dcr is a tool for managing C/C++ projects and their dependencies.
It is inspired by Cargo, but it is not a direct equivalent of Makefile, CMake, or other classic build systems.
The goal is to provide a simpler and easier-to-configure development workflow.
The project is written in Rust and is primarily developed by one maintainer, Dexoron.
AI tools are used during development, but they do not write the project end-to-end. Their role is limited to supporting specific tasks (for example, suggestions, wording checks, and translations).
Main development stack:
RustRover2025 - development IDE.Codex(GPT-5.3-Codex (medium)) - primary AI tool, integrated via JetBrains AI Chat.Rust- main project language.Cargo- tool for building, testing, and dependency management in Rust projects.
Yes, the project is open source. You can propose ideas, report issues, and contribute code changes.
The project is distributed under the GPL-3.0 license (see LICENSE).
Thank you for contributing. You can:
- help with code;
- help with translations;
- help with documentation;
- suggest an idea or report a bug.
- Fork the required repository:
dexoron/dcr(main project) ordexoron/dcr-site(project website). - Make your changes following the rules in
CONTRIBUTING.md. - Push changes to your fork.
- Open a Pull Request.
- Wait for review.
- Open the relevant repository:
dexoron/dcrordexoron/dcr-site. - Go to the
Issuestab. - Create an Issue and specify its type (bug, suggestion, question/help).
- Describe the problem or idea clearly and concisely.
- Wait for feedback.
Available installation methods may vary by project version. Recommended path:
- check instructions in
README.md; - if there is no prebuilt package for your platform, build from source using
cargo build --release.
Minimal workflow:
- Install
dcr. - Create a project (or open an existing C/C++ project).
- Initialize
dcrconfiguration. - Add project dependencies.
- Build using
dcr.
For detailed commands and examples, see README.md and the project documentation.
dcr is under active development.
This means some interfaces and behaviors may change between versions.
Before upgrading, check the changelog and release notes.
dcr targets modern C/C++ development environments.
Actual compatibility depends on the dcr version, operating system, and toolchain.
Before starting, check documentation for:
- supported operating systems;
- supported compilers and linkers;
- version-specific limitations.
dcr does not aim to be a direct replacement for Make/CMake.
Its main focus is simplifying project and dependency management with a Cargo-like experience.
If you need low-level, full control over build steps, classic tools may be a better fit.
If you want a simpler and more uniform configuration model, dcr may be more convenient.
Primary sources:
README.mdin the repository;- project documentation (see the project website);
Issuesfor known problems and discussions.
To make a bug report easy to reproduce, include:
dcrversion.- OS and compiler/toolchain version.
- Steps to reproduce.
- Expected behavior.
- Actual behavior and error output.
- Minimal project example (if possible).
Submit bugs and issues through Issues in the relevant repository.