whatisgithub

Popular C++ repositories on GitHub, each answered in plain English for non-coders: what it is, its tech stack, and how to run it.

• rpcs3/rpcs3RPCS3 is a free, open-source PlayStation 3 emulator for PC that lets you run PS3 games on Windows, Linux, macO
• rizinorg/cutterCutter is a free graphical desktop app for reverse engineering — analyzing compiled software to understand how
• facebook/yogaYoga is a C++ layout engine from Meta that lets native mobile and desktop apps use the same flexbox layout rul
• id-software/doomThe original 1993 DOOM first-person shooter source code, released publicly by id Software — a historic C codeb
• facebook/hhvmHHVM is Meta's open-source runtime engine for the Hack programming language, using just-in-time compilation to
• tencent/mmkvFast, lightweight key-value storage library for mobile and desktop apps with instant persistence and multi-pro
• alibaba/weexWeex lets you write a mobile app UI once in a shared codebase and have it run natively on Android, iOS, and in
• blender/blenderThe official source code mirror for Blender, a free 3D creation tool that covers everything from sculpting and
• lightgbm-org/lightgbmA fast machine learning framework that combines many decision trees to make accurate predictions, designed to
• microsoft/airsimOpen-source simulator for drones and autonomous vehicles built on Unreal Engine, enabling AI researchers to te
• haoel/leetcodeA collection of C++ solutions to LeetCode coding problems, organized by problem number with links to both the
• wled/wledWLED is open-source firmware you flash onto a cheap ESP32 or ESP8266 chip to control addressable LED strips ov
• google/libphonenumberGoogle's open-source library for parsing, validating, and formatting phone numbers from every country, availab
• pybind/pybind11A header-only C++ library that lets Python code call C++ functions and classes directly, so you can expose a f
• tencent/marsMars is WeChat's open-source networking and logging library for mobile apps, providing reliable low-battery pu
• microsoft/cntkCNTK is Microsoft's open-source deep learning toolkit for designing and training neural networks with multi-GP
• apache/brpcIndustrial-grade C++ RPC framework from Baidu that speaks many protocols on one port, supports sync/async clie
• upx/upxCommand line packer that compresses executables and DLLs by 50 to 70 percent while keeping them runnable, with
• marlinfirmware/marlinMarlin is open-source firmware for RepRap-style 3D printers that translates print instructions into motor, hea
• abseil/abseil-cppGoogle's open-source C++17 utility libraries: Swiss-table hash maps, absl::Status, time, flags, logging, and c
• microsoft/react-native-windowsMicrosoft's extension of React Native that builds native Windows apps from JavaScript or TypeScript. Targets P
• doitsujin/dxvkDXVK is a translation layer that lets Windows games using Direct3D 8 through 11 run on Linux through Wine with
• moonlight-stream/moonlight-qtOpen-source desktop client that streams games and desktop from a gaming PC running NVIDIA GameStream or Sunshi
• zlmediakit/zlmediakitA high-performance C++ streaming media server that receives live audio and video feeds and delivers them to ma
• qv2ray/qv2rayDiscontinued cross-platform Qt desktop GUI for the V2Ray proxy core, supporting VMess, VLESS, Trojan, SOCKS5,
• audacity/audacityFree cross-platform audio editor and multi-track recorder for Windows, macOS, and Linux, currently being rewri
• nixos/nixNix is a purely functional package manager. It installs every package version in isolation so the same setup i
• espressif/arduino-esp32Official Arduino core for ESP32 microcontrollers from Espressif, letting you write Arduino-style C++ for Wi-Fi
• apache/arrowA shared in-memory columnar data format with libraries in 12+ languages, so programs can pass large datasets t
• zerotier/zerotieroneA virtual network that makes laptops, servers, and phones across the internet appear on the same private LAN,
• esp8266/arduinoAn Arduino library extension that lets you write programs for the ESP8266 WiFi chip using the familiar Arduino
• ceph/cephCeph is a distributed storage platform that gives you object, block, and file storage in one cluster, scaling
• aaronfeng753/waifu2x-extension-guiWindows desktop app that uses AI super-resolution and frame interpolation to upscale and smooth images, GIFs,
