Installing SystemC on Windows, Linux, and macOS

SystemC is distributed as source code — there is no apt package, no brew formula, no installer. You download the source from Accellera, build it with CMake, and link your own simulations against the resulting library. This guide walks through the complete process on all three major platforms.

Prerequisites

Download SystemC

The official source is Accellera. SystemC 2.3.3 is the latest stable release (IEEE 1666-2023 compliant).

1. Go to accellera.org/downloads/standards/systemc
2. Download systemc-2.3.3.tar.gz (free, requires creating an Accellera account)
3. Or clone the open-source mirror: git clone https://github.com/accellera-official/systemc.git

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y g++ cmake make

# Fedora / RHEL / CentOS
sudo dnf install -y gcc-c++ cmake make

tar -xzf systemc-2.3.3.tar.gz
cd systemc-2.3.3
mkdir build && cd build

cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/systemc-2.3.3

make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

export SYSTEMC_HOME=/usr/local/systemc-2.3.3
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$SYSTEMC_HOME/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

source ~/.bashrc

g++ -std=c++14 \
  -I$SYSTEMC_HOME/include \
  -L$SYSTEMC_HOME/lib \
  -lsystemc \
  -DSC_CPLUSPLUS=201402L \
  hello.cpp -o hello

./hello

# Install Xcode Command Line Tools (if not already installed)
xcode-select --install

# Install CMake via Homebrew
brew install cmake

tar -xzf systemc-2.3.3.tar.gz
cd systemc-2.3.3
mkdir build && cd build

cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/systemc-2.3.3 \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=14

make -j$(sysctl -n hw.logicalcpu)
make install

export SYSTEMC_HOME=$HOME/systemc-2.3.3
# ARM64 Mac — library dir is lib-macosxarm
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$SYSTEMC_HOME/lib-macosxarm:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

source ~/.zshrc

g++ -std=c++14 \
  -I$SYSTEMC_HOME/include \
  -L$SYSTEMC_HOME/lib-macosxarm \
  -lsystemc \
  -DSC_CPLUSPLUS=201402L \
  hello.cpp -o hello

./hello

:: Extract the archive first, then:
cd systemc-2.3.3
mkdir build && cd build

cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 ^
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:\systemc-2.3.3 ^
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build . --config Release
cmake --install . --config Release

cl /std:c++17 /EHsc ^
  /I"%SYSTEMC_HOME%\include" ^
  hello.cpp ^
  /link /LIBPATH:"%SYSTEMC_HOME%\lib" systemc.lib

hello.exe

Hello World — Verify the Installation

Create hello.cpp:

#include <systemc.h>

SC_MODULE(Hello) {
  void say_hello() {
    cout << "Hello from SystemC @ " << sc_time_stamp() << endl;
  }

  SC_CTOR(Hello) {
    SC_THREAD(say_hello);
  }
};

int sc_main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
  Hello h("h");
  sc_start();
  return 0;
}

Expected output:

        SystemC 2.3.3-Accellera --- Apr  9 2026 10:00:00
        Copyright (c) 1996-2022 by all Contributors,
        ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Hello from SystemC @ 0 s

CMake Project Template (All Platforms)

Once SystemC is installed, the cleanest way to build your own projects is with CMake. Create a CMakeLists.txt in your project root:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
project(my_systemc_sim CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)

# Point to your SystemC install
set(SYSTEMC_HOME "$ENV{SYSTEMC_HOME}")

include_directories("${SYSTEMC_HOME}/include")
link_directories("${SYSTEMC_HOME}/lib")

add_executable(sim main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(sim systemc)

Build on any platform:

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build .

Common Errors and Fixes

Quick Reference

Summary

• Download SystemC 2.3.3 source from Accellera — no binary packages.
• Build with CMake on all platforms — consistent workflow everywhere.
• Set SYSTEMC_HOME environment variable and the platform runtime path variable.
• Use sc_main() not main() — SystemC replaces the standard entry point.
• Use a CMakeLists.txt for your projects — portable across Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• Verify with the Hello World module — if sc_time_stamp() prints 0 s, everything works.

Aditya Gaurav

Embedded systems engineer specializing in SystemC, ARM architecture, and C/C++ internals. Writing deep technical dives for VLSI and embedded engineers.