Open source build-tool projects

Every project in the registry tagged build-tool, ranked by real GitHub adoption.

projects 55 combined stars ★ 466K refresh nightly
01 vite ★ 84K

Next generation frontend tooling. It's fast!

last push17 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
02 webpack ★ 66K

A bundler for javascript and friends. Packs many modules into a few bundled assets. Code Splitting allows for loading parts of the application on demand. Throug

last push7 hours ago languageJavaScript licenseMIT
03 parcel ★ 44K

The zero configuration build tool for the web. 📦🚀

last push19 hours ago languageJavaScript licenseMIT
04 turborepo ★ 31K

Build system optimized for JavaScript and TypeScript, written in Rust

last push7 hours ago languageRust licenseMIT
05 nx ★ 29K

The Monorepo Platform that amplifies both developers and AI agents. Nx optimizes your builds, scales your CI, and fixes failed PRs automatically. Ship in half t

last push7 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
06 gradle ★ 19K

Adaptable, fast automation for all

last push7 hours ago languageGroovy licenseApache-2.0
07 task ★ 16K

A fast, cross-platform build tool inspired by Make, designed for modern workflows.

last push10 hours ago languageGo licenseMIT
08 rspack ★ 13K

Fast Rust-based bundler for the web with a modernized webpack API 🦀

last push9 hours ago languageRust licenseMIT
09 devbox ★ 12K

Instant, easy, and predictable development environments

last push29 hours ago languageGo licenseApache-2.0
10 xmake ★ 12K

🔥 A cross-platform build utility based on Lua

last push36 hours ago languageLua licenseApache-2.0
11 earthly ★ 12K

Super simple build framework with fast, repeatable builds and an instantly familiar syntax – like Dockerfile and Makefile had a baby.

last push7 days ago languageGo licenseMPL-2.0
12 wxt ★ 11K

⚡ Next-gen Web Extension Framework

last push9 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
13 DependencyCheck ★ 7.8K

OWASP dependency-check is a software composition analysis utility that detects publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in application dependencies.

last push10 hours ago languageJava licenseApache-2.0
14 lightningcss ★ 7.7K

An extremely fast CSS parser, transformer, bundler, and minifier written in Rust.

last push2 days ago languageRust licenseMPL-2.0
15 Bear ★ 6.5K

Generate compile_commands.json for any C or C++ build

last push24 hours ago languageRust licenseGPL-3.0
16 farm ★ 5.6K

Extremely fast Vite-compatible web build tool written in Rust

last push10 hours ago languageRust licenseMIT
17 extension.js ★ 5.2K

The cross-browser extension framework.

last push9 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
18 modern.js ★ 5.1K

A progressive web framework based on React and Rsbuild.

last push17 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
19 sbt ★ 5.0K

sbt, the interactive build tool

last push2 days ago languageScala licenseApache-2.0
20 style-dictionary ★ 4.9K

A build system for creating cross-platform styles.

last push5 days ago languageJavaScript licenseApache-2.0
21 trunk ★ 4.4K

Build, bundle & ship your Rust WASM application to the web.

last push7 hours ago languageRust licenseApache-2.0
22 cake ★ 4.2K

:cake: Cake (C# Make) is a cross platform build automation system.

last push3 days ago languageC# licenseMIT
23 retire.js ★ 4.2K

scanner detecting the use of JavaScript libraries with known vulnerabilities. Can also generate an SBOM of the libraries it finds.

last push3 days ago languageJavaScript licenseApache-2.0
24 moon ★ 4.2K

A build system and monorepo management tool for the web ecosystem, written in Rust.

last push10 hours ago languageRust licenseMIT
25 pants ★ 3.9K

The Pants Build System

last push11 hours ago languagePython licenseApache-2.0
26 proguard ★ 3.7K

ProGuard, Java optimizer and obfuscator

last push4 days ago languageJava licenseGPL-2.0
27 rsbuild ★ 3.4K

Fast, extensible build tool for modern web development

last push13 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
28 penguin-harness ★ 3.1K

🐧 Harness for RSI. Let AI Build AI. Multi-Agent Auto-Dev Platform. Everything is Transparent.

last push8 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseApache-2.0
29 cargo-make ★ 3.0K

Rust task runner and build tool.

