5 Minute Quickstart

This guide gets the NoxTLS library and sample applications built on a desktop host. It assumes CMake and a C compiler are already installed.

1. Clone and configure

From the noxtls repository root (the directory that contains the top-level CMakeLists.txt):

cmake -S . -B build -D BUILD_TESTS=OFF

BUILD_APPLICATIONS is ON by default, so sample programs are included in the build.

2. Build

cmake --build build --config Release

On Linux/macOS you can add -j for parallel compilation. Application binaries are written under binary/ at the repository root.

3. Run a smoke test

DTLS PSK demo (in-process, no network setup):

./binary/dtls_psk_demo
./binary/dtls_psk_demo 1.3

HTTPS client (requires network access to the target host):

./binary/https_client https://example.com/ 443 tls13

Certificate utility (uses built-in or local test material):

./binary/cert info -i path/to/cert.pem

4. Optional: enable post-quantum features

Rebuild with ML-KEM and ML-DSA if you need PQC APIs or TLS 1.3 PQ groups:

cmake -S . -B build -D BUILD_TESTS=OFF \
  -D NOXTLS_CFG_FEATURE_ML_KEM=ON \
  -D NOXTLS_CFG_FEATURE_ML_DSA=ON
cmake --build build --config Release

See Configuration Guide for profiles and other feature gates.

Troubleshooting

Issue	What to try
CMake too old	Require CMake 3.10+ (cmake --version)
MSVC link errors on apps	Build from x64 Native Tools prompt; see BUILDING.md
https_client certificate errors	Use a public HTTPS site with a well-known CA, or supply your own trust store in your integration
Missing binary/ output	Confirm BUILD_APPLICATIONS=ON and check the build log for app target names

Where to go next

Goal	Guide
TLS client integration	Build Your First TLS Client
HTTPS server	Build Your First HTTPS Server
DTLS on UDP / embedded	Run DTLS on Embedded Devices
Certs and PKI	Configure Certificates
Zephyr or custom OS	Port NoxTLS to Your Platform

For full build matrices (Linux packages, MSVC, library-only builds), see BUILDING.md and Getting Started.