No. 18of 40 ·Build Automation Software

Tup

Windows · Mac · Linux

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Tup is ranked #18 of 40 in build automation software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

Tup plans and pricing

All plans

Tup (GPL-v2) Free Use and distribute under GPL-v2 gittup.org · 9 Oct 2026

Commercial license Case-by-case terms For including Tup in a larger work when GPL terms are not feasible gittup.org · 9 Oct 2026

Compared on build automation software

Free plan: Yes
Build as code: Yes
Build caching: Yes
Supported operating systems: multi-platform

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The record

Purpose: Tup is a file-based build system that processes file changes and a dependency graph to run commands needed to update dependent files.
Incremental builds: Tup uses build algorithms to avoid unnecessary work and update projects with little overhead.
Build cleanup: Tup automatically cleans up old files.
Parallel safety: Tup detects when a build description is not parallel-safe and reports it.
Build configuration: Users describe how to build a program in one or more Tupfiles because Tup has no domain-specific knowledge.
Build variants: Tup can create variant directories from configuration files, with the configuration linked or copied into each directory.
File monitoring: The inotify-based file monitor is Linux only and can update the Tup database as file changes occur.
Tooling integration: Tup can generate compile_commands.json for third-party tools that use the JSON compilation database format.
CI use: Tup can generate a shell or Windows batch script to build without running inside a Tup environment; the generated script does not support incremental builds.
Platforms: The maker describes Tup as available for Linux, OSX, and Windows; its macOS instructions require a FUSE implementation.
License: Tup is dual-licensed under GPL-v2 or a commercial license whose terms are negotiated case by case.
Support: The public mailing list is free for open-source and commercial projects, while private email support is offered free for open-source projects.
Release history: The release directory lists Tup 0.8 dated 2024-03-31 as its newest listed release.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Build Automation Software in 2026#18 of 40

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Sources

gittup.org/tup/· checked 9 Oct 2026
gittup.org/tup/manual.html· checked 9 Oct 2026
gittup.org/tup/license.html· checked 9 Oct 2026
gittup.org/tup/support.html· checked 9 Oct 2026
gittup.org/tup/releases/· checked 9 Oct 2026