While the Meson build system has been capturing much of the limelight in recent years by open-source projects, the cross-platform CMake build system also shows no signs of slowing down and continues evolving with new features and functionality.
Since the CMake 4.0 release last year it has continued to iterate and last month released CMake 4.3 that brought the rather interesting import/export support using the Common Package Specification. The Common Package Specification (CPS) is a JSON-based format also being worked on by the CMake developers at Kitware for offering greater interoperability with other projects from package managers to handling software dependency descriptions for C/C++. Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) generation is also another experimental feature of the new CMake 4.3.
CMake developers continue working on that Common Package Specification and other enhancements for improving package manager integration. CMake developers are also pursuing integrated linting support and other features.
For those curious about these CMake development efforts happening in 2026, Kitware CTO Bill Hoffman presented at the High Performance Software Conference (HPSF 2026) last month on these CMake initiatives. The session recording is embedded below.
Even with Meson and other newer options in recent years, CMake continues going strong.
