tbenthompson/cppimport

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

1228 stars · 74 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

cppimport is a Python library that lets you import C++ files directly as Python extension modules, compiling them transparently on first import using pybind11. It supports Mako-templated build configuration and automatic recompilation when source files change.

Use cases

• import c++ code from python directly
• speed up slow python functions with c++
• compile pybind11 extension modules on import
• transparent recompilation of c++ files in python workflow
• quickly build python bindings for c++ code

When to choose

• you want to call C++ code from Python without writing a separate build system
• you're prototyping performance-critical functions and want edit-and-run iteration
• you already use pybind11 and want a frictionless import workflow

When to avoid

• you need a production build system with fine-grained control - use CMake or setuptools instead
• your project doesn't involve C++ extensions
• compile-on-import latency is unacceptable for your deployment

Facets

library · maturity active

build-tool developer-tools compiler developer-tools programming-languages performance python cpp cross-platform pybind11 import-hook python-c-bindings jit-compilation extension-modules

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