last push9 months ago languageRust licenseApache-2.0
30 mill ★ 2.8K

A better build tool for Java, Scala and Kotlin: Simpler than Maven, easier than Gradle, with 3-7x faster dev workflows than other JVM build tools

last push9 hours ago languageScala licenseMIT
31 please ★ 2.6K

High-performance extensible build system for reproducible multi-language builds.

last push11 hours ago languageGo licenseApache-2.0
32 scons ★ 2.4K

SCons - a software construction tool

last push28 hours ago languagePython licenseMIT
33 swift-build ★ 2.3K

A high-level build system based on llbuild, used by Xcode, Swift Playground, and the Swift Package Manager

last push7 hours ago languageSwift licenseApache-2.0
34 doit ★ 2.1K

CLI task management & automation tool

last push1 months ago languagePython licenseMIT
35 pybuilder ★ 2.1K

Software build automation tool for Python.

last push23 days ago languagePython licenseApache-2.0
36 create-elm-app ★ 1.7K

🍃 Create Elm apps with zero configuration

last push10 days ago languageJavaScript licenseMIT
37 wordpressify ★ 1.6K

🎈 Automate your WordPress development workflow.

last push5 months ago languagePHP licenseMIT
38 toast ★ 1.6K

Containerize your development and continuous integration environments. 🥂

last push2 days ago languageRust licenseMIT
39 corrosion ★ 1.5K

Marrying Rust and CMake - Easy Rust and C/C++ Integration!

last push4 days ago languageCMake licenseMIT
40 xc ★ 1.4K

Markdown defined task runner.

last push2 months ago languageGo licenseMIT
41 ultra-runner ★ 1.2K

🏃⛰ Ultra fast monorepo script runner and build tool

last push10 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseApache-2.0
42 phing ★ 1.2K

PHing Is Not GNU make; it's a PHP project build system or build tool based on Apache Ant.

last push8 days ago languagePHP licenseLGPL-3.0
43 rslib ★ 1.0K

Create JavaScript libraries in a simple and intuitive way.

last push19 hours ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
44 pytest-testmon ★ 1.0K

Selects tests affected by changed files. Executes the right tests first. Continuous test runner when used with pytest-watch.

last push14 hours ago languagePython licenseMIT
45 denoify ★ 949

🦕For NPM module authors that would like to support Deno but do not want to write and maintain a port.

last push13 months ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT
46 FlubuCore ★ 937

A cross platform build and deployment automation system for building projects and executing deployment scripts using C# code.

last push7 months ago languageC# licenseMIT
47 Ceedling ★ 861

Unit testing and build system for C projects

last push2 days ago languageRuby licenseMIT
48 intellij ★ 818

CLion plugin for Bazel projects

last push13 hours ago languageJava licenseApache-2.0
49 bazel-remote ★ 787

A remote cache for Bazel

last push13 days ago languageGo licenseApache-2.0
50 captain ★ 775

Captain - Convert your Git workflow to Docker :whale: containers

last push1 months ago languageGo licenseMIT
51 haskell.nix ★ 634

Alternative Haskell Infrastructure for Nixpkgs

last push14 hours ago languageNix licenseApache-2.0
52 erlang.mk ★ 587

A build tool for Erlang that just works.

last push11 days ago languageMakefile licenseISC
53 ModularPipelines ★ 559

Write your pipelines in C# !

last push7 hours ago languageC# licenseMIT
54 build-server-protocol ★ 554

Protocol for IDEs and build tools to communicate about compile, run, test, debug and more.

last push4 days ago languageScala licenseApache-2.0
55 bunup ★ 525

📦 Bundles your TypeScript libraries faster than you can say "bundle"

last push5 months ago languageTypeScript licenseMIT

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Frequently asked questions

How many open source build-tool projects are there?

This registry tracks 55 projects tagged build-tool, with 466,439 GitHub stars between them. The most-adopted is vite at 83,676 stars.

Are these build-tool projects free to use?

Yes — 55 of the 55 carry an explicit open-source licence across 7 distinct licences, so there is no licence fee. Where a project also sells a hosted or enterprise version, the self-hosted path remains free.

Which build-tool project should I choose?

The list above is ranked by GitHub stars, but stars measure attention rather than fit. Check three things on each card: the licence (permissive versus copyleft), the language it is written in, and the last-push date — a high-star project that has not been pushed in a year is a liability.

Are these build-tool projects still maintained?

50 of the 55 were pushed in the last 90 days, and every card shows its exact last-push date so you can see the rest. Sort your shortlist by that date before committing to a migration.