GNOME Builder

{{Short description|General purpose integrated development environment (IDE) for the GNOME platform}}

{{Infobox software

| name = GNOME

| title = GNOME Builder

| logo = GNOME_Builder_Icon_(hicolor).svg

| logo caption =

| logo size = 120px

| logo alt =

| screenshot = Gnome Builder 46.1.png

| caption = GNOME Builder 46.1 screenshot

| screenshot size = 300px

| screenshot alt = The screenshot of the repo for "Gnome Clocks" app

| collapsible =

| author = Christian Hergert

| developer =

| released = {{Start date and age|2015|03|24}}

| discontinued =

| latest release version = {{LSR/wikidata}}

| programming language = C

| operating system = Unix-like

| platform =

| replaces = Anjuta

| size =

| language = Multilingual

| language count =

| language footnote =

| genre = Integrated development environment

| license = GPL-3.0-or-later{{cite web|url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-builder/blob/master/COPYING|date=2014-09-07|access-date=2020-04-26|last1=Hergert|first1=Christian|title=COPYING · master · GNOME/gnome-builder}}{{cite web|url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-builder/-/blob/master/README.md|title=README.md · master · GNOME/gnome-builder|date=24 April 2024 }}

| website = {{URL|https://apps.gnome.org/Builder/}}

}}

GNOME Builder is a general purpose integrated development environment (IDE) for the GNOME platform, primarily designed to aid in writing GNOME-based applications. It was initially released on March 24, 2015, replacing Anjuta.{{cite web|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/builder-list/2015-March/msg00006.html|title=GNOME Builder - 3.16.0|last1=Hergert|first1=Christian|date=2015-03-24|website=Gnome Mail Services|access-date=2020-04-23|quote=As some of you know, I've just made our initial "preview" release, 3.16.0!}} The application's tagline is "A toolsmith for GNOME-based applications".{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Builder|title=Builder: A toolsmith for GNOME-based applications|website=wiki.gnome.org|access-date=2020-04-23|quote=A tool to help you write and contribute to great GNOME-based applications.}}

Features

  • GNOME Builder has been addressing "GNOME App" developers from its inception,{{cite web|url=https://fedoramagazine.org/builder-a-new-ide-specifically-for-gnome-app-developers/|title=Builder — a new IDE specifically for GNOME app developers|last=Lerch|first=Ryan|date=2014-08-04|website=fedoramagazine.org|access-date=2020-04-26|quote=[…] GNOME Builder — an IDE that will focus purely on GNOME applications, with a goal of making it “Dead Simple”.}} and aims to integrate well with other Gnome desktop development tools.
  • Integrated support for GNOME Devhelp.
  • The version control system git can be used to highlight code additions and changes.
  • Support for developing flatpak applications.
  • Syntax highlighting for many programming languages by using [https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GtkSourceView GtkSourceView].
  • Code completion is available for the C-languages (C, C++, etc.), Python and Rust,{{cite web|url=https://areweideyet.com/|title=Are we (I)DE yet?|access-date=2018-11-27}} with additional languages under development.
  • Plugins that can be written in C, Python 3, or Vala.{{cite web|url=https://blogs.gnome.org/chergert/2016/01/21/builder-plugins-part-i/|title=Builder Plugins – Part I|last=Hergert|first=Christian|date=2016-01-21|website=Zen and the Art of GNOME|access-date=2020-04-26|quote=We support writing plugins in a variety of languages. Currently, C, Vala, and Python 3 are all supported in Builder.}}
  • Basic support for many programming languages, and will offer additional features for languages that are supported by GObject Introspection.

