diff --git a/src/compat.h b/src/compat.h
index 5aca6df..c5947ec 100644
--- a/src/compat.h
+++ b/src/compat.h
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@
 void luaL_setfuncs(lua_State *L, const luaL_Reg *l, int nup);
 #endif
 
-// Windows doesn't have ssize_t, so we define it here
+
+#ifdef __MINGW32__
+#include "sys/types.h"
+#else
+// MSVC Windows doesn't have ssize_t, so we define it here
 #ifdef _WIN32
 #if SIZE_MAX == UINT_MAX
 typedef int ssize_t;        /* common 32 bit case */
@@ -33,6 +37,7 @@ typedef intmax_t ssize_t;  /* last resort, chux suggestion */
 #else
 #error platform has exotic SIZE_MAX
 #endif
-#endif
+#endif // _WIN32
+#endif // _MINGW32
 
 #endif