Version 1.0.0

[henryiii]

We've worked through over 100 issues and ran extensive review sweeps, fixing over 90 bugs and adding 40+ features! We've added support for PEP 803 (free-threaded stable ABI), PEP 808 (partially dynamic metadata), PEP 829 (.start files), and experimental PEP 817 (variants). Editable installs are much better, with lots of edge cases fixed, like namespace packages and resource discovery. For rebuilds, which are still experimental, loaders expose a manual rebuild(), inplace mode now supports rebuilds, and rebuilds can optionally target a persistent install tree (which removes several caveats). The setuptools and hatchling plugins are no longer experimental and Hatchling supports editable installs. There's a new unified scikit-build CLI, including an init command to scaffold new projects. Wheels can be reproducible. Dynamic metadata follows a spec with entry-point discovery and uses [[tool.dynamic-metadata]], and you can write your own plugins. There are new settings: an env table for setting environment variables, install.targets, force-include for SDists and wheels, sdist.resolve-symlinks, and a ${SKBUILD_<TREE>_DIR} prefix for targeting wheel trees; existing settings gained sdist.inclusion-mode = "explicit" and list-valued cmake.build-type. Imports are lazy on Python 3.15+ (PEP 810), making CLI and backend startup faster. Lots of documentation has been added and updated, along with new examples and samples. We've also polished f2py-cmake and cython-cmake.

As (almost) always, if you set a minimum-version, your build should be unaffected. Behavior changes to be aware of: SDists now resolve symlinks by default, with an sdist.resolve-symlinks setting providing "all", "external", "none", and "classic" modes. The old names of renamed configuration fields (cmake.minimum-version, ninja.minimum-version, cmake.verbose, and cmake.targets) now error unless minimum-version is set, and the deprecated tool.scikit-build.metadata table warns if minimum-version is not set. The empty pyproject extra was removed; installers like pip, build, and uv merely warn if you still request it.

Also see the announcement post.

Features:

• CLI:
  • unified scikit-build command with submodules as subcommands in feat: add unified scikit-build CLI with submodules as subcommands #1355
  • add init command to scaffold starter projects in feat: add init command to scaffold starter projects #1357
• Configuration providers:
  • entry-point configuration providers in feat(settings): entry-point configuration providers #1406
• New settings:
  • env: settable environment variables in feat: add env table for build environment variables #1377 (replaces feat: add cmake.use-sysconfig-compiler to opt out of sysconfig CC/CXX #1370, unreleased)
  • install.targets for custom install targets in feat: support install.targets for install targets #1371
  • sdist.force-include, wheel.force-include to map files to include in feat: add force-include for sdist, wheel, and build targets #1364; entries are served live in redirect editable installs in feat(editable): serve force-include entries live via the redirect #1441
  • wheel.reproducible allows building a reproducible wheel (with some setup) in feat(wheel): reproducible wheels (closes #62) #1389
  • editable.rebuild-dir at a persistent install tree (opt-in) in feat: point editable rebuilds at a persistent install tree - opt-in (#1135) #1375
• Updated settings:
  • cmake.build-type now can be a list for multiple builds in feat: allow a list for cmake.build-type #1386
  • wheel.packages can now include single module files in feat: allow wheel.packages to point at a single module file #1395
  • cmake.build-type honors CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE from the environment in feat: honor CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE from the environment #1372
  • add "explicit" SDist inclusion-mode (opt-in include) in feat: add "explicit" inclusion-mode (opt-in include) #1249
  • resolve symlinks by default by @Doekin in feat(sdist): resolve symlinks by default #1265, with "external", "classic", and "none" (store directory symlinks) modes in feat(sdist): "external" and "classic" resolve-symlinks modes; "none" stores directory symlinks #1434
  • support PEP 803, the free-threaded stable ABI, including the combined abi3.abi3t wheel tag, in feat: support PEP 803, free-threaded tag #1269 and feat: support combined abi3.abi3t wheel tag #1382
• Other settings:
  • add ${SKBUILD_<TREE>_DIR} prefix for wheel-tree targeting in feat: add ${SKBUILD_<TREE>_DIR} prefix for wheel-tree targeting #1379
  • add {name} placeholder for template-formatted settings in feat: add {name} placeholder for template-formatted settings #1445
  • warn on the deprecated tool.scikit-build.metadata table, and error on renamed config fields, unless an old minimum-version is set, in feat: warn on deprecated tool.scikit-build.metadata table #1397 and feat: error on renamed config fields without old minimum-version #1399
• Dynamic metadata:
  • support [[tool.dynamic-metadata]] in feat: support dynamic-metadata 0.3 spec #1390 and feat(metadata): entry-point discovery for [[tool.dynamic-metadata]] #1416
  • honor the dynamic_wheel hook when building SDists in feat(metadata): honor the dynamic_wheel hook when building SDists #1433
  • emit METADATA 2.6 for PEP 808 partially-dynamic fields, via vendored pyproject-metadata 0.12.1, in feat: PEP 808 (METADATA 2.6) support via pyproject-metadata 0.12.1 #1454 and Bump pyproject-metadata bundling info #1455
• Experimental:
  • add experimental PEP 817 variant support in feat: add experimental PEP 817 variant support #1284
• Editable:
  • PEP 829 (.start files) support in feat: add PEP 829 support for editable installs #1297
  • expose rebuild() on redirect and inplace module loaders in feat(editable): expose rebuild() on redirected module loaders #1403 and feat(editable): expose rebuild() on inplace editable loaders #1411
• Plugins:
  • de-experimentalize the setuptools and hatchling plugins in feat:de-experimentalize setuptools/hatchling plugins, document experimental features #1358
  • include plugin extras for setuptools/hatchling, and warn if the extra is missing from build-system.requires, in feat: include plugin extras for setuptools/hatchling #1290 and feat: warn if plugin extra missing from build-system.requires #1344
• Hatchling plugin:
  • editable install support in feat: hatchling edit #1282
  • reject wheel.exclude as unsupported in feat(hatch): reject wheel.exclude as unsupported #1431
• Setuptools plugin:
  • inplace editable support in feat: support inplace editable for setuptools plugin #1278
  • add cmake_install_dir and cmake_install_target in feat(setuptools): add cmake_install_dir #1286 and feat: support cmake_install_target in setuptools plugin #1374
  • add cmake_process_manifest_hook in feat(setuptools): add cmake_process_manifest_hook #1285
  • allow cmake_with_sdist=False in feat(setuptools): Allow cmake_with_sdist=False #1287
  • honor SKBUILD_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS and SKBUILD_BUILD_OPTIONS in the wrapper in feat(setuptools): honor SKBUILD_CONFIGURE_OPTIONS and SKBUILD_BUILD_OPTIONS in wrapper #1394

