch64 targets →unknown CPU: 'skylake'arm64-macoscorrectly detected ARM but got-march=genericadded, which conflicted with zig's-mcpu=apple_a14→ libdeflate NEON/AES compilation errorsFix:
CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR: "aarch64"to arm64-android/ios/ios-sim presets-marchentirely for cross-compiled ARM targets (zig already has-target/-mcpu)Detailed analysis: https://gist.github.com/AztecBot/15537c94846685bb980be92f67422449
ClaudeBox log: https://claudebox.work/s/84b9768791c65786?run=1