meson
Fast and user-friendly build system
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
meson command [options]
DESCRIPTION
meson is a build system designed to be fast and user-friendly. It reads meson.build project definitions and generates backend build files (ninja by default) for actual compilation.Meson supports C, C++, Rust, Java, Fortran, and other languages. It features automatic dependency detection, cross-compilation support, and built-in unit test and coverage infrastructure. Used by projects like GNOME, systemd, X.Org, and Mesa.
PARAMETERS
COMMAND
Meson subcommand (setup, compile, test, install, configure, dist, subprojects, wrap).setup DIR
Configure build directory.compile -C DIR
Build project.test -C DIR
Run tests.install -C DIR
Install project.configure DIR
Change build options without reconfiguring.dist
Create source distribution tarball.-D OPT=VAL
Set build option (e.g., -Dbuildtype=release, -Dprefix=/usr).--buildtype TYPE
Build type: plain, debug, debugoptimized, release, minsize, custom.--prefix PATH
Installation prefix (default: /usr/local).--wipe
Wipe and reconfigure existing build directory.--help
Display help information.
CAVEATS
Requires Python 3 and ninja backend by default. Build directories cannot be reused across different source directories. Out-of-source builds only (cannot build in the source tree). The --wipe flag destroys and recreates the build directory.
HISTORY
Meson was created by Jussi Pakkanen in 2013 as a fast, user-friendly build system.
