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CMake vs Premake: catalog facts
CMake	Premake
Free Free and open source under the OSI-approved BSD 3-clause licence.	Free Free and open source under the BSD 3-Clause licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
One project description generates Makefiles, Ninja files, Visual Studio and Xcode projects IDEs, package managers and libraries all assume CMake, so integration is everywhere	One script generates project files for many toolsets Readable Lua-based syntax
The scripting language is idiosyncratic and widely disliked Older tutorials teach outdated patterns that still appear in real projects	Generates project files rather than building directly Smaller ecosystem than CMake
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: BSD-3-Clause
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.