At GUADEC 2016 Christian Hergert provided a {{YouTube|TgxBs4VPQ7s|demo|link=no}} of an upcoming version of GNOME Builder. More features will be integrated once GTK Scene Graph Kit will have been merged into GTK. sysprof was forked and its version number bumped from 1.2.0 to 3.20{{cite web|url=https://packages.debian.org/search?suite=default§ion=all&arch=amd64&searchon=names&keywords=sysprof|title=sysprof in Debian|website=packages.debian.org|publisher=Debian|access-date=2020-04-26}} and was integrated in version 3.22.{{cite news |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/gnome-builder-3-22-1-adds-support-for-sysprof-visualizers-polishes-the-ui-509377.shtml|title=GNOME Builder 3.22.1 Adds Support for Sysprof Visualizers, Polishes the UI|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2016-10-17|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2016-11-20}}

GNOME Builder uses GNOME Code Assistance to provide code diagnostics for CSS, HTML, JS, JSON, Python, Ruby, SCSS, shell script and XML. Jedi is used for code completion for Python. Clang is used for code assistance for the C-like languages. Rust diagnostics are provided by using the Language Server Protocol to communicate with the Rust Language Server.

User interface

Most of the interface is dedicated to the centrally positioned code editor. The editor automatically recognizes most programming languages and will highlight the text accordingly. When a version control system is used, colored bars next to the line numbers indicate changes to those lines. For supported languages, additional symbols highlight lines that contain errors or poorly formatted code.

Builder can switch between Builder's own, Vim-like and Emacs-like keyboard bindings.

Around the code-editor, additional panels can be toggled into view. These include a project-tree, a terminal-window, and a help-browser. The project tree allows the user to perform file and folder operations.

Development

The development of GNOME Builder was crowdfunded in January 2015 on the Indiegogo platform. The campaign reached 187% ($56,245) of its $30,000 funding goal.{{cite web|title=Builder, An IDE of our GNOME|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/builder-an-ide-of-our-gnome|website=Indiegogo|date=2015-01-27|access-date=2020-04-26|quote=I need your support so that I can work on Builder full time. I'm asking for $30,000 to cover my costs […]}}

Version history

{{Update section|date=December 2023}}

class="wikitable"

!class=unsortable | Version Number

!data-sort-type=date | Release Date

!class=unsortable | Notes

3.16.0

|24 March 2015

|Initial "preview" release

3.16.1

|13 April 2015

|Included improvements to the user interface, file management and syntax highlighting.{{cite mailing list|last=Hergert|first=Christian|title=Gnome-Builder 3.16.1|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2015-April/msg00008.html|mailing-list=gnome-announce-list|date=2015-04-13|access-date=2020-04-26}}{{cite news |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/GNOME-Builder-IDE-Gets-a-Massive-Update-in-GNOME-3-16-1-478632.shtml|title=GNOME Builder IDE Gets a Massive Update in GNOME 3.16.1|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2015-04-17|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-26}}

3.16.2

|16 April 2015

|Brought mostly bug fixes and some improvements to project management.{{cite mailing list|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2015-April/msg00028.html|title=Gnome-Builder 3.16.2|mailing-list=gnome-announce-list|last=Hergert|first=Christian|date=2015-04-16|access-date=2020-04-26}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hergert.me/blog/2015/04/16/builder-3.16.2.html|title=GNOME Builder - 3.16.2|last=Hergert|first=Christian|access-date=29 July 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/GNOME-Builder-3-16-s-Second-Point-Release-Brings-More-Improvements-478780.shtml|title=GNOME Builder 3.16's Second Point Release Brings More Improvements|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2015-04-19|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-26}}{{cite mailing list|url=https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2015-May/msg00006.html|title=GNOME 3.16.2 released|date=May 13, 2015|access-date=July 3, 2015|mailing-list=gnome-announce-list|last=Clasen|first=Matthias}}

3.16.3

|18 May 2015

|Included a source-overview-map for scrolling and updates to the preference-dialogs.{{cite web|url=http://hergert.me/blog/2015/05/18/builder-3-16-3.html|title=GNOME Builder - 3.16.3|last1=Hergert|first1=Christian|access-date=29 July 2015}}

3.18.0

|style="white-space: nowrap;" | 23 September 2015

|Was released with the rest of GNOME 3.18.{{cite news |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/gnome-builder-3-18-officially-released-ahead-of-the-gnome-3-18-desktop-environment-492353.shtml|title=GNOME Builder 3.18 Officially Released Ahead of the GNOME 3.18 Desktop Environment|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2015-09-22|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-26}}

