List of build automation software

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 the build automation process.

Make-based tools

• bmake, portable version of NetBSD make
• build
• cake
• Clearmake
• CMake
• distcc
• distmake
• dmake
• JMake
• JMK
• kbuild
• make, a classic Unix build tool
• makeLib
• makeme
• MakeModules
• Make:NG
• makeplus
• makepp
• make utilities
• mk, developed originally for Version 10 Unix and Plan 9, and ported to Unix as part of plan9port
• mk-configure, lightweight alternative for GNU autotools, CMake and SCons based on bmake
• mmm
• Mosmake
• MPW Make, developed for Mac OS Classic and similar to but not compatible with Unix make. Mac OS X comes with both GNU make and BSD make. Available as part of the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop as a free, unsupported download from Apple.
• nmake, Bell Labs' nmake, forked into two versions after the AT&T trivestiture: a research version from AT&T Labs and an Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs supported version
• OMake
• Opus Make
• Paradigm Visual Make
• PHPmake
• Prime Mover
• Prototype Makefiles
• PVM Gmake
• Qmake
• Rake, a Ruby-based build tool.
• SCons
• Sire
• smake
• Supermake
• SMK
• tmk
• Yabu

Non Make-based tools

• Apache Ant, popular for Java development and uses an XML file format.
• Apache Buildr, an open-source build system based on Rake, giving the programmer the full power of scripting in Ruby and having out-of-box support for most of things one would want a build system to be capable of.
• Apache Ivy
• Apache Maven, a Java tool for project management and automated software build.
• A-A-P, a Python-based build tool.
• Boost.Build
• bras
• builditis
• Buildtool
• Cabal, Common architecture for building applications and libraries in the Haskell programming language
• Cake, a Python-based build tool.
• cake, a Clojure build tool
• cook
• dev-env
• Flowtracer
• Gconfigure
• Gradle, an open-source build and automation system with a Groovy DSL, combining the advantages of Ant and Maven plus providing many innovative features like a reliable incremental build.
• hmake
• Istrice
• leiningen, a Clojure build tool
• MSBuild, the Microsoft Build Engine.
• mxx-ru
• NAnt, a tool similar to Ant for the .NET framework.
• ninja
• ocamlbuild
• Odin
• OSE
• Perforce Jam, a generally enhanced, ground-up tool which is similar to make.
• PerlBuildSystem
• Phing
• ProjectBuilder
• Rant
• Schmant
• Simple Build Tool, a build tool built around a DSL based on Scala.
• SCons, based around Python, with integrated functionality similar to autoconf/automake, descended from a Perl build driver called Cons.
• Source 2 Binary
• TMake, written in C, but uses Lua for configuration files.
• Sweet Build, a Lua scriptable build tool.
• tup Build system that uses file system monitoring to provide automatic dependency discovery and near-optimal build times.
• Tweaker, allowing task definitions to be written in any languages (or intermixed languages) while providing a consistent interface for them all.
• Visual Build, a GUI software for software builds.
• Waf is a Python-based tool for configuring, compiling and installing applications. It is a replacement for other tools such as Autotools, Scons, CMake or Ant.
• XMake
• XMAKE
• Yruba, a rule system similar to make or ant for the shell

Build Script Generation Tools

• ANTIAUTO
• automake
• Bakefile
• ccbuild
• CMake, a tool that generates files for the native build environment, such as makefiles for Unix or Workspace files for Visual Studio.
• cmvn - Multi-project configurator and generator of Apache Maven pom.xml files
• confix
• GNU Build Tools, a collection of tools for portable builds.
• GYP - Created for Chromium; it is another tool that generates files for the native build environment.
• imake
• MakeMake
• Maker
• mfg
• mmake
• MPC, a free product that creates build tool files for many versions of Make, Visual Studio, Eclipse, and more.
• OpenMake Meister, build script generation and dependency management engine; also includes continuous integration capabilities.
• Otto
• Premake, a Lua based tool for making makefiles, Visual Studio files, Xcode projects, and more.
• Pre Make Kit
• RPSL
• Sdist
• Sol Manager
• tmake
• toc
• XPJ

