Synapse

A small CLI script that uses an LLM to scaffold C++ projects so you don’t have to fight CMake every time you start something new.

It’s not a package manager. It’s not smart. It just saves time.

---

What this is

Synapse automates the annoying part of starting a C++ project:

• Finding the right repo for a library
• Figuring out if it’s header-only or needs building
• Writing a usable CMakeLists.txt
• Setting up a clean folder structure
• Making sure things actually compile with your compiler
• Works with commom libraries

It uses an LLM to generate this info, then runs everything locally.

That’s it.

---

What this is NOT

Let’s be clear:

• Not a replacement for vcpkg or Conan
• Not deterministic
• Not production-grade
• Not magic
• Not “AI that understands your project”

It’s an automation script that saves you from Googling and copy-pasting CMake snippets for 30 minutes.

---

Why it exists

Because C++ setup is annoying.

Every time you want to:

• try a new library
• prototype something small
• test an idea

you end up:

• reading half-baked README files
• fighting CMake errors
• tweaking flags instead of writing code

Synapse just gets you to a compiling project faster.

---

How it works

1. You give it a project name and some libraries

2. It asks an LLM for:

   • repo links
   • whether the library is header-only
   • common CMake setup

3. It creates:

   • src/
   • external/
   • build/
   • a CMakeLists.txt

4. It builds what needs building

5. You start coding

That’s all.

---

How to get started

1. Ensure you have python installed (>=3.8)
2. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/why-sobi/Synapse.git
cd Synapse

3. To install the necessary packages and set it up a tool for global use run the following command

pip install -e .

4. The tool requires a Google API key for LLM inquiry. You can create one using the following link Get API Key
5. Create an .env file in root with the following content

GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Example

synapse TestProject spdlog,nlohmann/json,fmt Release

Creates:

TestProject/
├── src/
├── external/
├── build/
└── CMakeLists.txt

---

Requirements

• Python 3
• CMake 3.15+
• GCC / Clang / MSVC
• An API key (used to query the LLM)

---

Limitations (read this)

• The LLM can hallucinate
• CMake flags may not always be perfect
• You may need to tweak things manually
• No version pinning
• No dependency resolution

If something breaks, you fix it like you would in a normal C++ project.

---

Why I made it

I was tired of spending more time setting up projects than writing code. This just removes that friction. If it saves you time, it did its job.

---