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Meson vs SCons: catalog facts
Meson	SCons
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Readable build definition language Fast full and incremental builds	Build files are Python scripts Automatic dependency scanning for C, C++ and Fortran
Build language is deliberately limited, so unusual logic can be awkward Smaller ecosystem than CMake	Requires Python to run Less common than CMake or Make in many projects
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

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