CPPython

A transparent Python management solution for C++ dependencies and building.

Goals

1. CLI: Provide imperative commands (build, test, bench, run, install) for managing C++ projects within a Python ecosystem.
2. Plugin Architecture: Support pluggable generators (CMake, Meson) and providers (Conan, vcpkg) so users can mix and match toolchains.
3. PEP 517 Build Backend: Act as a transparent build backend that delegates to scikit-build-core or meson-python after ensuring C++ dependencies are in place.
4. Build System Consumer: Be declared directly in [build-system].requires, like scikit-build-core, so pip wheel and pdm install transparently install C++ dependencies alongside Python ones. No host-tool plugin is required.

Features

• Resolve and install C++ dependencies through pluggable providers (Conan, vcpkg).
• Generate and sync build-tool configuration (CMake presets, Meson native files) from a single [tool.cppython] table.
• Detect project versions from source control through pluggable SCM plugins (Git).
• Inspect plugin configuration and discovered build targets with cppython info and cppython list.

Setup

See Setup for setup instructions.

Development

We use pdm as our build system and package manager. Scripts for development tasks are defined in pyproject.toml under the [tool.pdm.scripts] section.

See Development for additional build, test, and installation instructions.

For contribution guidelines, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Documentation

Full documentation, including the build backend reference and plugin guides, is available at synodic.github.io/cppython.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.md for details.

Copyright © 2026 Synodic Software