cmake
CMake is an open-source, cross-platform family of tools designed to build, test and package software
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. cmake is a mature, actively maintained distribution of a standard build tool with no runtime dependencies, permissive dual licensing, and broad platform coverage. Install it if your project needs CMake as a build-time dependency or if you want to avoid separate CMake installation complexity. Verify that CMake 4.4.2 meets your project's requirements.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- ccmake is not included on Windows; requires Python >=3.8.
- Medium install friction due to platform-specific binary wheels across many architectures.
- Actively maintained with a release 10 days ago; no runtime dependencies simplifies integration.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache 2.0 (permissive) — Dual-licensed under Apache 2.0 (permissive) for the Python distribution and BSD 3-clause for CMake itself—both OSI-approved and impose no restrictions on derivative works or commercial use.
last release 2026-08-04 (10 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 137 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 17,981,211 downloads/mo, #1,095 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install cmake
Then use cmake, ccmake, cpack, or ctest from the command line, or declare it in pyproject.toml:
[build-system]
requires = ["cmake"]- Whether CMake 4.4.2 is current enough for your project's build requirements.
- Performance or compatibility implications of using the packaged CMake versus a separately installed version.
What it is and what it does
cmake is a Python wheel distribution of CMake 4.4.2, the open-source build configuration tool. It bundles the cmake, ccmake, cpack, and ctest command-line tools and makes them available on PATH after a simple pip install, eliminating the need to download and configure CMake separately on each platform. The package is designed for both interactive use and as a build-time dependency declared in pyproject.toml or setup.py.
It covers multiple platforms and architectures through pre-built binary wheels: macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux (x86_64, i686, aarch64, ppc64le, s390x, armv7l, riscv64), Windows (x86_64, x86, ARM64), and musl-based systems. Because it has no runtime Python dependencies, installation is straightforward and does not pull in additional packages. The project is actively maintained by the scikit-build community and released under permissive licenses (Apache 2.0 for the distribution, BSD 3-clause for CMake itself).
Use it for
- Declare cmake as a build-system dependency in pyproject.toml to ensure a consistent CMake version across CI/CD pipelines and developer machines.
- Use ctest to run and report on unit tests in C/C++/Fortran projects without requiring a separate CMake installation.
- Use cpack to generate platform-specific installers for C/C++ extensions in Python projects.
- Cross-compile projects for multiple architectures by invoking cmake with target-specific toolchain files.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
cmake is a mature, actively maintained distribution of a standard build tool with no runtime dependencies, permissive dual licensing, and broad platform coverage. Install it if your project needs CMake as a build-time dependency or if you want to avoid separate CMake installation complexity. Verify that CMake 4.4.2 meets your project's requirements.
Install
cmake on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to platform-specific binary wheels across many architectures. Actively maintained with a release 10 days ago; no runtime dependencies simplifies integration.
ccmake is not included on Windows; requires Python >=3.8.
License in practice
Dual-licensed under Apache 2.0 (permissive) for the Python distribution and BSD 3-clause for CMake itself—both OSI-approved and impose no restrictions on derivative works or commercial use.
Quickstart
pip install cmake
Then use cmake, ccmake, cpack, or ctest from the command line, or declare it in pyproject.toml:
[build-system]
requires = ["cmake"]Verify before relying
- Whether CMake 4.4.2 is current enough for your project's build requirements.
- Performance or compatibility implications of using the packaged CMake versus a separately installed version.
Package facts
| License | Apache 2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 10 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 17,981,211 / month, #1,095 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: CProgramming Language :: C++Programming Language :: FortranProgramming Language :: PythonTopic :: Software Development :: Build ToolsTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-macosx_10_10_universal2.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux2014_i686.manylinux_2_17_i686.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux2014_ppc64le.manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux2014_s390x.manylinux_2_17_s390x.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux_2_31_armv7l.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-manylinux_2_31_riscv64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_armv7l.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_ppc64le.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_riscv64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_s390x.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-win32.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-win_amd64.whl; cmake-4.4.2-py3-none-win_arm64.whl
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See also ninja · pytest-cmake · scikit-build · scikit-build-core · fckitlib · clang-tidy · clang-format · cx-Freeze · cmakelang · pkgconf