Abseil is an open source collection of C++ libraries drawn from the most fundamental pieces of Google’s internal codebase. These libraries are the nuts-and-bolts that underpin almost everything Google runs. Bits and pieces of these APIs are embedded in most of our open source projects, and Abseil aims to bring them together into one comprehensive project. Abseil encompasses the most basic building blocks of Google’s codebase: code that is production-tested and will be fully maintained for years to come.

Our primary purpose in releasing Abseil is to more easily support Google open source projects sharing their C++ code outside of Google. In some cases, Abseil provides pieces missing from the C++ standard; in others, Abseil provides alternatives to the standard for particular use cases we’ve needed in the Google codebase. We denote those cases clearly within the library code we provide you.

Abseil is not meant to be competitor to any standard library code; we’ve just found that many of these utilities serve a purpose within our codebase, and we now want to provide those resources to the C++ community as a whole.

For more information about Abseil:

• Consult our Abseil Introduction
• Run through the Abseil C++ Quickstart
• Read Why Adopt Abseil to understand our design philosophy
• Peruse our Abseil Compatibility Guidelines to understand both what we promise to you, and what we expect of you in return.
• Understand Abseil Release Management to identify how to use Abseil within your particular development environment.