Install xmake with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• xmake
• xrepo

Project history

The GitHub repository was created on 2015-04-23. Xmake's own introduction describes it as a lightweight, cross-platform build utility based on Lua, driven by a dependency-free C core, with concise project configuration compared with Makefiles or CMake.

The project grew from a build tool into a combined build-and-dependency environment. The README frames Xmake as build backend plus project generator plus package manager, with analogies to Make/Ninja, CMake/Meson, Vcpkg/Conan, distcc, and ccache/sccache. That positioning explains why the `xmake` executable is paired with `xrepo` for package work.

The official xmake-repo package repository was created on 2017-04-09. The package guide says official package use was initially supported after version 2.2.2, with `add_requires()` naming third-party packages and `add_packages()` applying them to targets.

By the 3.0 series, Xmake had accumulated a broad platform and toolchain matrix. The README lists desktop, BSD, mobile, embedded, WebAssembly, and cross-compilation platforms, plus toolchains ranging from GCC, Clang, MSVC, Xcode, Android NDK, Zig, Rust, Swift, CUDA, Fortran, Verilator, WebAssembly, and vendor embedded compilers.

Adoption history

Xmake adoption has been community-led rather than standards-body driven. The official "Who is using Xmake?" page lists game modding, embedded, graphics, aerospace, data-structure, full-body tracking, real-time communication, and commercial/internal users, plus notable entries such as Epic Games Zen and Microsoft Research's CHERIoT RTOS.

For package users, adoption was helped by Xmake's dual role: installing the tool is enough to try simple builds, while the official package repository lets projects express third-party C/C++ package needs inside the same Lua build description.

How it is used

A minimal project defines targets in `xmake.lua`, for example setting a target kind and adding source globs. Common commands are `xmake` to build, `xmake run` to execute a target, `xmake test` for tests, and `xmake f` or `xmake config` to set platform, architecture, and build mode.

Dependency use centers on `add_requires()` and `add_packages()`: Xmake can check system libraries, fetch matching source packages, build and install them into its own package area, then link them into the project. The package guide also documents semantic version constraints, optional packages, debug package builds, custom package configs, and private/project package repositories.

Xmake is especially practical for cross-platform C/C++ projects that want build logic, third-party package integration, IDE/project generation, and cross-compilation switches in one tool without writing separate CMake and shell glue layers.

Why package nerds care

Xmake is significant because it collapses several packaging-adjacent jobs into one executable: project description, build orchestration, dependency acquisition, toolchain selection, package repository rules, and generated project files. That makes it a useful comparison point against CMake plus vcpkg/conan or Meson plus external dependency managers.

Its package repository is also a distribution model in miniature: recipes are versioned in a central GitHub repo, selected semantically by project files, and built per platform/architecture into an isolated install area. For package nerds, that is the interesting part, not just the Lua syntax.

Timeline

• 2015-04-23: xmake GitHub repository created.
• 2017-04-09: xmake-repo, the official package repository, created.
• 2018-10-16: xmake v2.2.2 released; official package-management documentation says package use was initially supported after this version.
• 2025-06-15: xmake v3.0.0 released, switching to 3.0 policies and changing build/run defaults.
• 2026-05-19: xmake v3.0.9 released with new toolchain, package, and graph/export features.

Related projects

• Related tools include Make, Ninja, CMake, Meson, Vcpkg, Conan, distcc, ccache, sccache, and the official xmake-repo package repository. Xmake also overlaps with IDE/project generators because it can generate project files for other build environments.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/xmake-io/xmake
• https://api.github.com/repos/xmake-io/xmake-repo
• https://api.github.com/repos/xmake-io/xmake/releases/tags/v2.2.2
• https://api.github.com/repos/xmake-io/xmake/releases/tags/v3.0.0
• https://api.github.com/repos/xmake-io/xmake/releases?per_page=12
• https://github.com/xmake-io/xmake
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xmake-io/xmake-docs/master/docs/about/who_is_using_xmake.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xmake-io/xmake-docs/master/docs/guide/introduction.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xmake-io/xmake-docs/master/docs/guide/package-management/using-official-packages.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xmake-io/xmake/master/CHANGELOG.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xmake-io/xmake/master/README.md