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Scala CLI vs sbt: catalog facts
Scala CLI	sbt
Best for: Learning Scala, writing Scala scripts and small single-module projects	Best for: Building and testing Scala and Java projects
Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.	Free Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, 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	Incremental compilation with Zinc Cross-building against multiple Scala versions All 4 strengths for sbt Incremental compilation with Zinc Cross-building against multiple Scala versions Typed, parallel build definitions Large plugin ecosystem
Designed for single-module projects Larger multi-module builds still need sbt or Mill	Build DSL has a learning curve Mainly useful for Scala and Java projects
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: Apache-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
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 sbt scala-sbt.org Catalog checked October 1, 2026

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