This browser is no longer supported.

Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.

LINK accepts COFF standard libraries and COFF import libraries, both of which usually have the extension .lib . Standard libraries contain objects and are created by the LIB tool. Import libraries contain information about exports in other programs and are created either by LINK when it builds a program that contains exports or by the LIB tool. For information on using LIB to create standard or import libraries, see LIB Reference . For details on using LINK to create an import library, see the /DLL option.

A library is specified to LINK as either a file name argument or a default library. LINK resolves external references by searching first in libraries specified on the command line, then in default libraries specified with the /DEFAULTLIB option, and then in default libraries named in .obj files. If a path is specified with the library name, LINK looks for the library in that directory. If no path is specified, LINK looks first in the directory that LINK is running from, and then in any directories specified in the LIB environment variable.

To add .lib files as linker input in the development environment

Example

The following sample shows how to build and use a .lib file.

First, build the .lib file:

// lib_link_input_1.cpp
// compile by using: cl /LD lib_link_input_1.cpp
__declspec(dllexport) int Test() {
   return 213;
And then, compile this sample by using the .lib file you just created:
// lib_link_input_2.cpp
// compile by using: cl /EHsc lib_link_input_1.lib lib_link_input_2.cpp
__declspec(dllimport) int Test();
#include <iostream>
int main() {
   std::cout << Test() << std::endl;
See also
LINK input files

MSVC linker options