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CMake vs SCons: catalog facts
CMake	SCons
Free Free and open source under the OSI-approved BSD 3-clause licence.	Free Free and open source under the MIT 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	Build files are Python scripts Automatic dependency scanning for C, C++ and Fortran
The scripting language is idiosyncratic and widely disliked Older tutorials teach outdated patterns that still appear in real projects	Requires Python to run Less common than CMake or Make in many projects
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: MIT
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.