diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cdcea6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10.0)
+set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE release CACHE STRING "build mode <debug|native|generic>")
+cmake_policy(SET CMP0017 NEW)
+project(StringArt)
+if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "debug")
+  message("building debug version")
+  add_definitions(-Wall -Wextra -O0 -g)
+elseif (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "native")
+  message("building release version optimized for local CPU")
+  add_definitions(-Wall -Wextra  -O3 -march=native -mtune=native)
+else()
+  message("building generic release version")
+  add_definitions(-Wall -Wextra  -O3)
+endif()
+
+add_definitions(-std=c++20)
+set (CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
+set (CMAKE_C_STANDARD 20)
+
+find_package(ImageMagick COMPONENTS Magick++)
+
+add_executable(stringart main.cpp)
+target_link_libraries(stringart ImageMagick::Magick++)