List of build automation software

Last updated August 17, 2023

Build automation involves scripting or automating the process of compiling computer source code into binary code. Below is a list of notable tools associated with automating build processes.

Make-based

GNU make, a make implementation with a large set of extensions
make, a Unix build tool
mk, developed originally for Version 10 Unix and Plan 9, and ported to Unix as part of plan9port
MPW Make, developed for the classic Mac OS and similar to but not compatible with Unix make; the modern macOS (OS X) comes with both GNU make and BSD make; available as part of Macintosh Programmer's Workshop as a free, unsupported download from Apple
nmake
PVCS-make, follows the concept of make but with additional syntax features^[1]

Make-incompatible

Apache Ant, popular for Java platform development and uses an XML file format
Apache Buildr, historic open-source build system, Rake-based, gives the full power of scripting in Ruby with integral support for most abilities wanted in a build system
Apache Maven, a Java platform tool for dependency management and automated software build
ASDF LISP build system for building LISP projects
A-A-P, a Python-based build tool
Bazel, a portion of Blaze (Google's own build tool) written in Java, using Starlark (BUILD file syntax) to build projects in Java, C, C++, Go, Python, Objective-C, and others
BitBake, a Python-based tool with the special focus of distributions and packages for embedded Linux cross-compilation
Boot, a Java build and dependency management tool written in Clojure
boost.build For C++ projects, cross-platform, based on Perforce Jam
Buck, a build system developed and used by Facebook, written in Java, using Starlark (BUILD file syntax) as Bazel
Buildout, a Python-based build system for creating, assembling and deploying applications from multiple parts
Cabal, a common architecture for building applications and libraries in the programming language Haskell
Dub, the official package and build manager of the D Language
dale,^[2] a D build tool
FinalBuilder, for Windows software developers. FinalBuilder provides a graphical IDE to both create and run build projects in a single application. The final builder also includes the ability the execute the unit test, deploy web projects or install and test applications.
Flowtracer, a build management tool
Gradle, an open-source build and automation system with an Apache Groovy-based domain specific language (DSL), combining features of Apache Ant and Apache Maven with additional features like a reliable incremental build
Grunt, a build tool for front-end web development
Gulp, a build tool for front-end web development
IncrediBuild, a suite of grid computing software for compiling and building software
Leiningen, a tool providing commonly performed tasks in Clojure projects, including build automation
Mix, the Elixir build tool
MSBuild, the Microsoft build engine
NAnt, a tool similar to Ant for the .NET Framework
Ninja, a small build system focused on speed by using build scripts generated by higher-level build systems
Perforce Jam, a build tool by Perforce, inspired by Make
Qt Build System
Rake, a Ruby-based build tool
rez,^[3] a C/C++ build tool
sbt, a build tool built on a Scala-based DSL
SCons, Python-based, with integrated functionality similar to autoconf/automake
Stack, a tool to build Haskell projects, manage their dependencies (compilers and libraries), and for testing and benchmarking.
tinyrick,^[4] a Rust build tool
vast,^[5] a shell build tool
Visual Build, a graphical user interface software for software builds
Waf, a Python-based tool for configuring, compiling and installing applications. It is a replacement for other tools such as Autotools, Scons, CMake or Ant

Build script generation

These generator tools do not build directly, but rather generate files to be used by a native build tool (as the ones listed in the previous two sections).

BuildAMation, a multi-platform tool, using a declarative syntax in C# scripts, that builds C/C++ code in a terminal using multiple threads, or generates project files for Microsoft Visual Studio, Xcode or MakeFiles.
CMake generates files for various build tools, such as make, ninja, Apple's Xcode, and Microsoft Visual Studio.^[6] CMake is also directly used by some IDE as Qt Creator,^[7] KDevelop and GNOME Builder.^[8]
GNU Build System (aka autotools), a collection of tools for portable builds. These in particular include Autoconf and Automake, cross-unix-platform tools that together generate appropriate localized makefiles.
GYP (Generate Your Projects) - Created for Chromium; it is another tool that generates files for the native build environment. It has been superseded by GN which generates files for ninja and other build systems.
imake
Meson, a build system optimized for performance and usability is based on ninja on Linux, Visual Studio on Windows and Xcode on macOS. Meson is also directly used by GNOME Builder.^[8]
OpenMake Software Meister
Premake, a Lua-based tool for making makefiles, Visual Studio files, Xcode projects, and more
qmake

Continuous integration

AnthillPro, build automation with pipeline support for deployment automation and testing. Cross-platform, cross-language
Apache Continuum - discontinued
Bamboo, continuous-integration software
Bitbucket Pipelines and Deployments, continuous integration for Bitbucket hosted repositories^[9]
Buildbot, a Python-based software development continuous-integration tool which automates the compile/test cycle
CruiseControl, for Java and .NET
Go continuous delivery, open source, cross-platform
GitLab (GitLab Runner), continuous integration and git server
GitHub (GitHub Actions), free continuous integration service for open-source projects and git server
Hudson, an extensible continuous-integration engine
Jenkins, an extensible continuous-integration engine, forked from Hudson
Spinnaker, open source multi-cloud continuous delivery service from Netflix and Google
TeamCity
Travis CI, a hosted continuous-integration service

Configuration management

Ansible (Python-based)
CFEngine
Chef (Ruby-based)
LCFG
NixOS Declarative configuration model
OpenMake Software Release Engineer
Otter
Puppet (Ruby-based)
Salt (Python-based)
Rex (Perl-based)

Meta-build

A meta-build tool is capable of building many different projects using a subset of existing build tools. Since these usually provide a list of packages to build, they are also often called package managers.

