xmake README

The project's README from github.com/xmake-io/xmake. As one markdown file: README.md.

xmake

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A cross-platform build utility based on Lua
Modern C/C++ build tool: Simple, Fast, Powerful dependency package integration

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Introduction (中文)

What is Xmake?

  1. Xmake is a cross-platform build utility based on the Lua scripting language.
  2. Xmake is very lightweight and has no dependencies outside of the standard library.
  3. Uses the xmake.lua file to maintain project builds with a simple and readable syntax.

Xmake can be used to directly build source code (like with Make or Ninja), or it can generate project source files like CMake or Meson. It also has a built-in package management system to help users integrate C/C++ dependencies.

Xmake = Build backend + Project Generator + Package Manager + [Remote|Distributed] Build + Cache

Although less precise, one can still understand Xmake in the following way:

Xmake ≈ Make/Ninja + CMake/Meson + Vcpkg/Conan + distcc + ccache/sccache

If you want to know more, please refer to the Documentation, GitHub or Gitee. You are also welcome to join our community.

The official Xmake repository can be found at xmake-io/xmake-repo.

Installation

With cURL

curl -fsSL https://xmake.io/shget.text | bash

With Wget

wget https://xmake.io/shget.text -O - | bash

With PowerShell

irm https://xmake.io/psget.text | iex

Other installation methods

If you don't want to use the above scripts to install Xmake, visit the Installation Guide for other installation methods (building from source, package managers, etc.).

Simple Project Description

target("console")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")

Creates a new target console of kind binary, and adds all the files ending in .c in the src directory.

Package dependencies

add_requires("tbox 1.6.*", "zlib", "libpng ~1.6")

Adds a requirement of tbox v1.6, zlib (any version), and libpng v1.6.

The official xmake package repository exists at: xmake-repo

Command line interface reference

The below assumes you are currently in the project's root directory.

Build a project

$ xmake

Run target

$ xmake run console

Debug target

$ xmake run -d console

Run test

$ xmake test

Configure platform

$ xmake f -p [windows|linux|macosx|android|iphoneos ..] -a [x86|arm64 ..] -m [debug|release]
$ xmake

Menu configuration

$ xmake f --menu

Supported platforms

Supported toolchains

$ xmake show -l toolchains
xcode         Xcode IDE
msvc          Microsoft Visual C/C++ Compiler
clang-cl      LLVM Clang C/C++ Compiler compatible with msvc
yasm          The Yasm Modular Assembler
clang         A C language family frontend for LLVM
go            Go Programming Language Compiler
dlang         D Programming Language Compiler (Auto)
dmd           D Programming Language Compiler
ldc           The LLVM-based D Compiler
gdc           The GNU D Compiler (GDC)
gfortran      GNU Fortran Programming Language Compiler
flang         LLVM Fortran Compiler
zig           Zig Programming Language Compiler
zigcc         Use zig cc/c++ as C/C++ Compiler
sdcc          Small Device C Compiler
cuda          CUDA Toolkit (nvcc, nvc, nvc++, nvfortran)
ndk           Android NDK
rust          Rust Programming Language Compiler
swift         Swift Programming Language Compiler
llvm          A collection of modular and reusable compiler and toolchain technologies
cross         Common cross compilation toolchain
nasm          NASM Assembler
gcc           GNU Compiler Collection
mingw         Minimalist GNU for Windows
gnu-rm        GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain
envs          Environment variables toolchain
fasm          Flat Assembler
tinycc        Tiny C Compiler
emcc          A toolchain for compiling to asm.js and WebAssembly
icc           Intel C/C++ Compiler
ifort         Intel Fortran Compiler
ifx           Intel LLVM Fortran Compiler
muslcc        The musl-based cross-compilation toolchain
fpc           Free Pascal Programming Language Compiler
wasi          WASI-enabled WebAssembly C/C++ toolchain
nim           Nim Programming Language Compiler
dotnet        .NET SDK Toolchain
circle        A new C++20 compiler
armcc         ARM Compiler Version 5 of Keil MDK
armclang      ARM Compiler Version 6 of Keil MDK
c51           Keil development tools for the 8051 Microcontroller Architecture
icx           Intel LLVM C/C++ Compiler
dpcpp         Intel LLVM C++ Compiler for data parallel programming model based on Khronos SYCL
masm32        The MASM32 SDK
iverilog      Icarus Verilog
verilator     Verilator open-source SystemVerilog simulator and lint system
cosmocc       build-once run-anywhere
hdk           Harmony SDK
ti-c2000      TI-CGT C2000 compiler
ti-c6000      TI-CGT C6000 compiler
iararm        IAR ARM C/C++ Compiler
kotlin-native Kotlin Native Programming Language Compiler
filc          A memory safe implementation of the C and C++ programming languages (https://fil-c.org/)
ascendc       Huawei Ascend C (bisheng compiler driver)

Supported languages

Features

Xmake exhibits:

Supported Project Types

Xmake supports the below types of projects:

Package management

Download and build

Xmake can automatically fetch and install dependencies!

