Sbt (software)

For SBT accounting software, see ACCPAC. For the television network, see Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão.
sbt
Original author(s)Mark Harrah
Developer(s)Scala Center[1]
Stable release
1.9.9[2] / February 23, 2024; 7 months ago (2024-02-23)[3]
Repository
Written inScala
Operating systemCross-platform
PlatformJava
TypeBuild automation
LicenseBSD License
Websitescala-sbt.org

sbt (originally Simple Build Tool, nowadays often believed to stand for Scala Build Tool or used as its own proper name[4]) is an open-source build tool created explicitly for Scala and Java projects. It aims to streamline the procedure of constructing, compiling, testing, and packaging applications, libraries, and frameworks. sbt is highly adaptable, permitting developers to customize the build process according to their project's specific needs.

sbt provides a wide range of features to make the process of building and managing Scala projects easy and efficient.[5] Some of the key features include:

  • Dependency management: Through its capacity to automatically download and handle project dependencies, sbt facilitates the usage of external libraries and frameworks.
  • Incremental compilation':' sbt can recompile only parts of the code that have changed, resulting in significant time-saving during the development cycle.
  • Customizable build process: sbt is highly customizable, allowing developers to define custom build settings and configure the build process to align with the unique requirements of their projects.
  • Plugin ecosystem: sbt boasts a plugin ecosystem that enhances its functionality, incorporating extra features such as code quality checks, deployment automation, and test coverage reports. The development and integration of new plugins is fully supported and encouraged.
  • Continuous compilation and testing: With sbt, developers can set the system to automatically recompile and rerun tests whenever a source file is altered.
  • Multi-project builds: For developers working on multiple Scala projects, sbt offers helpful features to manage them within a single build.
  • Interactive shell: sbt comes equipped with an interactive shell, providing developers with a convenient method to execute tasks and commands throughout the development process.
  • Parallel task execution: sbt can execute tasks in parallel, speeding up build times for large projects.
  • Integration with IDEs: To optimize the development experience, sbt integrates smoothly with popular Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), such as IntelliJ IDEA and Visual Studio Code.

sbt is the de facto build tool in the Scala community,[6] used, for example, by the Scala 2 and Scala 3 compilers themselves,[7][8] Play Framework, and Lichess, a popular chess server. The sbt project is "bootstrapped" — it uses sbt to build itself and considers dogfooding a positive feature.

  1. ^ "Lightbend transfers ownership of sbt to the Scala Center". scala-lang.org. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ eed3si9n (2023-10-22). "Releases". github.com. Retrieved 2023-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ eed3si9n (2023-10-22). "1.9.9". github.com. Retrieved 2023-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "sbt Reference Manual — Frequently Asked Questions". www.scala-sbt.org. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  5. ^ "sbt Reference Manual — sbt Reference Manual". www.scala-sbt.org. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  6. ^ "Build software better, together". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  7. ^ Welcome!, The Scala Programming Language, 2023-06-14, retrieved 2023-06-15
  8. ^ Dotty, Programming Methods Laboratory EPFL, 2023-06-14, retrieved 2023-06-15