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Do official Godot Linux binaries run under Alpine/musl? #4

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opened 2026-08-06 20:28:43 +00:00 by haylan · 2 comments
haylan commented 2026-08-06 20:28:43 +00:00
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Question

Do official Godot Linux editor/export-template binaries (from downloads.tuxfamily.org /
github.com/godotengine/godot-builds, as abarichello/godot-ci itself downloads) run under
Alpine/musl as-is, or do they require gcompat/glibc shims? Is there an official statically-linked
or musl-native Godot build that avoids the question entirely? Cover both the editor binary (used
headless to run exports) and the export templates themselves (do templates care about the host
libc, or only the target platform?).

Part of Smaller/faster godot-ci image (map).

## Question Do official Godot Linux editor/export-template binaries (from `downloads.tuxfamily.org` / `github.com/godotengine/godot-builds`, as `abarichello/godot-ci` itself downloads) run under Alpine/musl as-is, or do they require `gcompat`/glibc shims? Is there an official statically-linked or musl-native Godot build that avoids the question entirely? Cover both the editor binary (used headless to run exports) and the export templates themselves (do templates care about the host libc, or only the target platform?). Part of [Smaller/faster godot-ci image (map)](https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/issues/2).
haylan added the wayfinder:research label 2026-08-06 20:28:43 +00:00
haylan commented 2026-08-06 20:37:09 +00:00
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Research done, branch: research/godot-musl-alpine (docs/research/godot-musl-alpine.md — https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/src/branch/research/godot-musl-alpine/docs/research/godot-musl-alpine.md).

Verdict: official Godot Linux editor/export-template binaries are dynamically linked against glibc (built in a Fedora-based container), not static, not musl-native — so they do NOT run on Alpine out of the box. Whether gcompat fixes it is unconfirmed (one open godot/godot issue reports a segfault on musl; no confirmed success report found, one adjacent GDExtension reportedly still fails even with gcompat). Export templates themselves don't care about host libc — only the editor binary running the export does. No official static/musl-native Godot build exists (Godot Foundation doesn't provide one; musl+dlopen+static is the blocker); Alpine's own community package (testing repo, rebuilt from source) is the only known working musl-native editor. Bottom line: switching godot-ci's base image to Alpine is not a safe assumption without an end-to-end prototype.

Research done, branch: research/godot-musl-alpine (docs/research/godot-musl-alpine.md — https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/src/branch/research/godot-musl-alpine/docs/research/godot-musl-alpine.md). Verdict: official Godot Linux editor/export-template binaries are dynamically linked against glibc (built in a Fedora-based container), not static, not musl-native — so they do NOT run on Alpine out of the box. Whether gcompat fixes it is unconfirmed (one open godot/godot issue reports a segfault on musl; no confirmed success report found, one adjacent GDExtension reportedly still fails even with gcompat). Export templates themselves don't care about host libc — only the editor binary running the export does. No official static/musl-native Godot build exists (Godot Foundation doesn't provide one; musl+dlopen+static is the blocker); Alpine's own community package (testing repo, rebuilt from source) is the only known working musl-native editor. Bottom line: switching godot-ci's base image to Alpine is not a safe assumption without an end-to-end prototype.
haylan commented 2026-08-06 21:58:37 +00:00
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Resolution already recorded on Smaller/faster godot-ci image (map)'s Decisions-so-far and acted on in ticket #7's resolution. Closing — this was left open by an oversight, not because it's still active.

Resolution already recorded on [Smaller/faster godot-ci image (map)](https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/issues/2)'s Decisions-so-far and acted on in [ticket #7](https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/issues/7)'s resolution. Closing — this was left open by an oversight, not because it's still active.
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Reference: haylan/godot-ci#4