# r-lyeh/single_file_libs

List of single-file C/C++ libraries, with emphasis on clause-less licenses.

Repository: https://github.com/r-lyeh/single_file_libs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/single_file_libs
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-18T18:23:39+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 76/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3617, "days_push": 15, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 9985, forks 651 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:39.172217+00:00)

## What it is
A curated list of small, portable single-file (or two-file) C/C++ libraries with minimal dependencies and a preference for public-domain, clause-less licenses. It serves as a discovery resource for easily embeddable libraries usable from both C and C++ on 32-bit and 64-bit platforms.

## Use cases
- find single-file C libraries for embedding in a project
- discover public domain C++ libraries with no license clauses
- find small portable libraries for game development
- look for header-only C libraries with minimal dependencies
- find alternatives to stb-style libraries
- find libraries that compile on 32-bit and 64-bit platforms

## When to choose
- you want small, dependency-free C/C++ libraries you can drop into a codebase
- you care about permissive or public-domain licensing
- you want a curated starting point similar to stb but broader

## When to avoid
- you need full-featured frameworks with package-manager integration
- you need vetted, quality-audited libraries - the list is unverified
- you work outside C/C++

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: active
- function: developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, programming-languages, awesome-lists
- platform: cross-platform, cpp, c
- tags: awesome-list, single-file-libraries, c, cpp, public-domain, header-only, minimal-dependencies, gamedev

## Member repositories
- r-lyeh/single_file_libs (main) score 76

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:39.172217+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 2026-08-29T17:20:01.840649+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/r-lyeh/single_file_libs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:39.172217+00:00, sha 51729b097d36)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.