Pkgsrc, Portage, MacPorts and other package managers derived from the BSD Ports Collection.
Nix, functional package manager for Linux and macOS focusing on reproducible builds, used for the NixOS Linux distribution.
Guix, functional package manager based on Nix, used for the GuixSD Linux distribution.
Collective Knowledge, cross-platform package manager to rebuild software environment for research workflows
Homebrew, package manager for macOS

Others

checkinstall, checkinstall is a program that monitors an installation procedure and creates a standard package for your distribution.
Open Build Service, a hosted service to help build packages for various Linux distributions

Licensing overview

Tool name	Description language	License
A-A-P	recipe	GNU GPL
Ant	XML	Apache License 2.0
AnthillPro	Wraps Make, Ant, Maven, MsBuild, Nant, etc. for controlled build, deploy, test processes.	Discontinued
Bamboo	continuous integration	Trialware
Bazel	BUILD/Starlark, a Python-like DSL	Apache License 2.0
BuildAMation	C# for build scripts, XML for high level dependencies	New BSD License
Buildr	Ruby	Apache License 2.0
Boot	Clojure	Eclipse Public License
Capistrano	XML	MIT License
CMake	uses CMakeLists.txt file	New BSD License
Collective Knowledge Framework	Python scripts with JSON API and JSON meta-description	New BSD License
Continuum	?	Apache License 2.0
CruiseControl	XML	BSD-style license
Dub	JSON, SDL	MIT License
FinalBuilder	graphical IDE with support for Ant/NAnt, MSBuild, JScript, VBScript, IronPython, PowerShell	Trialware
Gradle	Groovy-based DSL; Kotlin-based DSL	Apache License 2.0
Jenkins	continuous integration	MIT License
Homebrew	Ruby	Simplified BSD License
Leiningen	Clojure	Eclipse Public License
make	uses Makefile	Same as the bundling OS
Maven	Project Object Model	Apache License 2.0
Meson build system	custom DSL	Apache License 2.0
MPW Make	?	Freeware
MSBuild	XML	MIT License
NAnt	XML	GNU GPL
nmake	uses Makefile	Freeware
Open Build Service	uses various package and image description formats (spec, dsc, ARCH, kiwi)	GNU GPL
Perforce Jam	uses Jamfile	Discontinued
Rake	Ruby	MIT License
sbt (Simple Build Tool)	Scala-based DSL	New BSD License
SCons	Python	MIT License
Team Foundation Server	MSBuild, Windows Presentation Foundation, JSON - REST interfaces, Programmatic (Can generate definitions through code)	Trialware
Visual Build	XML	Trialware
Waf	Python	New BSD License

Related Research Articles

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source-code editor, build automation tools, and a debugger. Some IDEs, such as NetBeans and Eclipse, contain the necessary compiler, interpreter, or both; others, such as SharpDevelop and Lazarus, do not.

The GNU Autotools, also known as the GNU Build System, is a suite of programming tools designed to assist in making source code packages portable to many Unix-like systems.

In software development, Make is a build automation tool that builds executable programs and libraries from source code by reading files called makefiles which specify how to derive the target program. Though integrated development environments and language-specific compiler features can also be used to manage a build process, Make remains widely used, especially in Unix and Unix-like operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDevelop</span> Integrated development environment

KDevelop is a free and open-source integrated development environment (IDE) for Unix-like computer operating systems and Windows. It provides editing, navigation and debugging features for several programming languages, and integration with build automation and version-control systems, using a plugin-based architecture.

Xcode is Apple's integrated development environment (IDE) for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. It was initially released in late 2003; the latest stable release is version 14.3.1, released on June 1, 2023, and is available free of charge via the Mac App Store and the Apple Developer website. Registered developers can also download preview releases and prior versions of the suite through the Apple Developer website. Xcode includes command-line tools which enable UNIX-style development via the Terminal app in macOS. They can also be downloaded and installed without the GUI.

Apache Ant is a software tool for automating software build processes which originated from the Apache Tomcat project in early 2000 as a replacement for the Make build tool of Unix. It is similar to Make, but is implemented using the Java language and requires the Java platform. Unlike Make, which uses the Makefile format, Ant uses XML to describe the code build process and its dependencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCons</span>

SCons is a computer software build tool that automatically analyzes source code file dependencies and operating system adaptation requirements from a software project description and generates final binary executables for installation on the target operating system platform. Its function is analogous to the traditional GNU build system based on the make utility and the autoconf tools.

