Please

Spec sheet

Purpose

Please is a cross-language build system focused on performance, extensibility and correctness.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Product

Please is a cross-language build system focused on performance, extensibility and correctness.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Security

The maker says release artifacts are signed with a private RSA key and documents signature verification.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Support

Users can raise issues on GitHub, chat on Gitter or use the discussion group for questions.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

License

Please is licensed under Apache 2.0.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Headquarters

London, United KingdomRead 28 Sep 2026 · please.build

Founded

2014Read 28 Sep 2026 · please.build

Build workflow

Please can build, test and run targets using the same commands, and its CLI can be extended with aliases.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

CI integration

The documentation shows how to use Please in GitHub Actions, including a setup action for installing Please in workflows.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Containers and Kubernetes

The Docker and Kubernetes tutorial demonstrates rules for building Docker images and Kubernetes manifests.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Editor tools

Please lists Neovim, Visual Studio Code and IntelliJ integrations, and its BUILD language server supports completion, navigation, diagnostics, formatting and references.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Hermetic builds

Build steps run in controlled environments with access limited to specified files and environment variables, supporting portable and reproducible builds.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Installation

The quickstart gives a shell installer, Homebrew installation and release tarballs as installation options.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Language plugins

Plugins add build rules for languages and technologies; the quickstart describes Go, Python and Java plugins.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Language server features

The BUILD file language server supports completion, hover, definition lookup, diagnostics, signature help, formatting and references.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Language support

Plugins add build rules for languages and technologies; the site lists C/C++ rules and describes Go, Python and Java plugins.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Limit

The FAQ says Please has less support for mobile development than the other build systems it discusses.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Performance

Please uses caching and task parallelism to speed up incremental builds.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Platform limit

The quickstart says Please currently supports Linux, macOS and FreeBSD; Windows is not listed as supported on the opened quickstart page.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Remote execution

Please can submit build actions to remote executors through the Remote Execution API, but the feature is marked experimental.Read 4 Oct 2026 · please.build

Reproducible builds

Build steps run in a hermetic environment with access only to declared files and environment variables.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Speed

Please uses caching and task parallelism to reduce build times.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Supported systems

Please actively supports Linux and macOS; it also supports FreeBSD, while Windows is not supported natively but can run Please through WSL.Read 5 Oct 2026 · please.build

Where Specifiction places it

• Build Automation Software#36 of 427.1
• Monorepo Management Tools#30 of 337.1