Conan is a decentralized, open-source package manager for C and C++ developers.
Conan addresses the challenge of managing dependencies and binaries across diverse C and C++ projects and platforms. It operates in a fully decentralized model, allowing developers to host packages privately on their own servers or integrate with centralized repositories like Artifactory. The tool manages binaries for any configuration and platform, including cross-compilation scenarios, by generating and caching platform-specific artifacts. This approach eliminates repeated compilation and reduces development and continuous integration time. Conan integrates with any build system through a Python-based recipe system that provides extension points for customization.
Conan suits teams building C and C++ applications across multiple platforms who need reliable dependency management and binary caching. It is particularly valuable for projects involving cross-compilation, embedded systems, or complex multi-platform builds where compilation time is a significant concern. The tool works on Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, Solaris, and in containerized environments. Developers should adopt Conan if they require portable package management that works consistently across platforms and integrates with their existing build infrastructure, whether that uses CMake, MSBuild, Makefiles, Meson, or custom build systems.
The project maintains active development with regular contributions across its core codebase and ecosystem. The maintainers respond to issues and pull requests from the community. The project has established patterns for testing and validation, with documented procedures for running tests locally. Documentation is comprehensive and kept current alongside code changes. The community actively creates and maintains packages in shared repositories, indicating sustained engagement beyond the core team.
