imake ☆

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Description:
Build automation system written for X11

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: build-system x11 legacy c developer-tools

Install: brew install imake

About:
Imake is a legacy build automation system used primarily for configuring and building software within the X Window System environment. It utilizes the C preprocessor to generate platform-specific Makefiles from a single Imakefile template. While largely superseded by modern tools like GNU Autotools and CMake, it remains essential for building older X11-based software.

Key Features:

Generates Makefiles using the C preprocessor
Supports complex conditional compilation for diverse hardware
Centralized configuration via `Imake` and `xmkmf` utilities
Historically standard for X11 application development

Use Cases:

Building legacy X11 applications and utilities
Maintaining older software projects that rely on X11 build infrastructure
Cross-compiling software for different UNIX-like architectures

Alternatives:

CMake – Modern, cross-platform standard that generates build files for various compilers and IDEs.
GNU Autotools – Widely used standard for configuring source code on UNIX-like systems, replacing Imake in most projects.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 14, 2024 6:06am		0	VERSION_BUMP	5cedb854
Dec 1, 2022 9:20am		0	VERSION_BUMP	eb8f8050