Fixes:

• Settings:
  • accept override-only settings via config-settings in fix: accept override-only settings via config-settings (#1261) #1307
  • flag scalar config-settings assignment to dict fields in fix(settings): flag scalar config-settings assignment to dict fields #1435
  • entry-point providers: treat their config as dynamic for validation gates, with robust signature dispatch and duplicate-name handling, in fix(settings): robust signature dispatch and duplicate-name handling for entry-point providers #1424 and fix(settings): treat entry-point config as dynamic for validation gates #1425
  • allow = inside dict-style env var values like SKBUILD_CMAKE_DEFINE in fix: correct several latent bugs found in a repo sweep #1311
  • accept plain strings for list/table fields in config-settings (e.g. -Cwheel.packages=src/pkg) in fix(settings): sources, overrides, and generated-docs bug fixes #1323
  • don't crash on overrides mixing inherit with top-level fields in fix(settings): sources, overrides, and generated-docs bug fixes #1323
  • apply if.state overrides when computing get_requires_for_build_* in fix(build): entry-point, wheel, and requires-state bugs #1322
  • render {root} correctly in templated settings such as build-dir in fix: format/logging/editable-redirect bugs and cleanups #1318
  • JSON schema no longer rejects valid cmake.define lists in fix: test isolation and schema/warning robustness (#1298) #1306
• Dynamic metadata:
  • load provider-path providers via a meta-path finder in fix: load provider-path providers via a meta-path finder #1366
  • correct the DynamicMetadataProtocol.dynamic_metadata signature in fix: correct DynamicMetadataProtocol.dynamic_metadata signature #1365
  • combine same-field dynamic_wheel reports with OR in fix(metadata): combine same-field dynamic_wheel reports with OR #1437
  • error on unknown keys in regex/template plugin settings instead of silently ignoring them in fix: file_api/ast/metadata bug fixes and simplifications #1319
  • handle typed vcs_versioning.overrides in mypy in fix(types): handle typed vcs_versioning.overrides in mypy #1388
• Wheel:
  • auto-discover namespace packages in wheel builds in fix: auto-discover namespace packages in wheel builds (#682) #1385
  • don't error when a wheel.packages source is CMake-generated in fix(wheel): don't error when a wheel.packages source is CMake-generated #1440
  • use Path.as_posix() for including generated files in SDist/wheel by @shiftinv in fix: use Path.as_posix() for including generated files in sdist/wheel #1381
  • clamp SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH to the ZIP timestamp range in fix(wheel): clamp SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH to the ZIP timestamp range #1423
  • emit installer-compatible abi3t wheel tag in fix: emit installer-compatible abi3t wheel tag #1380
  • honor CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET in the wheel platform tag in fix: honor CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET in wheel platform tag (#977) #1338
  • honor an explicit empty license-files to disable license collection in fix: correct several latent bugs found in a repo sweep #1311 and fix(build): entry-point, wheel, and requires-state bugs #1322
  • write location = "source" generated files as UTF-8, don't crash on subdirectories inside the scripts install dir, and fully prune consecutive excluded directories in fix(build): entry-point, wheel, and requires-state bugs #1322
• SDist:
  • don't crash on dangling symlinks with resolve-symlinks = "all", and detect symlink loops when walking the source tree, in fix: detect symlink loops when walking the source tree for sdist (#1101) #1341 and fix(sdist): don't crash on dangling symlinks with resolve-symlinks="all" #1421
  • don't prune directories matched only by glob includes in default inclusion mode in fix: don't prune directories matched only by glob includes in default inclusion mode (#1248) #1339
• Editable:
  • make namespace package installs importable, including remapped namespace packages, in fix: import remapped namespace packages in editable installs (#1040) #1346 and fix(editable): make namespace package editable installs importable #1427
  • fix import subpackage propagation in fix: import subpkg propagation #1304
  • don't treat versioned sonames as importable modules in fix: don't treat versioned sonames as importable modules in editable installs (#1144) #1337
  • add symlinked module's real dir to __path__ in fix: editable install adds symlinked module's real dir to __path__ (#647) #1335
  • importlib.resources.files() in redirect mode in Fix importlib.resources.files() in redirect-mode editable installs (#807) #1279
  • recognize Cython __init__.pxd/.pyx as package indicators by @vyasr in fix(editable): recognize Cython __init__.pxd/.pyx as package indicators #1292