Continuous Integration Tools

• AnthillPro, build automation with pipeline support for deployment automation and testing. Platform and language independent.
• Bamboo, Continuous integration software.
• Automated BuildStudio, a system for automating and managing software build, test and deploy processes, with build scheduling and continuous integration support.
• Apache Continuum
• Apache Gump
• BuildBeat
• BuildBot, a Python-based software development continuous integration tool which automates the compile/test cycle.
• BuildIT, a free graphical build or task tool for Windows with an emphasis on simplicity and ease of use.
• BuildMaster, an integrated build, release, and application lifecycle management system developed by Inedo.
• BuildMonkey
• Buildout, a Python-based build system for creating, assembling and deploying applications from multiple parts.
• BusyB
• CABIE Continuous Automated Build and Integration Environment, Open Source, written in Perl.
• Cascade, a continuous integration tool that builds and tests software components after each change is committed to the repository. Also provides a "checkpointing" facility by which changes can be built and tested before they are committed.
• CruiseControl
• Dart
• DSSS
• Electric Commander
• FinalBuilder, for Windows software developers. FinalBuilder provides a graphical IDE to create and run build projects.
• Go, continuous integration and Agile release management solution, Platform and language independent.
• Jenkins, an extensible continuous integration engine. (Formerly known as Hudson.)
• IBM Rational Build Forge
• IKAN ALM - Web-based ALM 2.0 platform supporting continuous integration and lifecycle management.
• Lintouch
• Luntbuild
• MidWatch
• OpenMake Meister, build script generation and dependency management engine; also includes continuous integration capabilities.
• OpenMake Mojo, free continuous integration server.
• Parabuild
• PBS, based around Perl, oriented towards continuous integration of large systems.
• PTXdist
• TeamCity
• Test-AutoBuild
• QEF

Hosted Continuous Integration Tools

• BuildLocker - Web-based continuous integration solution for Java and .NET projects.
• CI Foundry - Outsourced Continuous Integration service (Java, .NET and Ruby)
• CloudBees DEV@cloud - Jenkins as a Service
• Continuous.io - Hosted Continuous Integration (mainly for Python, but custom build scripts can be used)
• FaZend - Free Hosted Continuous Integration Environment
• Hosted CI - Hosted Continuous Integration for iOS and Mac (based on Jenkins)
• Shining Panda - Hosted Continuous Integration for Python (based on Jenkins)
• Travis CI - A distributed build system for the open source community

Configuration Management Tools

• chef
• cfengine
• ClearCase
• Git
• iffe
• Kconfig
• Perforce
• puppet
• Subversion
• Vesta
• cdist

Dependency Generator Tools

• autodepend
• Daybo Logic Dependency Generator
• fastdep
• Makedep
• sham

Other Tools

• Ellexus Breeze, a build tracing and debugging tool made by Ellexus Ltd
• Deb Creator, used to create .deb files.
• Debian dist
• Debian Package Maker, used to create .deb files.
• checkinstall, checkinstall is a program that monitors an installation procedure, and creates a standard package for your distribution.

