mostly useful for embedded or cross-compiled applications where `libffi` needs

to be bundled.

Building standalone `libffi` requires `autoconf` and `libtool` to also be installed.

To build with standalone `libffi`:

$ make submodules # fetches libffi submodule

$ make deplibs # build just the external libraries (libffi)

$ make # build MicroPython itself

For deploying MicroPython to very minimal Linux environments (like those generated by Buildroot)

or for creating a truly self-contained binary, you might need to build MicroPython

with **all** its dependencies statically linked. This means including the C standard library

(`libc`), pthreads, and other system libraries directly into the executable, removing

the dependency on the target system's dynamic linker (`ld.so`).

**Important Considerations:**

* **Increased Binary Size:** Statically linked executables are significantly larger.

* **No Runtime Library Updates:** Security patches or updates to system libraries

will require recompiling and redeploying your MicroPython binary.

* **Toolchain Support:** Your compiler and linker toolchain (especially for cross-compilation)

must provide the necessary static library archives (`.a` files).

* **Compatibility:** Statically linking `glibc` on Linux can sometimes lead to

compatibility issues if not done carefully, as some `glibc` features are designed

with dynamic linking in mind. `musl libc` is often a better choice for fully

static embedded builds due to its design for static linking.

**Steps for a Fully Static Build:**

1. **Ensure Static Library Development Packages:**

For your host system or cross-compilation target, you'll need the static

development packages for the C standard library and any other required libraries.

For `glibc` on Debian/Ubuntu, this typically means `libc6-dev` (or `libc6-dev:i386`

for 32-bit builds). For cross-compilation (e.g., `mipsel-linux-gnu`), you'd need

`libc6-dev-mipsel-cross` and potentially `libpthread-stati`c for thread support.

Example for `mipsel-linux-gnu` on Debian/Ubuntu:

```bash

sudo apt-get install build-essential git python3 pkg-config libffi-dev autoconf libtool

sudo apt-get install gcc-mipsel-linux-gnu g++-mipsel-linux-gnu libc6-mipsel-cross libc6-dev-mipsel-cross

# If thread support is enabled (MICROPY_PY_THREAD=1), you might also need:

# sudo apt-get install libpthread-stubs0-dev # Or similar static pthread dev package

```

2. **Build MicroPython with `LDFLAGS_EXTRA="-static"`:**

This flag instructs the linker to prefer static linking. Combine this with

`MICROPY_STANDALONE=1` to ensure `libffi` is also statically bundled.

Example for a fully static `mipsel` build:

```bash

Replace `mipsel-linux-gnu-` with your actual `CROSS_COMPILE` prefix if different.

3. **Verification:**

After building, use `file` and `ldd` (if available for the target architecture)

to confirm that the binary is statically linked:

```bash

A truly static binary will show "statically linked" and `ldd` will report "not a dynamic executable" or similar.

If you encounter linker errors during a fully static build, it almost always means

that the static library (`.a` file) for a required dependency is missing from your

toolchain's search paths or simply not installed. You'll need to identify the

missing library and install its corresponding static development package.