The GCC compiler is used to compile C programs on a Linux system and the G++ compiler is used to compile C++ programs. Both have numerous versions available for installation on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.
In this tutorial we will install multiple versions of GCC and G++ compilers using the apt install
command. Furthermore, by use of the update-alternatives
tool you will learn how to easily switch between multiple GCC and G++ compiler versions and how to check the currently selected compiler version on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to install multiple GCC and G++ compiler versions
- How to create alternative compiler version list
- How to switch between multiple compiler versions on Ubuntu 22.04

Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
---|---|
System | Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish |
Software | GCC and G++ |
Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
Installing GCC and G++ compilers on Ubuntu 22.04 step by step instructions
- Start by opening a command line terminal and using the following
apt
commands to install a few different versions of the GCC and G++ compilers on Ubuntu 22.04.$ sudo apt update $ sudo apt install build-essential $ sudo apt -y install gcc-8 g++-8 gcc-9 g++-9 gcc-10 g++-10
- Use the
update-alternatives
tool to create list of multiple GCC and G++ compiler alternatives:$ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-8 8 $ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/g++ g++ /usr/bin/g++-8 8 $ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-9 9 $ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/g++ g++ /usr/bin/g++-9 9 $ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-10 10 $ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/g++ g++ /usr/bin/g++-10 10
- Check the available C and C++ compilers list on your Ubuntu 22.04 system and select desired version by entering relevant selection number:
$ sudo update-alternatives --config gcc There are 3 choices for the alternative gcc (providing /usr/bin/gcc). Selection Path Priority Status ------------------------------------------------------------ 0 /usr/bin/gcc-9 9 auto mode 1 /usr/bin/gcc-10 10 manual mode * 2 /usr/bin/gcc-8 8 manual mode 3 /usr/bin/gcc-9 9 manual mode Press to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:
For C++ compiler execute:
$ sudo update-alternatives --config g++ There are 3 choices for the alternative g++ (providing /usr/bin/g++). Selection Path Priority Status ------------------------------------------------------------ * 0 /usr/bin/g++-9 9 auto mode 1 /usr/bin/g++-10 10 manual mode 2 /usr/bin/g++-8 8 manual mode 3 /usr/bin/g++-9 9 manual mode Press to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:
- Each time after switch check your currently selected compiler version:
$ gcc --version $ g++ --version
Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, you learned how to install and switch between multiple versions of the GCC and G++ compiler on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux. This gives you the ability to compile your C and C++ programs with different versions of the compilers by just executing a few commands each time you need to switch.