Shake

Overview

Shake is ranked #6 of 40 in build automation software on Specifiction. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

Compared on build automation software

Free plan

Yesshakebuild.com

Build as code

Yesshakebuild.com

Build caching

Yesshakebuild.com

Supported operating systems

multi-platformshakebuild.com

Facts

What it is

Shake is a Haskell library for writing build systems, designed as a replacement for make.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Who it serves

Shake primarily benefits developers who run build systems and developers who write them.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Dynamic dependencies

Build rules can discover additional dependencies after earlier rules run, such as by examining generated files.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Dependency types

Shake supports dependencies on files, file existence, environment variables, directory contents, and user-defined inputs.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Build performance

Shake supports parallel builds and is designed for fast execution when nothing has changed.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Diagnostics

Shake can generate profiling reports with plots, tables, graphs, and information about what built and why.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Completion estimates

Shake can report estimated completion time and percentage complete, and its progress information can be integrated with continuous integration systems such as Team City.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Integrations

Shake can execute Ninja files, allowing integration with CMake and Meson.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Languages

Shake build systems are Haskell programs, though the manual is designed for readers without prior Haskell knowledge.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Notable limitation

Shake does not provide default build rules, so users must express their build rules themselves.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Installation

The site’s getting-started instructions say to install Haskell Stack and then run `stack install shake`.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Support

Users can ask questions through the mailing list or Stack Overflow, and report bugs through GitHub issues.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

License

Shake is an open source project under the BSD license.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Purpose

Shake is a Haskell library for writing build systems as an alternative to tools such as make, Ant, and Scons.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Performance

Shake supports multicore parallelism, resource constraints, and avoids rebuilding results when dependencies rebuild without changing.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Progress estimates

Shake reports estimated completion time and percentage complete using recorded rule execution times and machine-load predictions.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Language support

Shake can build projects in any combination of languages and is often used for C/C++, Docker, and JavaScript, HTML, and CSS projects.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Platform details

Shake can display progress information in the title bar on Windows, Linux, and Mac; Windows 7 and 8 can also show it in the taskbar.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Audience

Shake is aimed at developers running and writing build systems, especially for large projects that need expressive rules, robust builds, and profiling.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Limitations

Shake build systems are written in Haskell, Shake may not be installed by default, and it provides no default build rules.shakebuild.com · 9 Oct 2026

Where it ranks on Specifiction

• Best Build Automation Software in 2026#6 of 40

Sources

• shakebuild.com/manual· checked 9 Oct 2026
• shakebuild.com/why· checked 9 Oct 2026
• shakebuild.com· checked 9 Oct 2026
• shakebuild.com/faq· checked 9 Oct 2026