Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Seastar – Build and dependency manager for C/C++ with Cargo's features

Hi hackers! I'm a self-taught solo teenage dev working on Seastar, a unified build system and dependency manager for C and C++. It is capable of compiling and linking projects, managing recursive dependencies and headers, and even has a template system -- your C++ library is one `seastar new mylib --lang c++ --lib` away! Also, everything is configured in TOML, because TOML is awesome. C is one of my favorite languages, but I usually end up writing stuff in Rust because I love Cargo. Unlike C, Cargo handles the dependencies, linking, globbing, and so much more for you. So I wrote Seastar to…

Seastar is a build system and dependency manager for C and C++ that simplifies project setup and management similar to Cargo for Rust. It compiles and links projects, manages recursive dependencies and headers, and… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

1
I built a Cargo-like build tool for C/C++▲177
I love C and C++, but setting up projects can sometimes be a pain. Every time I wanted to start something new I'd spend the first hour writing CMakeLists.txt, figuring out find_package, copying boilerplate from my last project, and googling why my library isn't linking. By the time the project was actually set up I'd lost all momentum. So, I built Craft - a lightweight build and workflow tool for C and C++. Instead of writing CMake, your project configuration goes in a simple craft.toml: [project] name = "my_app" version = "0.1.0" language = "c" c_standard = 99 [build] type = "executable"…
Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
2
Warp, a Rust-based terminal▲946
Hi HN community, I’m Zach, founder and CEO of Warp, and am excited to show you Warp, a fast Rust-based terminal that’s easy to use and built for teams. As of today, Warp is in public beta and any Mac user can download it. It works with bash, zsh, and fish. The terminal’s teletype-like interface has made it hard for the CLI to thrive. After 20 years of programming, I still find it hard to copy a command’s output; I always forget how to use `tar`; and I always have to relearn how to move my cursor. To fix fundamental accessibility issues, I believe we need to start innovating on the terminal,…
2022 · warp.dev · its alternatives →
3
Bake – A modular build system and package manager for C/C++▲132
Bake, A build system for building, testing and running C & C++ projects - SanderMertens/bake
2018 · github.com · its alternatives →
4
A work-in-progress C compiler from scratch▲159
Programming language that compiles into a x86 ELF executable. - riicchhaarrd/ocean
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
5
How to compile C/C++ for WASM, pure Clang, no libs, no framework▲217
A little help for programmers, who wants to run C/C++ code in the browser. (This is my second attempt to show it, first time I got banned bcoz of my personal page domain, I don't really understand it why is is suspicious.)
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
6
I built a web framework in C▲420
a lightweight web framework in c. Contribute to ashtonjamesd/lavandula development by creating an account on GitHub.
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
7
Lstr – A modern, interactive tree command written in Rust▲227
Hi HN, (First time poster!) I'm the author of `lstr`. I've always loved the classic Linux `tree` command for its simplicity, but I often found myself wanting more modern features like interactivity and Git integration. So, I decided to build my own version in Rust with a philosophy of being fast, minimalist, and interactive. It was also an excuse to help learn more about Rust\! Here's a quick look at the interactive mode: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bgreenwell/lstr/main/asset... I've just released v0.2.0 with some features I think this community might find…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
8
Keystone▲125
We kept hitting the same wall: you clone some arbitrary repo and just want it to run without any configuration work. So we built Keystone, an open source tool that spins up a Modal sandbox, runs Claude Code inside it, and produces a working .devcontainer/ config (Dockerfile, devcontainer.json, test runner) for any git repo. We build on the dev container standard, so the output works with VS Code and GitHub Codespaces out of the box. Main use cases: reproducible dev/CI environments, self-describing repos, and safely sandboxed coding agents. Our goal is to encourage all repos to…
Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
9MP
My platforming game written in C 89▲127
I have been working on this game somewhat sparsely for the past three years or so. However, it is still in a very early stage, and there is a lot of work to do. One of my friends encouraged me to post about it here, since he felt people might find interesting how I don’t use any libraries for it. The game can be played on a browser by virtue of WebAssembly. There are native ports using either MiniFB or SDL2, but you have to build those yourself. I decided to write the game in C because I feel like it is a simple language that a lot of people can understand well enough, and I didn’t think I…
2023 · zamfofex.neocities.org · its alternatives →
10
A Lisp Interpreter for Shell Scripting▲114
Redstart is a lightweight Lisp interpreter written in C++ with a focus on shell scripting. It lets you combine the expressive power of Lisp with the practicality of the Unix shell: you can run commands, capture output, pipe between processes, and still use Lisp syntax for logic and structure. Think of it as writing your shell scripts in Lisp instead of Bash.
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
11
Cargo-rail: graph-aware monorepo tooling for Rust; 11 deps▲61
