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Scala CLI vs Mill: catalog facts
Scala CLI	Mill
Best for: Learning Scala, writing Scala scripts and small single-module projects	Best for: Java and Scala developers looking for a build tool
Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, Command line
No configuration file required Default Scala runner since Scala 3.5.0 All 4 strengths for Scala CLI No configuration file required Default Scala runner since Scala 3.5.0 Native binary with Bloop-backed compilation Handles compile, run, test and package in one tool	Targets Java and Scala builds Command-line tool installable through Scoop All 3 strengths for Mill Targets Java and Scala builds Command-line tool installable through Scoop Permissive MIT licence
Designed for single-module projects Larger multi-module builds still need sbt or Mill	Focused on JVM languages rather than general-purpose builds Another build tool for a team to learn alongside existing ones
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Scala CLI scala-cli.virtuslab.org Catalog checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Mill mill-build.org Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.