A simple, CMake-like build system for C projects written in C. Features include live file watching with auto-rebuild (nodemon-style), wildcard source matching, custom include/output directories, and out-of-source builds. Generates readable Makefiles with zero dependencies.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: This project is in early stage development and may contain bugs. Use with caution in production environments.
wget https://github.com/dexter-xd/anvil/releases/download/beta_1.1.0/anvil_1.1.0_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i anvil_1.1.0_amd64.debgit clone https://github.com/dexter-xd/anvil.git
cd anvil && mkdir build && cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCOPY_TO_EXAMPLE=OFF ..
make && sudo make installWhen building Anvil from source, you can control the build behavior:
# Default behavior - copies anvil binary to example/ for testing
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ..
# Production build - no copy to example folder
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCOPY_TO_EXAMPLE=OFF ..Options:
COPY_TO_EXAMPLE=ON(default) - Copies built binary toexample/anvilfor testingCOPY_TO_EXAMPLE=OFF- Clean build without example copy
# Check installation
anvil -v
# Create build.conf
cat > build.conf << EOF
project = MyApp
target = myapp
sources = src/*
includes = include
cflags = -Wall -O2
EOF
# Generate and build
anvil build.conf
cd build && make runanvil [-v|-w|-wr] <buildfile>
-v Show version
-w Watch mode (auto-rebuild) (supported for both multiple targets and single target)
-wr Watch & run mode (only for single target)| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
project |
Project name | project = MyApp |
target |
Executable name | target = myapp |
sources |
Source files | sources = src/* main.c |
includes |
Include dirs | includes = include |
cflags |
Compiler flags | cflags = -Wall -O2 |
ldflags |
Linker flags | ldflags = -lm |
output_dir |
Output directory | output_dir = bin |
project = WebApp
includes = include
cflags = -Wall -O2
output_dir = bin
[target:server]
sources = src/server.c src/common.c
ldflags = -lpthread
[/target]
[target:client]
sources = src/client.c src/common.c
ldflags = -lncurses
[/target]
Multi-target commands:
make all- Build all targetsmake server- Build specific targetmake run-server- Run specific targetmake clean- Clean all targets
# Start watch (supported for both multiple targets and single target)
anvil -w build.conf
# Start watch & run mode (for single target)
anvil -wr build.conf
# Edit code, save, see results instantly!my-project/
├── build.conf
├── src/
│ ├── main.c
│ └── utils.c
├── include/
│ └── utils.h
└── build/ # Generated
├── myapp
└── Makefile
web-project/
├── multi-target.conf
├── src/
│ ├── server.c
│ ├── client.c
│ └── common.c
├── include/
│ └── common.h
└── build/ # Generated
├── bin/
│ ├── server
│ └── client
└── Makefile
sudo apt remove anvil # or sudo rm /usr/bin/anvilMIT License - see LICENSE file.