List of C software and tools

This is a list of software and programming tools for the C programming language, including libraries, debuggers, compilers, integrated development environments (IDEs), and other related development tools and utilities.

Libraries and tools

See also: List of C libraries and List of open-source code libraries

• Adns — asynchronous DNS resolver library^[1]
• Advanced Linux Sound Architecture — API for sound card device drivers^[2]
• Allegro — cross-platform software library for video game development^[3]
• Apache Portable Runtime — Apache web server tool set of APIs that map to the underlying operating system^[4]
• Argon2 — memory-hard password hashing library^[5]
• Berkeley DB — embedded database software library for key/value data^[6]
• Binary File Descriptor library — binary file manipulation library in the GNU toolchain
• Boehm garbage collector – conservative garbage collector
• Borland Graphics Interface — graphics library for Borland compilers
• BSAFE — FIPS 140-2 validated cryptography library
• Chipmunk — 2D real-time rigid body physics engine
• C POSIX library — specification of a C standard library for POSIX systems
• C standard library – standard library for the C programming language
• Cairo – vector graphics library API for software developers
• CFD General Notation System (CGNS) — data format and library for computational fluid dynamics
• cJSON — lightweight JSON parser
• CLIPS — public-domain software tool for building expert systems
• Core Audio — low-level API for dealing with sound in Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems
• Core Foundation — API for macOS and iOS and other Apple operating systems
• Core Image — GPU accelerated image processing technology for Apple operating systems with Quartz graphics rendering layer.
• Core Text — text layout and font rendering API for macOS and iOS.
• Cryptlib — portable cryptography library
• cURL / libcurl — CLI app for uploading and downloading individual files, such as a URL from a web server over HTTP.
• DevIL — cross-platform image library for loading and converting file formats
• DirectFB — graphics acceleration and input device handling library
• Dld — dynamic loading library
• Expat — stream-oriented XML 1.0 parser library, written in C99.
• FFmpeg — multimedia framework for audio/video processing
• Fontconfig — font customization and configuration library
• FreeTDS — database library for Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server
• FreeType — render text onto bitmaps with a font rasterization engine
• GD Graphics Library — image creation and manipulation library
• GDK — graphics abstraction layer for GTK
• GEGL — graph-based image processing framework
• GIO — I/O and virtual file system library in GLib
• GLib — utility library providing data structures, event loops, and portability functions.
• glibc — GNU implementation of the C standard library
• GLFW — library for OpenGL contexts, windows, and input device handling
• GNet — networking library for GLib
• GNU Libtool — Library management tool
• GNU portability library — collection of portability routines for GNU software
• GNU Portable Threads — POSIX/ANSI-C based user space thread library for UNIX for scheduling multithreading
• GNU Readline — command-line editing library
• GnuTLS — secure communications (TLS/SSL) library
• GObject — object system library for GNOME
• GTK — widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces
• GTK Scene Graph Kit (GSK) — scene graph and rendering toolkit for GTK
• HDF — file format and library for managing large datasets
• Integrated Performance Primitives — Intel library of optimized multimedia and data processing routines
• IUP — portable GUI toolkit
• J2K-Codec — JPEG 2000 image codec
• JasPer — reference implementation of the codec specified in the JPEG-2000 Part-1 standard
• LDAP API — API for interacting with Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
• LZO — lossless compression library
• Liba52 — decoder for A/52 (AC-3) audio streams
• libarchive — reading and writing various archive and compression formats
• Libart — 2D graphics library
• Libavcodec — codec library from FFmpeg
• Libavdevice — library for handling multimedia devices
• Libavfilter — audio and video filter library
• Libavformat — library for muxing and demuxing multimedia
• Libpcap — packet capture library
• Libdca — decoder for DTS audio
• Libdvdcss — access to encrypted DVD-Video discs
