| Protocol Buffers - Google's data interchange format |
| =================================================== |
| |
| [](https://securityscorecards.dev/viewer/?uri=github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf) |
| |
| Copyright 2023 Google LLC |
| |
| Overview |
| -------- |
| |
| Protocol Buffers (a.k.a., protobuf) are Google's language-neutral, |
| platform-neutral, extensible mechanism for serializing structured data. You |
| can learn more about it in [protobuf's documentation](https://protobuf.dev). |
| |
| This README file contains protobuf installation instructions. To install |
| protobuf, you need to install the protocol compiler (used to compile .proto |
| files) and the protobuf runtime for your chosen programming language. |
| |
| Working With Protobuf Source Code |
| --------------------------------- |
| |
| Most users will find working from |
| [supported releases](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases) to be |
| the easiest path. |
| |
| If you choose to work from the head revision of the main branch your build will |
| occasionally be broken by source-incompatible changes and insufficiently-tested |
| (and therefore broken) behavior. |
| |
| If you are using C++ or otherwise need to build protobuf from source as a part |
| of your project, you should pin to a release commit on a release branch. |
| |
| This is because even release branches can experience some instability in between |
| release commits. |
| |
| Protobuf Compiler Installation |
| ------------------------------ |
| |
| The protobuf compiler is written in C++. If you are using C++, please follow |
| the [C++ Installation Instructions](src/README.md) to install protoc along |
| with the C++ runtime. |
| |
| For non-C++ users, the simplest way to install the protocol compiler is to |
| download a pre-built binary from our [GitHub release page](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases). |
| |
| In the downloads section of each release, you can find pre-built binaries in |
| zip packages: `protoc-$VERSION-$PLATFORM.zip`. It contains the protoc binary |
| as well as a set of standard `.proto` files distributed along with protobuf. |
| |
| If you are looking for an old version that is not available in the release |
| page, check out the [Maven repository](https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/com/google/protobuf/protoc/). |
| |
| These pre-built binaries are only provided for released versions. If you want |
| to use the github main version at HEAD, or you need to modify protobuf code, |
| or you are using C++, it's recommended to build your own protoc binary from |
| source. |
| |
| If you would like to build protoc binary from source, see the [C++ Installation Instructions](src/README.md). |
| |
| Protobuf Runtime Installation |
| ----------------------------- |
| |
| Protobuf supports several different programming languages. For each programming |
| language, you can find instructions in the corresponding source directory about |
| how to install protobuf runtime for that specific language: |
| |
| | Language | Source | |
| |--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------| |
| | C++ (include C++ runtime and protoc) | [src](src) | |
| | Java | [java](java) | |
| | Python | [python](python) | |
| | Objective-C | [objectivec](objectivec) | |
| | C# | [csharp](csharp) | |
| | Ruby | [ruby](ruby) | |
| | Go | [protocolbuffers/protobuf-go](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf-go)| |
| | PHP | [php](php) | |
| | Dart | [dart-lang/protobuf](https://github.com/dart-lang/protobuf) | |
| | JavaScript | [protocolbuffers/protobuf-javascript](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf-javascript)| |
| |
| Quick Start |
| ----------- |
| |
| The best way to learn how to use protobuf is to follow the [tutorials in our |
| developer guide](https://protobuf.dev/getting-started). |
| |
| If you want to learn from code examples, take a look at the examples in the |
| [examples](examples) directory. |
| |
| Documentation |
| ------------- |
| |
| The complete documentation is available at the [Protocol Buffers doc site](https://protobuf.dev). |
| |
| Support Policy |
| -------------- |
| |
| Read about our [version support policy](https://protobuf.dev/version-support/) |
| to stay current on support timeframes for the language libraries. |
| |
| Developer Community |
| ------------------- |
| |
| To be alerted to upcoming changes in Protocol Buffers and connect with protobuf developers and users, |
| [join the Google Group](https://groups.google.com/g/protobuf). |
