The latest articles on DEV Community by Ryan Anderson (@randerson_112). https://dev.to/randerson_112 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3873815%2Fcabc69c2-5e16-4119-994d-a97887a1135c.png https://dev.to/randerson_112 en Ryan Anderson Sat, 11 Apr 2026 16:44:23 +0000 https://dev.to/randerson_112/new-build-tool-for-cc-5hfe https://dev.to/randerson_112/new-build-tool-for-cc-5hfe <p>I've been frustrated by the same problem every C/C++ developer knows too well: you have a great idea, you sit down to code, but end up wrestling with CMake. 😤 </p> <p>So I built something to solve it. 🔧 </p> <p>🚀 Craft - a lightweight build tool for C and C++. Think Cargo, but for C/C++. You describe your project in a simple craft.toml file and Craft handles the rest.</p> <p>No more manual CMakeLists.txt.<br> No more struggling to link dependencies.</p> <p>Below I have put together a short demo where I show how to go from zero to a running a project in seconds. ⚡ But that's just the beginning, Craft also handles:</p> <p>📦 Dependency management (craft add, craft remove, craft update)<br> 🧩 Custom project templates<br> 🌐 A package registry for popular C/C++ libraries<br> ⚒️ Adopting existing projects with craft init<br> 💻 Cross-platform support for macOS, Linux, and Windows</p> <p>This started as a personal tool to speed up my own workflow. It's now at v1.0 and I'm opening it up to the community. 🎉 </p> <p>If you write C or C++ and have ever wanted a smoother developer experience, give Craft a try.</p> <p>💬 Feedback is encouraged, and if you want to help boost development, feel free to make pull requests!</p> <p>GitHub Repo:<br> 🔗 <a href="https://github.com/randerson112/craft" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/randerson112/craft</a></p> programming c cpp opensource