• tindy2013/subconverterSelf-hosted utility that converts proxy subscription links between formats like Clash, Surge, Quantumult, V2Ra
• rui314/moldmold is a high-speed drop-in replacement for the Unix linker that cuts C, C++, and Rust rebuild times from ten
• yhirose/cpp-httplibcpp-httplib is a single-header C++ library for adding an HTTP or HTTPS server and client to any C++ app — drop
• coatisoftware/sourcetrailSourcetrail is an offline desktop tool that builds an interactive visual map of C, C++, Java, or Python codeba
• snapchat/valdiSnapchat's cross-platform UI framework that compiles TypeScript TSX into truly native views for iOS, Android,
• apple/foundationdbAn open-source distributed database from Apple that delivers full ACID transactions across a cluster of server
• ustc-resource/ustc-courseA crowd-sourced archive of USTC computer science course materials, notes, labs, and past exams, organized by c
• chenshuo/muduoA C++ multi-threaded network library for Linux based on the reactor pattern, used to build high-concurrency se
• wolfpld/tracyA real-time, nanosecond-resolution frame profiler for games and native apps that combines instrumentation, sam
• imputnet/heliumA privacy-focused open source web browser built on ungoogled-chromium with a forked uBlock Origin baked in and
• game1024/openspeedyA free Windows tool that hooks time functions to speed up or slow down a running game; intended for single-pla
• openrct2/openrct2An open-source remake of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 that lets you play the classic theme park building game on mod
• wazuh/wazuhWazuh is a free, open-source security platform that monitors your computers, servers, containers, and cloud ac
• scylladb/scylladbScyllaDB is a C++ NoSQL database that is API-compatible with Cassandra and DynamoDB. Shared-nothing per-core d
• official-stockfish/stockfishA strong free chess engine that analyzes positions and finds the best moves. Speaks UCI so you plug it into a
• hoffstadt/dearpyguiA fast Python library for building desktop GUIs — windows, charts, sliders, node editors — powered by C++ and
• matsuridayo/nekorayNekoBox for PC is a Qt desktop GUI for managing proxy configs on Windows and Linux, backed by sing-box. The or
• polybar/polybarPolybar lets you build fully customizable status bars on Linux desktops — the strip showing time, battery, and
• alibaba/mnnMNN is Alibaba's on-device deep learning framework for running trained models, including LLMs and diffusion, o
• dogecoin/dogecoinDogecoin Core is the reference C++ node software for the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. Run a full node, validate tr
• ardupilot/ardupilotOpen source autopilot firmware for drones, planes, rovers, boats and submarines that reads sensors and pilot i
• tencent/rapidjsonA fast header-only C++ library for parsing and writing JSON with both DOM and SAX APIs, full Unicode support a
• dolphin-emu/dolphinDolphin is a Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulator that runs original console games on Windows, Linux, macOS, and
• lynx-family/lynxLynx is ByteDance's open-source cross-platform UI engine in C++ that renders one codebase as native iOS, Andro
• pcsx2/pcsx2Free open-source PlayStation 2 emulator for Windows, Linux, and macOS that runs PS2 game discs and ISOs on a m
• xournalpp/xournalppCross-platform handwritten notes and PDF annotation app for stylus users, with layers, shape tools, LaTeX, and
• transmission/transmissionCross-platform BitTorrent client with native macOS, GTK, Qt, and Windows apps plus a headless daemon and web U
• ggml-org/ggmlLow-level C++ tensor library for running machine learning models on CPU and accelerators, with integer quantis
• musescore/musescoreFree, open source desktop application for writing, editing, playing back, and printing sheet music. Supports M
• wkhtmltopdf/wkhtmltopdfCommand line tools that convert HTML pages into PDF files or images using a headless QT WebKit rendering engin
• bulletphysics/bullet3Bullet Physics is an open-source C++ library for 3D collision detection and rigid body simulation used in game
• davisking/dlibA C++ library with Python bindings providing machine learning and computer vision algorithms so developers can
• sogou/workflowHigh-performance C++ server framework from Sogou that models all server operations as async tasks — HTTP, Redi
