How to Run a C Program on Windows 11 — Compile and Execute in Command Prompt

This guide shows you how to compile and run a C program on Windows 11 using GCC from the Command Prompt. If you have already installed a compiler, you are ready to go. If not, start with our guide on how to install GCC on Windows 11 first — it walks you through MSYS2 and MinGW-w64.

Just need to run one or two quick programs without installing anything? You can compile C in your browser instead — see our guide to online C compilers. No setup required.

The Two-Step Workflow

Running a C program on Windows is always two steps:

1. Compile — turn your .c source file into an .exe executable
2. Run — execute that .exe

C is a compiled language — you cannot run a .c file directly the way you would a Python script. GCC translates your source code into a Windows executable first.

Step 1 — Write Your C Program

Open Notepad (or any text editor) and type this program:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    printf("Hello, World!\n");
    return 0;
}

Save it as hello.c. Important: in Notepad’s Save dialog, set Save as type to All Files — otherwise Notepad saves it as hello.c.txt, which will not compile. Save it somewhere easy to find, such as C:\code\.

Step 2 — Open Command Prompt in the Right Folder

The quickest way: open the folder containing hello.c in File Explorer, click the address bar, type cmd, and press Enter. A Command Prompt opens already pointed at that folder.

Alternatively, open Command Prompt from the Start menu and navigate with cd:

cd C:\code

Confirm your file is there with dir:

dir hello.c

Step 3 — Compile the Program

gcc hello.c -o hello.exe

Breaking this command down:

Part	Meaning
gcc	The MinGW-w64 GCC compiler
hello.c	Your source file — the input
-o hello.exe	Name the output executable hello.exe

If your code has no errors, the command finishes silently and creates hello.exe in the same folder. If you omit -o hello.exe, GCC names the output a.exe by default.

Step 4 — Run the Program

hello.exe

Output:

Hello, World!

On Windows you run the program by typing its name. (On macOS and Linux you need a ./ prefix — on Windows you do not, because the current directory is searched automatically.)

The Complete Sequence

cd C:\code
gcc hello.c -o hello.exe
hello.exe

Three commands every time: navigate, compile, run.

Recommended Compiler Flags

For learning C, always compile with warnings enabled — they catch real bugs early:

gcc -Wall -Wextra hello.c -o hello.exe

Flag	What it does
-Wall	Enable all common warnings
-Wextra	Enable extra warnings -Wall misses
-std=c17	Use the C17 standard (or -std=c11, -std=c99)
-g	Add debug info for use with gdb
-O2	Optimise the compiled program for speed

A good everyday command for students:

gcc -Wall -Wextra -std=c17 hello.c -o hello.exe

Compiling Multiple Source Files

As programs grow, you split them across files. Compile them together by listing each .c file:

gcc -Wall main.c utils.c math_helpers.c -o myprogram.exe
myprogram.exe

GCC combines all the source files into one executable. Header files (.h) are not listed — they are pulled in automatically by the #include directives in your code.

Reading Input While the Program Runs

If your program uses scanf(), just type the values when it runs:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    int n;
    printf("Enter a number: ");
    scanf("%d", &n);
    printf("You entered %d\n", n);
    return 0;
}

gcc -Wall input.c -o input.exe
input.exe

Enter a number: 42
You entered 42

Common Errors and Fixes

Error message	Cause and fix
'gcc' is not recognized as an internal or external command	GCC not installed or not on PATH — see our install guide
gcc: error: hello.c: No such file or directory	Wrong folder — use cd to navigate to the file, check with dir
File saved as hello.c.txt	Notepad added .txt — re-save with Save as type → All Files
undefined reference to 'function'	You forgot to include a .c file in the compile command — list all of them
implicit declaration of function 'printf'	You forgot #include <stdio.h> at the top

Tired of Typing Commands? Use an IDE

Running three commands for every change gets old fast. VS Code lets you compile and run with a single keypress and adds code completion plus a visual debugger. It is free and works directly with the MSYS2 GCC you installed.

What’s Next

You now know how to compile and run C on Windows 11. Time to practise — browse our full list of C programs with examples, from beginner exercises to sorting algorithms and data structures.

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Recommended Book

Once you are comfortable compiling and running programs, the best book to actually learn the language is The C Programming Language by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie (K&R). Every example in it compiles and runs with the exact gcc workflow above.