• libevent — asynchronous event notification callbacks
• libffi — foreign function interface
• libfuse — userspace filesystem
• Libgegl — programming interface to GEGL image processing
• libgcrypt — cryptography
• Libgimp — plug-in development library for GIMP
• Libhybris — compatibility layer for running Android libraries on Linux
• Libinput — input device library for Wayland and X.Org
• libjpeg — JPEG image library
• libLAS — reading and writing geospatial data encoded in the ASPRS laser (LAS) file format
• libmicrohttpd — small C library for embedding HTTP server functionality
• Libmpcodecs — media player codec library from MPlayer
• Libmpdemux — demultiplexing library from MPlayer
• libpng — PNG image format
• Libpostproc — video post-processing library from FFmpeg
• libpq — PostgreSQL client
• LibreSSL — fork of OpenSSL for TLS
• Librsb — parallel library for sparse matrix computations
• Librsvg — SVG rendering library
• libsndfile — reading and writing audio files
• libsodium — easy-to-use cryptography library
• Libswscale — image scaling and colorspace conversion library
• LibTIFF — TIFF image handling library
• Libusb — USB device access library
• Libuv — asynchronous I/O and event loop library
• LibVLC — media player engine from VLC
• LibVNCServer — implementation of the VNC server protocol
• Libvpx — VP8 and VP9 video codec library
• Libwww — early World Wide Web protocol library from W3C
• libxml2 — XML parsing
• Libxslt — XSLT library for the GNOME Project
• libzip — ZIP archives
• Lightning Memory-Mapped Database — fast key–value database engine
• LittleCMS — open-source color management system
• LZ4 — fast lossless compression algorithm
• LZFSE — compression library developed by Apple
• MatrixSSL — lightweight TLS implementation
• Mbed TLS — portable cryptography and TLS library
• MediaLib — Sun Microsystems library for multimedia processing
• Mesa — OpenGL and Vulkan graphics library
• Microwindows — small windowing system for embedded devices
• Ming — library for generating SWF (Flash) files
• Mongoose — embedded web server and networking library
• Mpg123 — MP3 audio decoding library
• MPIR — multiple-precision arithmetic library
• MsQuic — Microsoft implementation of the QUIC transport protocol
• MuJoCo — physics engine for robotics and control
• Mustache — logic-less templating library
• Ncurses — terminal control library
• Nettle — low-level cryptography library
• Newt — text-based user interface library
• Netpbm — graphics conversion and processing library
• Nghttp2 — implementation of the HTTP/2 protocol
• Oniguruma — regular expression library
• Open Asset Import Library — library to import/export 3D model formats
• OpenCL — parallel computing API/library
• OpenCV — computer vision
• OpenGL — API for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics
• OpenGL Utility Library — OpenGL utility functions
• OpenJPEG — JPEG 2000 image codec
• OpenSSL — SSL and TLS protocols and cryptography library
• Pango — layout engine library which works with the HarfBuzz shaping engine for displaying multi-language text
• perf (Linux) — performance analyzing tool
• PCRE — regular expression library
• PROJ — library for map projections and coordinate transforms
• Quartz 2D — 2D graphics rendering API for macOS and iOS platforms, part of the Core Graphics framework.
• Raylib — simple library for games and multimedia
• Redland RDF Application Framework — RDF data storage library
• S2n-tls — TLS implementation from AWS
• Setcontext — context switching library functions
• SDL — Simple DirectMedia Layer
• systemd — system and service manager libraries for Linux
• Tk — GUI widgets for building graphical user interfaces
• VDPAU — video decoding acceleration API
• Vorbis — audio compression codec library
• VTD-XML — high-performance XML parser
• Wimlib — library for handling Windows Imaging Format disk images
• Windows.h — base Windows API header file
• WolfSSH — lightweight SSH library
• WolfSSL — lightweight SSL/TLS library
• X Toolkit Intrinsics — toolkit library for the X Window System
• x264 — H.264 video codec library
• XCB — C binding for the X Window System protocol
• Xft — font rendering library using FreeType
• Xlib — low-level X Window System API
• XMDF — eXtensible Model Data Format for scientific data
• XMLStarlet — XML command-line toolkit
• zlib — data compression
• Zopfli — data compression library that performs deflate, gzip and zlib data encoding.
• Zstd — fast data compression library