Supported package repositories

Package management features

Processing architecture

Below is a diagram showing roughly the architecture of Xmake, and thus how it functions.

Distributed Compilation

For more details see: Distributed Compilation

Remote Compilation

For more details see: Remote Compilation

Local/Remote Build Cache

For more details see: Build Cache Acceleration

Benchmark

Xmake's speed on is par with Ninja! The test project: xmake-core

Multi-task parallel compilation

buildsystem Termux (8core/-j12) buildsystem MacOS (8core/-j12)
xmake 24.890s xmake 12.264s
ninja 25.682s ninja 11.327s
cmake(gen+make) 5.416s+28.473s cmake(gen+make) 1.203s+14.030s
cmake(gen+ninja) 4.458s+24.842s cmake(gen+ninja) 0.988s+11.644s

Single task compilation

buildsystem Termux (-j1) buildsystem MacOS (-j1)
xmake 1m57.707s xmake 39.937s
ninja 1m52.845s ninja 38.995s
cmake(gen+make) 5.416s+2m10.539s cmake(gen+make) 1.203s+41.737s
cmake(gen+ninja) 4.458s+1m54.868s cmake(gen+ninja) 0.988s+38.022s

More Examples

Debug and release profiles

add_rules("mode.debug", "mode.release")

target("console")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")
    if is_mode("debug") then
        add_defines("DEBUG")
    end

Custom scripts

target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")
    after_build(function (target)
        print("hello: %s", target:name())
        os.exec("echo %s", target:targetfile())
    end)

Automatic integration of dependent packages

Download and use packages in xmake-repo or third-party repositories:

add_requires("tbox >1.6.1", "libuv master", "vcpkg::ffmpeg", "brew::pcre2/libpcre2-8")
add_requires("conan::openssl/1.1.1g", {alias = "openssl", optional = true, debug = true})
target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")
    add_packages("tbox", "libuv", "vcpkg::ffmpeg", "brew::pcre2/libpcre2-8", "openssl")

In addition, we can also use the xrepo command to quickly install dependencies.

Qt QuickApp Program

target("test")
    add_rules("qt.quickapp")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_files("src/qml.qrc")

Cuda Program

target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cu")
    add_cugencodes("native")
    add_cugencodes("compute_75")

WDK/UMDF Driver Program

target("echo")
    add_rules("wdk.driver", "wdk.env.umdf")
    add_files("driver/*.c")
    add_files("driver/*.inx")
    add_includedirs("exe")

target("app")
    add_rules("wdk.binary", "wdk.env.umdf")
    add_files("exe/*.cpp")

For more WDK driver examples (UMDF/KMDF/WDM), please visit WDK Program Examples

Darwin Applications

target("test")
    add_rules("xcode.application")
    add_files("src/*.m", "src/**.storyboard", "src/*.xcassets")
    add_files("src/Info.plist")

Framework and Bundle Program (Darwin)

target("test")
    add_rules("xcode.framework") -- or xcode.bundle
    add_files("src/*.m")
    add_files("src/Info.plist")

OpenMP Program

add_requires("libomp", {optional = true})
target("loop")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.cpp")
    add_rules("c++.openmp")
    add_packages("libomp")

Zig Program

target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/main.zig")

Automatically fetch remote toolchain

fetch a special version of LLVM

Require the Clang version packaged with LLM-10 to compile a project.

add_requires("llvm 10.x", {alias = "llvm-10"})
target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")
    set_toolchains("llvm@llvm-10")

Fetch a cross-compilation toolchain

We can also pull a specified cross-compilation toolchain in to compile the project.

add_requires("muslcc")
target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")
    set_toolchains("@muslcc")

Fetch toolchain and packages

We can also use the specified muslcc cross-compilation toolchain to compile and integrate all dependent packages.

add_requires("muslcc")
add_requires("zlib", "libogg", {system = false})

set_toolchains("@muslcc")

target("test")
    set_kind("binary")
    add_files("src/*.c")
    add_packages("zlib", "libogg")

Plugins

Generate IDE project file plugin（makefile, vs2002 - vs2026 .. ）

$ xmake project -k vsxmake -m "debug,release" # New vsproj generator (Recommended)
$ xmake project -k vs -m "debug,release"
$ xmake project -k cmake
$ xmake project -k ninja
$ xmake project -k compile_commands

Run a custom lua script plugin

$ xmake l ./test.lua
$ xmake l -c "print('hello xmake!')"
$ xmake l lib.detect.find_tool gcc
$ xmake l
> print("hello xmake!")
> {1, 2, 3}
< {
    1,
    2,
    3
  }

To see a list of builtin plugins, please visit Builtin plugins.