In software development, CMake is cross-platform free and open-source software for build automation, testing, packaging and installation of software by using a compiler-independent method. CMake is not a build system itself; it generates another system's build files. It supports directory hierarchies and applications that depend on multiple libraries. It is used in conjunction with native build environments such as Make, Qt Creator, Ninja, Android Studio, Apple's Xcode, and Microsoft Visual Studio. It has minimal dependencies, requiring only a C++ compiler on its own build system.

Waf is a build automation tool designed to assist in the automatic compilation and installation of computer software. It is written in Python and maintained by Thomas Nagy.

This is a comparison of notable free and open-source configuration management software, suitable for tasks like server configuration, orchestration and infrastructure as code typically performed by a system administrator.

Qbs is a cross-platform free and open-source software for managing the build process of software. It was designed to support large, complex projects, written in any number of programming languages, primarily C/C++.

Qt Creator is a cross-platform C++, JavaScript, Python and QML integrated development environment (IDE) which simplifies GUI application development. It is part of the SDK for the Qt GUI application development framework and uses the Qt API, which encapsulates host OS GUI function calls. It includes a visual debugger and an integrated WYSIWYG GUI layout and forms designer. The editor has features such as syntax highlighting and autocompletion. Qt Creator uses the C++ compiler from the GNU Compiler Collection on Linux. On Windows it can use MinGW or MSVC with the default install and can also use Microsoft Console Debugger when compiled from source code. Clang is also supported.

The Java Development Kit (JDK) is a distribution of Java Technology by Oracle Corporation. It implements the Java Language Specification (JLS) and the Java Virtual Machine Specification (JVMS) and provides the Standard Edition (SE) of the Java Application Programming Interface (API). It is derivative of the community driven OpenJDK which Oracle stewards. It provides software for working with Java applications. Examples of included software are the virtual machine, a compiler, performance monitoring tools, a debugger, and other utilities that Oracle considers useful for a Java programmer.

GYP is an obsolete build automation tool created in 2011 by Google. Its purpose was to generate native IDE project files for building the Chromium web browser and is licensed as open source software using the BSD software license.

Meson is a software tool for automating the building (compiling) of software. The overall goal for Meson is to promote programmer productivity. Meson is free and open-source software written in Python, under the Apache License 2.0.

Bazel is a free and open-source software tool used for the automation of building and testing software. Google uses the build tool Blaze internally and released an open-sourced port of the Blaze tool as Bazel, named as an anagram of Blaze. Bazel was first released in March 2015 and was in beta status by September 2015.

KDE Projects are projects maintained by the KDE community, a group of people developing and advocating free software for everyday use, for example KDE Plasma and KDE Frameworks or applications such as Amarok, Krita or Digikam. There are also non-coding projects like designing the Breeze desktop theme and iconset, which is coordinated by KDE's Visual Design Group. Even non-Qt applications like GCompris, which started as a GTK-based application, or web-based projects like WikiToLearn are officially part of KDE.

References

↑ mailing list discussion about porting PVCS-make scripts to GNU-make, From: Paul D. Smith, Subject: Re: PVCS to GNU, Date: 2003-02-25
↑ "dale: a paranoid D task runner". April 12, 2023 – via GitHub.
↑ "rez: C/C++ task runner". April 18, 2023 – via GitHub.
↑ "tinyrick: a freeform Rust build system". April 12, 2023 – via GitHub.
↑ "vast: a build tool for shell scripts". April 8, 2023 – via GitHub.
↑ "cmake-generators(7) — CMake 3.11.1 Documentation". cmake.org.
↑ "Setting Up CMake - Qt Creator Manual". doc.qt.io.
1 2 "GNOME Builder Development Environment Picking Up Many Features For GNOME 3.28 - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com.
↑ https://confluence.atlassian.com/bitbucket/build-test-and-deploy-with-pipelines-792496469.html Cross-platform

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[1] st discussion about porting PVCS-make scripts to GNU-make, From: Paul D. Smith, Subject: Re: PVCS to GNU, Date: 2003-02-25

[2] "dale: a paranoid D task runner". April 12, 2023 – via GitHub.

[3] "rez: C/C++ task runner". April 18, 2023 – via GitHub.

[4] "tinyrick: a freeform Rust build system". April 12, 2023 – via GitHub.

[5] "vast: a build tool for shell scripts". April 8, 2023 – via GitHub.

[6] "cmake-generators(7) — CMake 3.11.1 Documentation". cmake.org.

[7] "Setting Up CMake - Qt Creator Manual". doc.qt.io.

[phoronix.com-8] 1 2 "GNOME Builder Development Environment Picking Up Many Features For GNOME 3.28 - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com.

[9] ttps://confluence.atlassian.com/bitbucket/build-test-and-deploy-with-pipelines-792496469.html Cross-platform

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