From 24df6439eabe695b1914f275fb7f40d2c5a8a733 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jonathan Kelley <jkelleyrtp@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:38:52 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] feat: set windows subsytem to windows for gui apps (#4855)

* feat: set windows subsytem to windows for gui apps

* typo

* clippy
---
 packages/cli/src/build/request.rs | 56 ++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 packages/cli/src/cli/target.rs    |  8 +++++
 2 files changed, 45 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/cli/src/build/request.rs b/packages/cli/src/build/request.rs
index a84df6ea1..3a1b7454b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/build/request.rs
+++ b/packages/cli/src/build/request.rs
@@ -855,6 +855,27 @@ impl BuildRequest {
         let mut custom_linker = cargo_config.linker(triple.to_string()).ok().flatten();
         let mut rustflags = cargo_config2::Flags::default();
 
+        // Make sure to take into account the RUSTFLAGS env var and the CARGO_TARGET_<triple>_RUSTFLAGS
+        for env in [
+            "RUSTFLAGS".to_string(),
+            format!("CARGO_TARGET_{triple}_RUSTFLAGS"),
+        ] {
+            if let Ok(flags) = std::env::var(env) {
+                rustflags
+                    .flags
+                    .extend(cargo_config2::Flags::from_space_separated(&flags).flags);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Use the user's linker if the specify it at the target level
+        if let Ok(target) = cargo_config.target(triple.to_string()) {
+            if let Some(flags) = target.rustflags {
+                rustflags.flags.extend(flags.flags);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // When we do android builds we need to make sure we link against the android libraries
+        // We also `--export-dynamic` to make sure we can do shenanigans like `dlsym` the `main` symbol
         if matches!(bundle, BundleFormat::Android) {
             rustflags.flags.extend([
                 "-Clink-arg=-landroid".to_string(),
@@ -869,6 +890,22 @@ impl BuildRequest {
             ]);
         }
 
+        // On windows, we pass /SUBSYSTbEM:WINDOWS to prevent a console from appearing
+        if matches!(bundle, BundleFormat::Windows)
+            && !rustflags
+                .flags
+                .iter()
+                .any(|f| f.starts_with("-Clink-arg=/SUBSYSTEM:"))
+        {
+            let subsystem = args
+                .windows_subsystem
+                .clone()
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| "WINDOWS".to_string());
+            rustflags
+                .flags
+                .push(format!("-Clink-arg=/SUBSYSTEM:{}", subsystem));
+        }
+
         // Make sure we set the sysroot for ios builds in the event the user doesn't have it set
         if matches!(bundle, BundleFormat::Ios) {
             let xcode_path = Workspace::get_xcode_path()
@@ -897,25 +934,6 @@ impl BuildRequest {
             );
         }
 
-        // Make sure to take into account the RUSTFLAGS env var and the CARGO_TARGET_<triple>_RUSTFLAGS
-        for env in [
-            "RUSTFLAGS".to_string(),
-            format!("CARGO_TARGET_{triple}_RUSTFLAGS"),
-        ] {
-            if let Ok(flags) = std::env::var(env) {
-                rustflags
-                    .flags
-                    .extend(cargo_config2::Flags::from_space_separated(&flags).flags);
-            }
-        }
-
-        // Use the user's linker if the specify it at the target level
-        if let Ok(target) = cargo_config.target(triple.to_string()) {
-            if let Some(flags) = target.rustflags {
-                rustflags.flags.extend(flags.flags);
-            }
-        }
-
         // If no custom linker is set, then android falls back to us as the linker
         if custom_linker.is_none() && bundle == BundleFormat::Android {
             let min_sdk_version = config.application.android_min_sdk_version.unwrap_or(28);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli/target.rs b/packages/cli/src/cli/target.rs
index ee3a8a4a7..d62c5acad 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli/target.rs
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli/target.rs
@@ -153,6 +153,14 @@ pub(crate) struct TargetArgs {
     /// Automatically pass `--features=js_cfg` when building for wasm targets. This is enabled by default.
     #[clap(long, default_value_t = true, help_heading = HELP_HEADING, num_args = 0..=1)]
     pub(crate) wasm_js_cfg: bool,
+
+    /// The Windows subsystem to use when building for Windows targets. This can be either `CONSOLE` or `WINDOWS`.
+    ///
+    /// By default, DX uses `WINDOWS` since it assumes a GUI application, but you can override this behavior with this flag.
+    ///
+    /// See <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/build/reference/subsystem-specify-subsystem?view=msvc-170> for more information.
+    #[clap(long, help_heading = HELP_HEADING)]
+    pub(crate) windows_subsystem: Option<String>,
 }
 
 impl Anonymized for TargetArgs {