just-buildit 0.3.6

The missing PEP 517 build backend for C extensions.

The missing PEP 517 build backend for C extensions.

You know how to build your project. just-buildit knows how to package it. That's the whole deal.

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The problem

Every existing Python build backend either wants to own your build system, assumes you're using setuptools extensions, or drags in a dependency tree bigger than your project. There's no option that just says:

"Here are your C files. Build them however you want. I'll ship the result."

just-buildit is that option.

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Installation

pip install just-buildit

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Quickstart

Flat layouts, nested packages, multiple extensions across subdirectories, mixed pure Python and C — whatever your build produces.

Zero config — a single C extension in src/mylib/:

[build-system]
requires = ["just-buildit"]
build-backend = "just_buildit"

[project]
name = "mylib"
version = "0.1.0"

Run pip install . and just-buildit finds src/mylib/, compiles every .c file it contains, and ships the result.

Custom build command — Make, CMake, Meson, Bazel, or anything else:

[tool.just-buildit]
command = "make"

just-buildit sets environment variables, calls your command, and packages everything written to $JUST_BUILDIT_OUTPUT_DIR.

Need a project scaffold? just-makeit generates a CMake-based C extension project pre-wired for just-buildit — see the examples.

CLI

uvx just-buildit inspect   # dry-run: show config and what would be built
uvx just-buildit build     # build wheel into dist/
uvx just-buildit sdist     # build source distribution into dist/

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Documentation

Environment variables	What just-buildit sets before calling your command
Examples	Make, CMake, Meson, Bazel, mixed Python + C, nested packages
Configuration	Full config reference, wheel repair, editable installs
Contributing	Running tests, platform support, bootstrapping

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Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• A compiler (you already have one)
• uv for wheel repair (uvx auditwheel / uvx delocate-wheel / uvx delvewheel)

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Authors

Matthew T. Hunter, Ph.D. and Claude Code

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License

MIT