Please download and install other plugins from the plugins repository xmake-plugins.

IDE/Editor Integration

Xmake Gradle Plugin (JNI)

We can use the xmake-gradle plugin to compile JNI libraries via gradle.

plugins {
  id 'org.tboox.gradle-xmake-plugin' version '1.1.5'
}

android {
    externalNativeBuild {
        xmake {
            path "jni/xmake.lua"
        }
    }
}

The xmakeBuild task will be injected into the assemble task automatically if the gradle-xmake-plugin has been applied.

$ ./gradlew app:assembleDebug
> Task :nativelib:xmakeConfigureForArm64
> Task :nativelib:xmakeBuildForArm64
>> xmake build
[ 50%]: cache compiling.debug nativelib.cc
[ 75%]: linking.debug libnativelib.so
[10

xmake (xmake-io/xmake)

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Xmake
这是什么？Xmake 是一个跨平台构建工具，面向 C/C++ 及其他语言，由 Lua 脚本驱动，将构建工具、项目生成器和包管理器整合在一起。
它是像 Make/Ninja 那样的构建系统，还是像 CMake 那样的项目生成器？两者都可以：它既能像 Make 或 Ninja 那样直接构建源代码，也能为 CMake、Meson 等其他工具生成项目文件，配置则写在简单的 xmake.lua 文件中。
我该如何安装并开始一个项目？可以通过提供的 cURL、Wget 或 PowerShell 安装脚本进行安装（也可以按照安装指南使用包管理器或从源码编译等其他方式），然后在 xmake.lua 文件中描述你的项目，定义构建目标和源文件。
我需要先安装 Python、Make 或其他构建工具链吗？除了编译工具链本身，不需要额外的运行时依赖；Xmake 是自包含的，除标准库外没有其他依赖。
包管理器在选择从哪个仓库拉取包时是否精确？README 本身指出这一说明经过简化，并且“不够精确”；同时，包的解析涉及众多第三方生态（如 Conan、vcpkg、apt、pacman 等），因此版本和仓库的选择可能较难理解。
这是为底层 C/C++ 开发者准备的，还是为任何语言的用户准备的？主要面向 C/C++ 开发者，但也支持许多其他语言，包括 Rust、Swift、Golang、Cuda、Zig、Kotlin 和 C#。
我实际可以为哪些操作系统构建程序？支持的平台非常广泛，包括 Windows、macOS、Linux、FreeBSD/NetBSD/OpenBSD/DragonflyBSD、Solaris、Android、iOS、watchOS、tvOS、MSYS/MinGW/Cygwin、WebAssembly、Haiku 和 HarmonyOS，并涵盖多种架构。
我能在远程服务器上运行 xmake 构建吗？可以，它内置了对分布式和远程编译的支持，可以在多台构建服务器之间进行。
xmake 与 Ninja 或 CMake 相比速度如何？README 中的基准测试显示，xmake 的构建速度与 Ninja 相当，并且在同一项目上明显快于使用 CMake 生成并构建（例如在一台 8 核 macOS 上，xmake 耗时 12.264 秒，而 cmake（生成+ninja）耗时 0.988 秒+11.644 秒）。
如何添加 zlib 或 libpng 这样的 C/C++ 依赖？在 xmake.lua 中将其声明为依赖项（例如 tbox v1.6、zlib 任意版本、libpng v1.6），Xmake 会自动从其内置包仓库，或 vcpkg、Conan、Homebrew 等第三方仓库中获取并构建。
除了普通控制台程序，它还能构建哪些类型的项目？它支持静态库和动态库、CUDA 程序、Qt 应用、WDK 驱动、WinSDK/MFC 应用、Darwin 框架和 bundle、SWIG 模块、Protobuf/Lex/Yacc 程序，以及 Linux 内核模块。
它能与 IDE 集成吗？可以，它提供官方及第三方插件，支持 VS Code、Sublime、IntelliJ、Zed、Vim、Visual Studio 和 Qt Creator，还提供一个插件，可为 Visual Studio、Makefile 或 CMake 生成项目文件。
What are similar projects?CocoaPods, swift-package-manager, vcpkg, rye, Carthage, poetry, cargo, flatbuffers
Which topics is it in?build, visual-studio, dependency-manager, makefile, c-plus-plus, cmake, objective-c, lua, build-tool, package-manager, swift, c
Creator
xmake-io
Size
45.4 MB
Stars
12.3K
Updated
CommitOct 16Releasev3.1.2Oct 16
Age
11y
Commits · 90 Days