Bazel vs Shake
Bazel
bazel.buildShake
shakebuild.comSide by side
| Figure | Bazel | Shake |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Build Automation Software | 8.8 (#3) | 7.8 (#18) |
| Languages | Bazel supports languages including C++, Java, Kotlin, Python, Go, and Rust. | Shake build systems are Haskell programs, though the manual is designed for readers without prior Haskell knowledge. |
| Notable limitation | The FAQ says Bazel is not well suited to build operations whose outputs should not be cached, such as deployment steps that change cloud configuration. | Shake does not provide default build rules, so users must express their build rules themselves. |
| Purpose | Bazel is an open-source tool that automates software builds and tests. | Shake is a Haskell library for writing build systems as an alternative to tools such as make, Ant, and Scons. |
| Support | The project directs users to its discussion group, GitHub issue tracker, Slack, and Stack Overflow. | Users can ask questions through the mailing list or Stack Overflow, and report bugs through GitHub issues. |
Plans
In their own words
Bazel
Bazel is a free, open-source tool for automating software builds and tests across languages and platforms. Projects define targets in BUILD files using Starlark, which can also be used to create custom rules and macros. Bazel caches prior work and rebuilds what needs to change, while running tasks in parallel. It supports languages including C++, Java, Kotlin, Python, Go, and Rust, with outputs for desktop, server, Android, and iOS. Bazel runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the documentation describes builds with 100,000 or more source files across multiple repositories. Sandboxing can make builds and tests more hermetic, and failures return a non-zero exit code for basic CI integration. Teams can share outputs through a remote cache, but must select and maintain its backend and secure access because it can contain binaries. IDE options include plugins for IntelliJ, Android Studio, CLion, and Visual Studio Code, plus Xcode integration. Bazel is not well suited to uncached deployment steps that change cloud configuration.
Shake
Shake is an open-source Haskell library for writing build systems, positioned as an alternative to make, Ant, and SCons. Build rules can discover dependencies after earlier rules run, including dependencies revealed by generated files. Supported dependency inputs include files, file existence, environment variables, directory contents, and user-defined values. Shake provides parallel and multicore builds, resource constraints, build caching, and avoids rebuilding outputs when dependency changes do not alter results. Profiling reports can include plots, tables, graphs, and explanations of what built and why. It reports estimated completion time and percentage complete, with progress information usable in continuous-integration systems such as Team City. Shake can execute Ninja files for integration with CMake and Meson, and can build projects using mixed languages, including C/C++, Docker, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Build definitions are Haskell programs, although the manual targets readers without prior Haskell knowledge. Shake runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and is licensed under BSD. Installation uses Haskell Stack followed by `stack install shake`.