  • debounce rebuild to once per process in fix: debounce editable rebuild to once per process #1368
  • rebuild() no longer hides the build output on failed rebuilds in fix: format/logging/editable-redirect bugs and cleanups #1318
  • refuse to wipe a populated rebuild-dir, and use safe install/build paths for manual rebuild(), in fix(editable): refuse to wipe a populated rebuild-dir #1400 and fix(editable): safe install/build paths for manual rebuild() #1429
  • only block absolute wheel.install-dir for rebuilds in fix: only block absolute wheel.install-dir for editable rebuilds (#909) #1334
• CMake:
  • cap SKBUILD_PROJECT_VERSION to four components in fix: cap SKBUILD_PROJECT_VERSION to four components #1369
  • strip flags from sysconfig CC/CXX to just the executable, keeping compiler wrappers, in fix: strip flags from sysconfig CC/CXX to just the executable #1331 and fix(builder): keep compiler wrappers when stripping sysconfig CC/CXX flags #1418
  • generator handling: detect two-token -G Ninja and -G in CMAKE_ARGS, detect multi-config generators set via cmake.define.CMAKE_GENERATOR so the right --config is used, and apply full Ninja handling to Ninja Multi-Config in fix(builder): cmake generator detection, archs cross-compile, and program search robustness #1320 and fix: detect two-token -G Ninja and -G in CMAKE_ARGS for generator handling #1352
  • free-threaded Windows import library and two-token -D parsing in fix(builder): free-threaded Windows import library and two-token -D parsing #1422
  • don't skip the ninja requirement when the generator is forced to Ninja in fix(requires): don't skip ninja when generator is forced to Ninja #1442
  • more reliably find the Python library on Windows in fix: more reliably find the Python library on Windows #1310
  • warn when CMake will build a mismatched x86_64 extension on macOS in fix(macos): warn when CMake will build a mismatched x86_64 extension #1404
  • -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR in the CMake args suppresses ARCHFLAGS handling on macOS, as documented, in fix(builder): cmake generator detection, archs cross-compile, and program search robustness #1320
  • comments inside cmake_minimum_required(...) no longer break cmake.version = "CMakeLists.txt", and unparsable files fall back gracefully in fix: file_api/ast/metadata bug fixes and simplifications #1319
  • File API: properly handle Union by @LecrisUT in bug: Properly handle Union in file-api #1272; read the toolchains reply, tolerate optional link fields, and restore missing Target.sources/InstallRule.type fields in fix: correct several latent bugs found in a repo sweep #1311 and fix: file_api/ast/metadata bug fixes and simplifications #1319
• CLI:
  • argument parsing and clear errors for common mistakes in fix(cli): argument parsing and clear errors for common mistakes #1426
• Hatchling plugin:
  • ignore hatchling's reserved enable-by-default hook option in fix(hatch): ignore hatchling's reserved enable-by-default hook option #1419
  • don't double the wheel.install-dir prefix, which made wheels unimportable, in fix(hatch,setuptools): correctness fixes in hatch and setuptools layers #1321
• Setuptools plugin:
  • wrapper path and classic scikit-build compatibility fixes in fix(setuptools): wrapper path compatibility with scikit-build (classic) #1295 and fix(setuptools): classic scikit-build wrapper compatibility fixes #1316
  • protect SetupError in fix(setuptools): protect SetupError #1293
  • accept wheel-free-setuptools extra in the plugin warning in fix(setuptools): accept wheel-free-setuptools extra in plugin warning #1413
  • don't require editable.mode for build_ext --inplace in fix(setuptools): don't require editable.mode for build_ext --inplace #1432
  • build-type list rejection, package_dir editable root, and free-threaded limited-API gate in fix(setuptools): build-type list rejection, package_dir editable root, FT limited-api gate #1428
  • resolve overrides with the correct wheel/editable state in fix(hatch,setuptools): correctness fixes in hatch and setuptools layers #1321
• Sweeps:
  • many further small fixes across settings, wheel, editable, File API, generator detection, and the plugins from extensive review sweeps in fix: minor fixes based on review #1305, fix: test isolation and schema/warning robustness (#1298) #1306, fix: correct several latent bugs found in a repo sweep #1311, fix: format/logging/editable-redirect bugs and cleanups #1318, fix: file_api/ast/metadata bug fixes and simplifications #1319, fix(builder): cmake generator detection, archs cross-compile, and program search robustness #1320, fix(hatch,setuptools): correctness fixes in hatch and setuptools layers #1321, fix(build): entry-point, wheel, and requires-state bugs #1322, and fix(settings): sources, overrides, and generated-docs bug fixes #1323