Comparison of build automation software

Tool Name	Operating System	Build Language	Description Language	License
A-A-P	Unix, Windows, Mac OS X	C	recipe	GNU GPL
Ant	OS independent	Java	XML	Apache License 2.0
AnthillPro	OS independent	language independent	Wraps Make, Ant, Maven, MsBuild, Nant, etc for controlled build, deploy, test processes.	Proprietary
Automated BuildStudio	Windows	language independent	graphical IDE with support for Ant/NAnt, MSBuild, JScript, VBScript and DelphiScript	Proprietary
Bamboo	OS Independent	language independent	continuous integration	Proprietary
buildfactory	Unix, Windows	language independent	?	Proprietary
Buildr	OS independent	Java	Ruby	Apache License 2.0
Cake	OS independent	language independent	Python	MIT License
Capistrano	OS independent	Ruby	domain specific language for software builds	MIT License
CMake	OS independent	language independent	uses CMakeLists.txt file	New BSD License
Continuum	OS independent	Java	?	Apache License 2.0
CruiseControl	OS independent	language independent	XML	BSD-style license
dmake	Linux, Solaris, Windows	OpenOffice, Solaris	uses Makefile	?
ElectricCommander	OS independent	language independent	flexible including gmake, bmake, emake and ant scripts	Proprietary
Fabricate	OS independent	language independent	Python	?
FinalBuilder	Windows	language independent	graphical IDE with support for Ant/NAnt, MSBuild, JScript, VBScript, IronPython & PowerShell	Proprietary
Go	OS independent	language independent	graphical IDE with support for Ant/NAnt, MSBuild, rake and any tool with a command line interface	Proprietary, cost-free Community edition license
Gradle	OS independent	Java/Groovy	Groovy based DSL	Apache License 2.0
icemake	OS independent	C, C++, Assembly, TeX	S-expression based	?
IKAN ALM	OS independent	language independent	Ant, NAnt, Maven2, Any tool via the API	Proprietary
make	OS independent	language independent	uses Makefile	Various
makepp	OS independent	language independent, optimized for C++	uses Makefile	GNU GPL
mk-configure	OS independent	language independent	uses Makefile (bmake dialect)	BSD-style license
Maven	OS independent	Java	Project Object Model	Apache License 2.0
Module::Build	OS independent	Perl	?	GNU GPL
MPW Make	Mac OS Classic	?	?	?
MSBuild	Windows	language independent	XML	Proprietary but free to use
NAnt	Windows	.NET	XML	GNU GPL
nmake	Unix, Linux, Windows/Interix	language independent	uses Makefile	?
OMake	Unix, Linux, OS X, Windows	language independent	custom scripting language with make-like syntax and portable build-in shell	GNU GPL
OpenMake Meister	Unix, Linux, Windows, z/OS	language independent	XML, Perl, REXX	Proprietary
OpenMake Mojo	Unix, Linux, Windows	language independent	XML, Perl	Proprietary, free edition available
ParaBuild	?	?	?	Proprietary with a free small team edition
PBS	OS independent	language independent	Perl	Artistic 1 & GPL 1
Perforce Jam	OS independent	language independent	uses Jamfile	Proprietary with a free licence for opensource projects
Phing	OS independent	PHP	XML (Ant clone)	GNU Lesser GPL
PyBuild	?	?	Python	GNU GPL
Rake	OS independent	Ruby	Ruby	MIT License
SCons	OS independent	language independent	Python	MIT License
Simple Build Tool	OS independent	Scala/Java	Scala based DSL	BSD
Speedy Make	OS independent	language independent	XML	GNU GPL
Sweet Build	Microsoft Windows	language independent	DSL and Lua	libpng License
TMake	Windows, Linux and BSD	language independent	lua	GPL v3
Tweaker (build tool)	OS independent	language independent	Any (Ant, bash, batch, C, Erlang, Java, SQL, and VBScript by default, with 3rd party interface for extensions)	GPL v3
Visual Build	Windows	language independent	XML	Proprietary
Waf	OS independent	language independent	Python	New BSD License
WANT	Windows	Delphi	XML	?
X-Script Generator	Windows	language independent	XML	?
Yabu	Unix, POSIX	language independent	uses Buildfile	Public domain
Tool Name	Operating System	Build Language	Description Language	License

Debugging and Understanding Build Automation

• Ant Explorer
• AntGraph
• Autobuild
• BTV Toolkit
• Build audit
• colormake
• Continuum
• Coverity Build Analysis
• GNU Make Debugger
• GNU make Standard Library
• GNU make test framework
• Grand
• Linguine Maps
• MAKAO
• makeppgraph
• Maketool
• mkDoxy
• Pretty Make
• Remake
• Spring BeanDoc
• SpringViz
• Virtual Ant
• Visual Ant Editor
• Vizant.