Integrated development environments

See also: Comparison of integrated development environments for C and List of online integrated development environments

• Anjuta — GNOME IDE
• CLion — cross-platform commercial IDE from JetBrains
• Code::Blocks — cross-platform open-source IDE
• CodeLite — open-source IDE
• Dev-C++
• Eclipse CDT
• Geany — text editor with IDE features
• KDevelop — KDE IDE
• NetBeans
• Qt Creator
• SlickEdit
• Visual Studio
• Xcode

Online IDEs

• CodeSandbox — online IDE primarily for web development with some C support via containers
• GitHub Codespaces — cloud-based online IDE developed by GitHub
• Google Cloud Shell — browser-based shell and editor that can compile and run C programs
• Replit — browser-based IDE

Compilers

See also: List of C compilers and Comparison of C compilers

• Clang — compiler front end for C, C++, and other languages, part of the LLVM project
• Comeau C/C++ — commercial C and C++ compiler for multiple platforms
• GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) — widely used free and open-source compiler supporting C and many other languages
• Intel C Compiler — proprietary optimizing C compiler from Intel
• LCC — lightweight retargetable compiler for ANSI C
• Microsoft C Compiler — Microsoft's implementation for Windows platforms
• Small-C — early C compiler targeting microcomputers
• SubC – public domain compiler
• Sun C Compiler — Oracle/Sun Microsystems’ C compiler for Solaris
• Tiny C Compiler (TCC) — small, fast C compiler
• Turbo C — Borland's C compiler for DOS
• Watcom C Compiler — C compiler originally by Watcom, later Open Watcom project
• Zortech C — early commercial compiler with support for C and C++

Build and automation tools

• CMake — software development tool for building applications via compiler-independent instructions
• GNU Autotools — build automation tools
• GNU Make — automation tool
• Meson — build automation tool for building a codebase

Debugging tools

• AddressSanitizer — runtime memory error detector
• GDB — GNU Project debugger
• LLDB — LLVM debugger
• Valgrind — debugging and profiling suite
• SlickEdit — IDE and debugger
• strace — diagnostic, debugging, and instructional userspace utility.
• ltrace — debugger and library call tracing tool

Unit testing

See also: List of unit testing frameworks for C

• Cantata++ — commercial unit and integration testing tool for C and C++
• Check — unit testing framework
• CUnit — unit testing framework
• Parasoft C/C++test — commercial static analysis and unit testing framework
• TBrun — unit testing tool in the LDRA Testbed suite
• TPT — model-based testing tool for embedded systems

Mathematical libraries

See also: List of numerical libraries for the C programming language and C mathematical functions

• Automatically Tuned Linear Algebra Software — high-performance linear algebra routines
• Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) — linear algebra operations library
• Fastest Fourier Transform in the West – discrete Fourier transforms
• GNU MPFR — multiple-precision floating-point library
• GNU Multiple Precision Arithmetic Library (GMP) – arbitrary-precision arithmetic
• Integer set library — mathematical library for manipulating integer sets
• LAPACK — linear algebra library for solving systems of equations
• Libfixmath — fixed-point arithmetic library for embedded systems
• Lis (linear algebra library) – scalable parallel software library to solve discretized linear equations and eigenvalue problems
• Locally Optimal Block Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (LOBPCG)
• Math Kernel Library – functions include BLAS, LAPACK, ScaLAPACK, sparse solvers, fast Fourier transforms, and vector math.
• OpenBLAS – Linear algebra library for BLAS and LAPACK APIs
• PARI/GP — computer algebra system with number theory libraries

Scientific libraries

• GNU Scientific Library — numerical library for scientific computing
• Hypre – library of routines for scalable (parallel) solutions of linear systems
• Nrrd — library and file format for n-dimensional raster data to support scientific visualizations and image processing applications
• Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc) – Scientific simulation software
• UMFPACK – routines for solving unsymmetric sparse linear systems

Machine learning and artificial intelligence

• Fast Artificial Neural Network — open-source artificial neural network library
• Darknet — framework for convolutional neural networks, known for YOLO object detection.

Database

• SQLite — public domain embedded SQL database engine
• libpq — PostgreSQL client library

See also

• List of C-family programming languages
• List of free software programmed in C
• List of chatbots
• List of C++ software and tools
• List of Java frameworks
• List of JavaScript libraries and Comparison of JavaScript-based web frameworks
• List of Python software
• List of Ruby software and tools
• List of computer books for C
• List of computer programming journals
• Outline of the C programming language