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tup vs Ninja: catalog facts
tup	Ninja
Free Free and open source under GPL-2.0-only.	Free Free and open source.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Tracks file changes against a dependency graph Avoids rebuilding unaffected outputs	Very fast incremental builds Works as a CMake backend
macOS requires a FUSE implementation	Build files are not convenient to write by hand Needs a higher-level generator for most projects
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-only	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

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