# mesonbuild/meson

The Meson Build System

Repository: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/meson
Homepage: http://mesonbuild.com
Language: Python
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:03:04+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 98/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 97, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4494, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 23, "gap_med": 29, "n_releases_24m": 22}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6617, forks 1934 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:45.733383+00:00)

## What it is
Meson is an open-source, high-performance build system written in Python that generates build files for backends like Ninja, Visual Studio, and Xcode. Build definitions are written in a readable, non-Turing-complete DSL with built-in dependency management and multiplatform support.

## Use cases
- build a C/C++ project with a modern build system
- replace autotools or cmake for my project
- cross-compile for embedded or bare-metal targets
- generate visual studio or xcode project files
- manage dependencies in a build definition
- set up fast incremental builds for a large codebase

## When to choose
- starting a new C, C++, Rust, or Fortran project and want fast, readable build definitions
- you need cross-compilation or multiplatform builds (Linux, macOS, Windows)
- you want a non-Turing-complete DSL that is easy to read and maintain
- you need built-in unit test integration and dependency discovery via pkg-config

## When to avoid
- your project already relies on a mature CMake ecosystem with many CMake-only dependencies
- you need highly dynamic, programmatic build logic that a non-Turing-complete DSL cannot express
- your team has no Python 3 runtime available in the build environment

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: build-tool, cli, testing, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, compilers, cross-platform
- platform: windows, python, cli, cross-platform
- tags: build-system, ninja, cmake-alternative, dsl, cross-compilation, c-cpp, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- mesonbuild/meson (main) score 98

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:45.733383+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:43:28.753944+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:45.733383+00:00, sha f99bba549ce0)
  - homepage: http://mesonbuild.com (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.956568+00:00, sha c021fb2ad548)
  - site_page: https://mesonbuild.com/Quick-guide.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.974385+00:00, sha 604204f9cf5d)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/meson/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.980120+00:00, sha bb0432412518)
  - site_page: https://mesonbuild.com/Modules.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.966104+00:00, sha 9c21fef10d4d)
  - site_page: https://mesonbuild.com/FAQ.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.968561+00:00, sha bf258f7bb020)
  - site_page: https://mesonbuild.com/SimpleStart.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.972055+00:00, sha b61d5fd8bffb)
  - site_page: https://mesonbuild.com/Additional.html (fetched 2026-08-29T08:39:47.977647+00:00, sha ded1c66a0b19)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.