build.h

NOTE: currently only supports Windows systems.

A C89+ stb-style single-file header-only C library for writing build recipes in C. Inspired by the likes of nob.h and Zig's build system build.zig.

The goal is to be able to manage a project written in C by only using C and a C89+ or a C++ compiler. That means no external shell script or build system tool required, just run the following commands in a supported project (e.g. on Windows cmd.exe using clang compiler):

clang build.c -o build.exe
build

where build.c is in the same directory as build.h and has the following contents:

/// build.c

// Last updated: 2026-08-16

// NOTE: (1) WIP, API subject to change
//       (2) File is written using C99+ features, but can be rewritten
//           to support C89

#define BUILD_IMPLEMENTATION
#include "build.h"

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
   Artifact artifact = (Artifact){
      .compiler = "clang",
      .compile_options = strlist_from_args("-O0", "-g3", NULL),
      .source_files = strlist_from_args("main.c", NULL),
   };
   artifact_new_executable(&artifact, "my_exe_name");

   return 0;
}

License

SPDX-License-Identifier: 0BSD

See LICENSE.txt.