..
    Copyright (c) 2026 Tobias Erbsland - Erbsland DEV. https://erbsland.dev
    SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0

.. index::
    !single: Requirements

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Requirements
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Using Erbsland Core
===================

To build an application with Erbsland Core you need:

*   A compiler and standard library with C++20 support.
*   CMake 3.28 or newer.
*   Git when integrating Core as the recommended Git submodule.
*   A supported desktop or server platform: Linux, macOS, or Windows.

Core has no required third-party runtime or library dependencies beyond the C++ standard library.

Ninja is optional.
The documentation uses it in commands because it is fast and behaves consistently across the supported platforms, but
another CMake generator can be used instead.
Omit ``-G Ninja`` when you want CMake to select its default generator.

Developing Erbsland Core
========================

Contributors who build Core itself additionally need:

*   Python 3.14 for the repository utilities.
*   The recursively initialized unit-test submodule.
*   The Python development packages pinned in ``utilities/requirements-dev.txt``.
*   Ninja for the documented development build.

Building the Sphinx documentation also requires the packages pinned in ``doc/requirements-doc.txt`` and a working
Doxygen installation.
The repository setup utility creates ``.venv``, installs the Python packages, initializes the test dependency, and
configures the debug build:

.. code-block:: console

    $ python3.14 utilities/run.py dev_setup

See :doc:`guidelines/index` for the contributor documentation and :doc:`usage/build-configuration` for all supported
Core build options.