# ninja-build/ninja

a small build system with a focus on speed

Repository: https://github.com/ninja-build/ninja
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ninja
Homepage: https://ninja-build.org/
Language: C++
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-07-25T20:55:58+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 78/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 94, release rhythm 45, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5687, "days_push": 39, "days_rel": 286, "gap_med": 77.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 13168, forks 1817 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:02.404647+00:00)

## What it is
Ninja is a small, fast build system whose low-level build files are designed to be generated by higher-level tools like CMake. It focuses on executing incremental builds as quickly as possible and is used by projects such as Chrome, LLVM, and Android.

## Use cases
- speed up incremental builds of large C++ projects
- use CMake's Ninja backend to build faster
- build Chrome, LLVM, or Android-style codebases
- embed a fast low-level build executor into a higher-level build system
- replace make for faster compile times

## When to choose
- you need maximum build execution speed for large projects
- your build files are generated by CMake or another meta-build system
- you want a simple, single-binary build tool

## When to avoid
- you want to hand-write convenient, high-level build scripts
- you need built-in dependency management or package features
- your project is small enough that make suffices

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: build-tool, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, compilers
- platform: windows, cpp, cli
- tags: build-system, incremental-builds, cmake-backend, compilation, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- ninja-build/ninja (main) score 78

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:02.404647+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 2026-08-29T17:13:28.737617+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ninja-build/ninja (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:02.404647+00:00, sha fbd92186f971)
  - homepage: https://ninja-build.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:08:47.749009+00:00, sha ade8e22752fe)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.