• m2team/nanazipNanaZip is a free Windows file archiver forked from 7-Zip with a modern dark-mode look, extra compression form
• spotify/annoyAnnoy is a Spotify-built library for fast approximate nearest neighbor search that finds similar items in a la
• arangodb/arangodbArangoDB is a database that handles documents, graphs, and key-value data in one system with a single query la
• dail8859/notepadnextA free, cross-platform text editor built to feel like Notepad++ but runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS—good for
• webview/webviewA tiny C and C++ library for building cross-platform desktop apps with an HTML, CSS, and JavaScript interface,
• organicmaps/organicmapsOrganic Maps is a free offline maps and navigation app for Android and iOS using OpenStreetMap data, with no a
• carla-simulator/carlaCARLA is an open-source simulator for autonomous vehicle research that lets you test self-driving software in
• orcaslicer/orcaslicerOrcaSlicer converts 3D models into printer instructions for a wide range of FDM printers, with detailed calibr
• mltframework/shotcutShotcut is a free, open-source video editor for Linux, macOS, and Windows with ready-made installers for regul
• mobile-shell/moshMosh is a remote terminal application like SSH that stays connected when you switch networks, lose Wi-Fi, or p
• drogonframework/drogonDrogon is a high-performance C++17/20 web framework for building HTTP APIs and web applications — with async I
• hrydgard/ppssppA free, open-source PSP emulator that lets you play PlayStation Portable games on Android, Windows, Mac, Linux
• qgis/qgisFree, professional-grade desktop application for creating maps and analyzing geographic data on Windows, Mac,
• opengenus/cosmosA community-maintained collection of algorithm and data structure implementations across 25+ computer science
• apache/incubator-weexWeex is a framework for building Android, iOS, and mobile web apps from a single codebase using Vue-like synta
• isl-org/open3dAn open-source library for processing and visualizing 3D data — point clouds, scene reconstruction, surface al
• facebook/watchmanA background service from Meta that monitors files and folders for changes and triggers automated actions — li
• google/or-toolsOR-Tools is Google's free open-source toolkit for solving hard scheduling, routing, and assignment problems by
• google-deepmind/mujocoMuJoCo is a fast physics engine by Google DeepMind for simulating robots, skeletons, and jointed bodies, widel
• capnproto/capnprotoA fast binary data serialization and remote procedure call system for C++ that eliminates the encode/decode st
• thecherno/hazelHazel is a game engine built live on YouTube by TheCherno, designed as a step-by-step teaching project so deve
• nvidia/tensorrtTensorRT is NVIDIA's toolkit for making AI models run faster on NVIDIA GPUs — it takes a trained model and com
• acaudwell/gourceGource turns your git repository's commit history into a visual animation — watch your codebase grow over time
• google/guetzliA command-line tool from Google that makes JPEG image files 20-30% smaller without visible quality loss, by mo
• ninja-build/ninjaA small, extremely fast build tool that compiles software projects by only rebuilding files that changed. Usua
• assimp/assimpA C++ library that loads 3D model files in 40+ formats and converts them into one consistent in-memory format,
• luanti-org/luantiA free open-source voxel game engine (formerly Minetest) for building and playing block-based games, scriptabl
• vnotex/vnoteVNote is a free, cross-platform note-taking app for Windows, Linux, and macOS that focuses on Markdown editing
• shiqiyu/libfacedetectionA C++ library for detecting human faces in images and video with no external AI framework required. The neural
• skypjack/enttHeader-only C++ library for game development using the Entity-Component-System pattern, keeping data and logic
• deepseek-ai/flashmlaHighly optimized GPU attention kernels from DeepSeek that accelerate the most expensive part of running large
• zealdocs/zealA free offline documentation browser for Windows and Linux that lets you instantly search API docs for hundred
• mapeditor/tiledA free, cross-platform visual map editor for designing tile-based game levels. Draw layered maps with custom p
• snapchat/keydbKeyDB is a drop-in replacement for Redis that adds multi-threading so it can handle significantly more request

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