Where does gcc look for C and C++ header files?

`gcc -print-prog-name=cc1plus` -v

This command asks gcc which C++ preprocessor it is using, and then asks that preprocessor where it looks for includes.

You will get a reliable answer for your specific setup.

Likewise, for the C preprocessor:

`gcc -print-prog-name=cpp` -v

In addition, gcc will look in the directories specified after the -I option.

You can create a file that attempts to include a bogus system header. If you run gcc in verbose mode on such a source, it will list all the system include locations as it looks for the bogus header.

$ echo "#include <bogus.h>" > t.c; gcc -v t.c; rm t.c

[..]

#include "..." search starts here:
#include <...> search starts here:
 /usr/local/include
 /usr/lib/gcc/i686-apple-darwin9/4.0.1/include
 /usr/include
 /System/Library/Frameworks (framework directory)
 /Library/Frameworks (framework directory)
End of search list.

[..]

t.c:1:32: error: bogus.h: No such file or directory