# SCons/scons

SCons - a software construction tool

Repository: https://github.com/SCons/scons
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/scons
Homepage: http://scons.org
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: build-tool, python3, python-3-6, scons, python37, python38, build-automation, build-tools, python310, python311, python312, python39, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-20T23:14:35+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 90/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 73, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3265, "days_push": 13, "days_rel": 22, "gap_med": 179, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2415, forks 357 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:50.250639+00:00)

## What it is
SCons is an open-source software construction tool that orchestrates building software by determining which components need rebuilding and invoking the necessary commands. Configuration files are Python scripts, and it provides automatic dependency analysis, parallel builds, and cross-platform support as a modern alternative to Make.

## Use cases
- replace make with a python-based build system
- build c++ project with automatic dependency analysis
- cross-platform build automation for windows linux and macos
- parallel builds like make -j
- generate visual studio solution files from build scripts
- build latex documentation alongside code
- configure compiler and library detection like autoconf

## When to choose
- you want build configuration written in a real programming language instead of a DSL
- you need reliable automatic dependency scanning for C, C++, or Fortran
- you build on multiple platforms and want one consistent build tool
- you need autoconf-like feature detection integrated into the build

## When to avoid
- your project already uses a mature Makefile or CMake setup with no pain points
- you need the fastest possible builds with minimal tooling overhead
- your team has no Python familiarity and prefers declarative build files
- you rely on ecosystem tooling tightly coupled to CMake or Make

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: build-tool, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: windows, python, cli, cross-platform
- tags: build-automation, make-alternative, dependency-analysis, python-scripts, parallel-builds, autoconf-like, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- SCons/scons (main) score 90

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:50.250639+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 2026-08-30T02:33:10.736576+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/SCons/scons (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:50.250639+00:00, sha 0e2ea0e870fd)
  - homepage: http://scons.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.936872+00:00, sha 25a0becb174e)
  - site_page: https://scons.org/category/documentation.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.941252+00:00, sha 6234b6fdbd75)
  - site_page: https://scons.org/documentation.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.943059+00:00, sha 1a1c5e3a1edb)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/scons/json (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.950190+00:00, sha 39e2470b76c0)
  - site_page: https://scons.org/faq.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.944764+00:00, sha 35d3ad4c3909)
  - site_page: https://scons.org/docversions.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.946985+00:00, sha b1035be7d85c)
  - site_page: https://scons.org/tag/releases.html (fetched 2026-08-29T10:13:53.948611+00:00, sha c3b9900065c4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.