The Rust Monorepo Engine. Contribute to loadingalias/cargo-rail development by creating an account on GitHub.
Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
12
A dynamic C (Hot reloading) module-based Web Framework▲128
A modular web framework for C, inspired by kernel modules. Dynamically upload and compile C code at runtime to build REST APIs, WebSocket services, and more. Includes support for JSON (Jansson), SQLite, OpenSSL, and streaming large data efficiently. - joexbayer/c-web-modules
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
Online C/C++ Code Browser▲72
Codebrowser homepage
2016 · code.woboq.org · its alternatives →
14
Xmake, a modern C/C++ build utility▲186
🔥 A cross-platform build utility based on Lua. Contribute to xmake-io/xmake development by creating an account on GitHub.
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
15
Flint – A minimal C/C++ package manager and build tool written in C▲13
Simple light-weight package manager and build system written in C for c/c++ projects - mainak55512/flint
Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
16
I built a small browser engine from scratch in C++▲146
Hi HN! Korean high school senior here, about to start CS in college. I built a browser engine from scratch in C++ to understand how browsers work. First time using C++, 8 weeks of development, lots of debugging—but it works! Features: - HTML parsing with error correction - CSS cascade and inheritance - Block/inline layout engine - Async image loading + caching - Link navigation + history Hardest parts: - String parsing(html, css) - Rendering - Image Caching & Layout Reflowing What I learned (beyond code): - Systematic debugging is crucial - Ship with known bugs rather than chase…
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
17
Run – a CLI universal code runner I built while learning Rust▲96
Hi HN — I’m learning Rust and decided to build a universal CLI for running code in many languages. The tool, Run, aims to be a single, minimal dependency utility for: running one-off snippets (from CLI flags), running files, reading and executing piped stdin, and providing language-specific REPLs that you can switch between interactively. I designed it to support both interpreted languages (Python, JS, Ruby, etc.) and compiled languages (Rust, Go, C/C++). It detects languages from flags or file extensions, can compile temporary files for compiled languages, and exposes a unified REPL…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
18
CXXStateTree – A modern C++ library for hierarchical state machines▲48
Hi HN! I've built [CXXStateTree](https://github.com/ZigRazor/CXXStateTree), a modern C++ header-only library to create hierarchical state machines with clean, intuitive APIs. It supports: - Deeply nested states - Entry/exit handlers - State transitions with guards and actions - Asynchronous transitions with `co_await` (C++20 coroutines) - Optional runtime type identification for flexibility It's ideal for complex control logic, embedded systems, games, robotics, and anywhere you'd use a finite state machine. I’d love feedback, use cases, or contributions from the…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
19
CJIT▲83
CJIT started as a hobby project around Fabrice Bellard’s tinyCC and slowly grew into something much more practical. It is now a small portable C compiler and runner that works across Linux, macOS, and Windows, can self host, and is packaged as a single executable. What mattered most to me was keeping the barrier to entry low. You can take one small binary, drop it onto a system, and compile or run C code using the libraries already available there, without setting up a full toolchain or installing a large stack of dependencies. I find that useful for quick prototyping, testing, auditing,…
2024 · dyne.org · its alternatives →
20
Program Explorer, a container playground▲73
Inspired by Compiler Explorer and other playground/fiddle websites like jsfiddle, db-fiddle, Go playground, and Rust playground, I thought it would be cool to have a playground for nearly any program so I've been working on Program Explorer: a playground for running programs from containers. I am inspired by these playgrounds because they are great educational tools for quickly experimenting and as communication tools by sharing shortlinks that reproduce bugs for instance. I would love for every open source project that publishes a container to get their own playground for free. I'm…
2025 · programexplorer.org · its alternatives →
21
A Modern C/C++ build tools (Simple, Fast, Cross-platform)▲89
A cross-platform build utility based on Lua
2019 · xmake.io · its alternatives →
22
Cargo-memex – compile rust code into a meme and run it▲61
compile rust code into memes. Contribute to mattsse/cargo-memex development by creating an account on GitHub.
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
Modifying Clang for a Safer, More Explicit C++▲76
Modified C++ Inspired by the paper "Some Were Meant for C" by Stephen Kell, I decided to show that it's possible to iterate C++ to be safer, more explicit, and less error-prone. Here's a possible starting point: I didn't invent a new language or compiler, but took the world's best compiler, clang, and modified it to begin iterating towards a new furture of C++. Naming things is hard, so I call this 'Modified C++'. Some of the following could be implemented as tooling in a linter or checker, but the idea is to update the compiler directly. I also wanted to learn more about clang. This…
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
24
C-compiler to compile TCC for live-bootstrap▲67
Investigation into replacing the MES compiler. Contribute to FransFaase/MES-replacement development by creating an account on GitHub.
Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →