vcpkg

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

27512 stars · 7739 forks observed · 2026-10-03

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-10-05, confidence 0.99

vcpkg is a free, open-source C/C++ package manager that simplifies acquiring and building libraries across Windows, macOS, and Linux. It integrates with popular build systems like CMake and MSBuild and provides a large registry of ready-to-use packages.

Use cases

• install C++ libraries for a cross‑platform project
• manage dependencies in a CMake or MSBuild build system
• add new third‑party packages to a C++ application via a manifest
• automate library version updates in CI pipelines
• provide consistent library builds across developer machines

When to choose

• You need a unified way to acquire C/C++ libraries on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• Your project uses CMake, MSBuild, or another supported build system.
• You prefer a community‑maintained registry with many popular C++ packages.

When to avoid

• You are working with languages other than C/C++.
• Your environment requires a package manager that integrates with system‑level package managers like apt or brew.
• You need fine‑grained control over non‑C++ dependencies not covered by the vcpkg registry.

Facets

cli-tool · maturity active

cli package-manager developer-tools windows cross-platform cli c++ cpp cmake vcpkg open-source library-management macos linux

Member repositories

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="microsoft/vcpkg")