3.18.1

|15 October 2015

|Brought improvements to Vala code completion and error-hinting. The Jedi-plugin for Python code-completion was improved as well.{{cite news |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/first-point-release-of-gnome-builder-3-18-brings-initial-support-for-vala-faster-autocompletion-494647.shtml|title=First Point Release of GNOME Builder 3.18 Brings Initial Support for Vala, Faster Autocompletion|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2015-10-16|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-26}}

3.20

|23 March 2016

|Was released with GNOME 3.20.{{cite web|url=http://www.webupd8.org/2016/03/gnome-320-released-with-various.html|title=GNOME 3.20 Released With Various Refinements And Application Updates|website=WebUpd8|date=23 March 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=8 April 2016}}

3.20.4

|6 May 2016

|Included stability and performance improvements,{{cite web|url=https://blogs.gnome.org/chergert/2016/05/06/builder-3-20-4/|title=Builder 3.20.4|last1=Hergert|first1=Christian|website=blogs.gnome.org|date=6 May 2016 |access-date=8 May 2016}} including re-implementation of support for opening remote files.{{cite news |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/gnome-builder-3-20-4-ide-re-implements-support-for-opening-remote-files-503788.shtml|title=GNOME Builder 3.20.4 IDE Re-Implements Support for Opening Remote Files|last=Nestor|first=Marius|date=2016-05-07|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-26}}

3.22.2

|2 November 2016

|Introduced preliminary support for Rust and its GTK bindings.{{cite news|last=Nestor|first=Marius|url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/gnome-builder-3-22-2-released-with-technology-preview-for-rust-support-more-509916.shtml|title=GNOME Builder 3.22.2 Released with Technology Preview for Rust Support, More|date=2016-11-02|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-23|quote=3.22.2 also includes a technology preview for Rust support}}

3.22.4

|22 December 2016

|Included various build system improvements and better support for building Flatpak packages{{cite news|last=Nestor|first=Marius|url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/gnome-builder-3-24-promises-big-features-3-22-4-improves-flatpak-support-511358.shtml|title=GNOME Builder 3.24 Promises Big Features, 3.22.4 Improves Flatpak Support|date=2016-12-28|newspaper=Softpedia|access-date=2020-04-23|quote=That's right, we're talking about GNOME Builder 3.22.4, […]. Notable changes include various build system improvements, better support for building Flatpak packages, […]}}

3.32.0

|3 March 2019

|Major refactoring of the application's code.{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.gnome.org/chergert/2019/01/17/builder-3-32-sightings/|title=Builder 3.32 Sightings|last=Hergert|first=Christian|date=2019-01-17|website=Zen and the Art of GNOME|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-23|quote=We just landed the largest refactor to Builder since its inception. Somewhere around 100,000 lines of code where touched […]}} Included improved GDB integration and an initial Glade integration.{{Cite web|url=https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GNOME-Builder-3.32-Refactoring|title=GNOME's Builder IDE Goes Through Its Biggest Code Refactoring Ever|last=Larabel|first=Michael|date=2019-01-17|website=www.phoronix.com|access-date=2020-04-23|quote=Some of the Builder 3.32 changes as part of this huge code refactoring include: […] Improved debugger integration with GDB. Initial Glade integration.}}

3.32.2

|6 May 2019

|Improvements to building apps and bug fixes.{{Cite web |date=2019-05-06 |title=NEWS · fb19922e34420d84c89c68eeb614341c3f58ada3 · GNOME / gnome-builder · GitLab |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-builder/-/blob/fb19922e34420d84c89c68eeb614341c3f58ada3/NEWS |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=GitLab |language=en}}

3.32.3

|11 June 2019

|Included localization improvements, and bug fixes.{{Cite web |date=2019-06-12 |title=NEWS · da17179909ec1a1fbcb8aa713978804e970058a5 · GNOME / gnome-builder · GitLab |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-builder/-/blob/da17179909ec1a1fbcb8aa713978804e970058a5/NEWS |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=GitLab |language=en}}

...

|

|

48.2

|15 Mar 2025

|Improvements to manuals, bug fixes and translations.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-15 |title=NEWS · GNOME / gnome-builder · GitLab |url=https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-builder/-/blob/main/NEWS |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=GitLab |language=en}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}