Documentation:

• New guides and FAQs:
  • add a workspaces and monorepos guide in docs: add workspaces and monorepos guide #1444
  • add a Windows debug builds note in docs: add a Windows debug builds note #1450
  • FAQ for IDE IntelliSense / compile_commands.json in docs: FAQ for IDE IntelliSense / compile_commands.json #1447
  • explain target output paths on MSVC / multi-config generators in docs: explain target output paths on MSVC / multi-config generators #1446
  • FAQ on coverage and debugging (gcov/gcovr/GDB) in docs: add FAQ on coverage and debugging (gcov/gcovr/GDB) #1409
  • tips for shipping a ctypes-loaded shared library in docs: tips for shipping a ctypes-loaded shared library (#374) #1408
  • FAQ for dependency library in site-packages/bin or lib in docs: add FAQ for dependency library in site-packages/bin or lib #1393
  • document cmake.module entry point and metadata states in docs: document cmake.module entry point and metadata states #1360
• 1.0 refresh:
  • dedupe, simplify, and restructure the documentation in docs: dedupe, simplify, and restructure the documentation #1448
  • review and refresh documentation for the 1.0 release in docs: review and refresh documentation for the 1.0 release #1402
  • add missing versionadded/versionchanged directives for 1.0 in docs: add missing versionadded/versionchanged directives for 1.0 #1405
  • refresh stale guidance and version pins in docs: refresh stale guidance and version pins #1361
  • fix incorrect config keys and stale claims in docs: fix incorrect config keys and stale claims in docs #1359
  • remove documented unimplemented search settings in docs: remove documented unimplemented search settings #1354
  • show config-settings and env var forms in the config reference in docs: show config-settings and env var forms in config reference #1347
  • use -C instead of --config-settings in examples in docs: use -C instead of --config-settings in examples #1451
  • minor cleanup and style check in docs: minor cleanup and style check #1453
  • fix typos and grammar in docs: fix typos and grammar #1362
• Clarifications and fixes:
  • clarify wheel.packages semantics (top-level, not a find/where) in docs: clarify wheel.packages semantics (top-level, not a find/where) #1407
  • address post-merge review notes on entry-point config in docs(settings): address post-merge review notes on entry-point config #1438
  • fix sdist.inclusion-mode name and dynamic-metadata field requirement in docs: fix sdist.inclusion-mode name and dynamic-metadata field requirement #1420
  • clarify README example and unify cmake_minimum_required ranges in docs: clarify README example and unify cmake_minimum_required ranges #1392
  • improve docs on source in docs: improve docs on source #1276
  • avoid a common timeout in docs: avoid a common timeout #1308
• Examples:
  • use cython-cmake and f2py-cmake in getting started examples in docs: use cython-cmake and f2py-cmake in getting started examples #1353
  • link Python::Module in the Fortran example for CMake 4.x in fix: link Python::Module in fortran example for CMake 4.x #1373
• Site:
  • fix RTD version and render GitHub-style admonitions in docs: fix RTD version and render GitHub-style admonitions #1410
  • make sphinx-tippy tooltips follow the active theme in fix(docs): make sphinx-tippy tooltips follow the active theme #1349
  • add GitHub icon to header icon row in docs: add GitHub icon to header icon row #1387
  • add more projects using scikit-build-core, including pyarrow by @raulcd, in docs: add pyarrow to list of projects #1266 and docs: add more projects using scikit-build-core #1309

