Add Ninja

[purpleKarrot]

Tool name

Ninja

Tool license

Apache-2.0

Add or update?

• Add
• Update

Desired version

1.11 or later

Approximate size

400 kB

Brief description of tool

Ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed. It differs from other build systems in two major respects: it is designed to have its input files generated by a higher-level build system, and it is designed to run builds as fast as possible.

URL for tool's homepage

https://ninja-build.org/

Provide a basic test case to validate the tool's functionality.

echo 'cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)' >> CMakeLists.txt
echo 'project(NinjaTest NONE)' >> CMakeLists.txt
cmake -GNinja .

Platforms where you need the tool

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions

Runner images where you need the tool

• Ubuntu 20.04
• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• macOS 12
• macOS 13
• macOS 13 Arm64
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025

Can this tool be installed during the build?

apt-get install ninja-build

Tool installation time in runtime

No response

Are you willing to submit a PR?

Sure, if it has a chance of getting merged.

[purpleKarrot]

The page about C++ Modules in the CMake documentation lists the following requirements:

Compiler

• MSVC toolset 14.34 and newer (provided with Visual Studio 17.4 and newer)
• LLVM/Clang 16.0 and newer
• GCC 14 (for the in-development branch, after 2023-09-20) and newer

Build System Generator

• Ninja
• Visual Studio 17 2022

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The latest runner images all contain both CMake and a compiler that is capable to use C++20 Modules.
The images for Windows contain a capable build system.

The images for Mac and Linux are missing a capable build system. Adding Ninja solves that issue.

[hemanthmanga]

Hi @purpleKarrot, Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We are looking into this issue and will update you on this issue after investigating.

[Margen67]

#514

[purpleKarrot]

#514

It is time to reopen that issue.

Without Ninja, C++20 modules cannot be used with CMake.
Without Ninja, Swift cannot be used with CMake.

When the 400kb are the biggest concern, then why add CMake and compilers for C++ and Swift in the first place? There is more space that could be saved...