CI and testing:

• Cover uv as an install frontend via a workspace in test: cover uv as an install frontend via a workspace #1443
• Add Python 3.15 and 3.15t to CI in ci: add Python 3.15 and 3.15t to CI #1383
• Skip heavy test matrix on docs-only changes in ci: skip heavy test matrix on docs-only changes #1356
• Adapt to setuptools-scm 10 / vcs-versioning 2 warnings in test: adapt to setuptools-scm 10 / vcs-versioning 2 warnings #1350
• Exclude pytest 9.1.0 (params-fixture override regression) in ci: exclude pytest 9.1.0 (params-fixture override regression) #1329
• Pin old-CMake Windows rows to windows-2022, add a VS 2026 row in ci: pin old-CMake Windows rows to windows-2022, add a VS 2026 row #1326
• Reduce test-suite wall-clock time in chore(tests): reduce test-suite wall-clock time #1325
• Fix Windows PermissionError from concurrent wheelhouse lock races, and clean up incomplete or old editable wheels in the wheelhouse, in tests: clean up incomplete or old editable in wheelhouse #1283 and tests: fix Windows PermissionError from concurrent wheelhouse lock races #1288
• Secure GitHub Actions workflows in ci: secure GitHub Actions workflows #1302
• Use native uv integration in RTD in ci: use native uv integration in rtd #1274
• Stub macOS lipo arch probe for fake-subprocess tests in test: stub macOS lipo arch probe for fake-subprocess tests #1313 and test: remove now-unused lipo registrations #1314
• Migrate beakerlib test to python script by @LecrisUT in chore: Migrate beakerlib test to python script #1376

Internal:

• Faster startup via lazy imports (PEP 810) in perf: adopt lazy imports via flake8-lazy #1415
• Unify wheel build orchestration across backend and hatch plugin in refactor: unify wheel build orchestration across backend and hatch plugin #1345
• Rename editable files to _editable_skbc_<name> in refactor: rename editable files to _editable_skbc_<name> #1332
• Drop the empty pyproject extra in chore: drop the empty pyproject extra #1398
• Remove orjson from dependencies in chore: remove 'orjson' from dependencies #1333
• Support uvx scikit-build-core too in chore: support uvx too #1396
• Add a utils package by @LecrisUT in chore: Add an utils package #1268
• Simplification cleanups from a repo sweep in refactor: simplification cleanups from a repo sweep #1312
• Use local TYPE_CHECKING = False instead of importing from typing in refactor: use local TYPE_CHECKING = False instead of importing from typing #1412
• Adapt to better pathspec types in chore: adapt to better pathspec types #1277

New Contributors

• @raulcd made their first contribution in docs: add pyarrow to list of projects #1266
• @shiftinv made their first contribution in fix: use Path.as_posix() for including generated files in sdist/wheel #1381
• @Doekin made their first contribution in feat(sdist): resolve symlinks by default #1265

Full Changelog: v0.12.2...v1.0.0

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This discussion was created from the release Version 1.0.0.

[RUrlus]

Thanks for all the hard work @henryiii and other contributors!