diff --git a/.github/workflows/branchbuild.yml b/.github/workflows/branchbuild.yml
index 844c1ef7..ca581fc7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/branchbuild.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/branchbuild.yml
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ jobs:
           submodules: 'true'
       - uses: "actions/setup-python@v5"
         with:
+          allow-prereleases: true
           python-version: "${{ matrix.python-version }}"
 
       - name: build
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 7de15c31..7291b9a6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -1,13 +1,19 @@
 Changelog
 ---------
 
+[3.10.0] - 2024-09-21
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+Fixed
+~~~~~
+- drop support for Python 3.8
+- switch build system to `scikit-build-core`
+
 [3.9.7] - 2024-09-02
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Fixed
-~~~~~~~
+~~~~~
 * fix crash in ``cdist`` due to Visual Studio upgrade
 
-
 [3.9.6] - 2024-08-06
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Changed
@@ -41,14 +47,12 @@ Fixed
 ~~~~~
 * fix supported versions of taskflow in cmake to be in the range v3.3 - v3.7
 
-
 [3.9.1] - 2024-05-19
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Fixed
 ~~~~~
 * disable AVX2 on MacOS since it did lead to illegal instructions being generated
 
-
 [3.9.0] - 2024-05-02
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Changed
@@ -59,14 +63,12 @@ Fixed
 ~~~~~
 * fix cmake version parsing
 
-
 [3.8.1] - 2024-04-07
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Fixed
 ~~~~~
 * use the correct version of ``rapidfuzz-cpp`` when building against a system installed version
 
-
 [3.8.0] - 2024-04-06
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Added
@@ -78,7 +80,6 @@ Fixed
 - fix some minor errors in the type hints
 - fix potentially incorrect results of JaroWinkler when using high prefix weights
 
-
 [3.7.0] - 2024-03-21
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 Changed
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index d6466e6c..a734f181 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.12...3.29)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.15...3.30)
 
 set(CMAKE_INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION TRUE)
 set(CMAKE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
deleted file mode 100644
index 211ea2bc..00000000
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-include MANIFEST.in
-include setup.py
-include CHANGELOG.rst
-include CMakeLists.txt
-include README.md
-include LICENSE
-include pyproject.toml
-include _custom_build/backend.py
-include src/rapidfuzz/py.typed
-recursive-include src/rapidfuzz *.pyi
-
-recursive-include src/rapidfuzz CMakeLists.txt
-recursive-include cmake *
-recursive-include src/rapidfuzz *.hpp *.h *.cpp *.cxx *.pyx *.pxd
-recursive-include tests *
-recursive-include docs *
-include src/rapidfuzz/__init__.pxd
-include src/rapidfuzz/rapidfuzz.h
-
-include extern/rapidfuzz-cpp/LICENSE
-include extern/rapidfuzz-cpp/CMakeLists.txt
-recursive-include extern/rapidfuzz-cpp/rapidfuzz *.hpp *.impl
-
-include extern/taskflow/LICENSE
-include extern/taskflow/CMakeLists.txt
-include extern/taskflow/TaskflowConfig.cmake.in
-include extern/taskflow/taskflow/algorithm/*
-include extern/taskflow/taskflow/core/*
-include extern/taskflow/taskflow/utility/*
-include extern/taskflow/taskflow/taskflow.hpp
diff --git a/_custom_build/backend.py b/_custom_build/backend.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 1212afe3..00000000
--- a/_custom_build/backend.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,98 +0,0 @@
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import platform as _platform
-import subprocess as _subprocess
-
-from packaging import version as _version
-from packaging.tags import sys_tags as _sys_tags
-from setuptools import build_meta as _orig
-from skbuild.cmaker import get_cmake_version as _get_cmake_version
-from skbuild.exceptions import SKBuildError as _SKBuildError
-
-prepare_metadata_for_build_wheel = _orig.prepare_metadata_for_build_wheel
-build_wheel = _orig.build_wheel
-build_sdist = _orig.build_sdist
-get_requires_for_build_sdist = _orig.get_requires_for_build_sdist
-
-cmake_wheels = {
-    "win_amd64",
-    "win_arm64",
-    "win32",
-    "musllinux_1_1_x86_64",
-    "musllinux_1_1_s390x",
-    "musllinux_1_1_ppc64le",
-    "musllinux_1_1_i686",
-    "musllinux_1_1_aarch64",
-    "manylinux_2_17_s390x",
-    "manylinux_2_17_ppc64le",
-    "manylinux_2_17_aarch64",
-    "manylinux_2_17_x86_64",
-    "manylinux_2_17_i686",
-    "manylinux_2_12_x86_64",
-    "manylinux_2_12_i686",
-    "macosx_10_10_universal2",
-}
-
-ninja_wheels = {
-    "win_amd64",
-    "win_arm64",
-    "win32",
-    "musllinux_1_1_x86_64",
-    "musllinux_1_1_s390x",
-    "musllinux_1_1_ppc64le",
-    "musllinux_1_1_i686",
-    "musllinux_1_1_aarch64",
-    "manylinux_2_17_s390x",
-    "manylinux_2_17_ppc64le",
-    "manylinux_2_17_aarch64",
-    "manylinux_2_5_x86_64",
-    "manylinux_2_5_i686",
-    "macosx_10_9_universal2",
-}
-
-
-def _cmake_required():
-    try:
-        if _version.parse(_get_cmake_version().split("-")[0]) >= _version.parse("3.12"):
-            print("Using System version of cmake")
-            return False
-    except _SKBuildError:
-        pass
-
-    for tag in _sys_tags():
-        if tag.platform in cmake_wheels:
-            return True
-
-    print("No cmake wheel available on platform")
-    return False
-
-
-def _ninja_required():
-    if _platform.system() == "Windows":
-        print("Ninja is part of the MSVC installation on Windows")
-        return False
-
-    for generator in ("ninja", "make"):
-        try:
-            _subprocess.check_output([generator, "--version"])
-            print(f"Using System version of {generator}")
-            return False
-        except (OSError, _subprocess.CalledProcessError):
-            pass
-
-    for tag in _sys_tags():
-        if tag.platform in ninja_wheels:
-            return True
-
-    print("No Ninja wheel available on platform")
-    return False
-
-
-def get_requires_for_build_wheel(config_settings=None):
-    packages = []
-    if _cmake_required():
-        packages.append("cmake")
-    if _ninja_required():
-        packages.append("ninja")
-
-    return _orig.get_requires_for_build_wheel(config_settings) + packages
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index fd738178..efff1059 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,11 +1,94 @@
 [build-system]
 requires = [
-    "setuptools>=42",
-    "scikit-build~=0.18.0",
+    "scikit-build-core>=0.10.7",
     "Cython >=3.0.11, <3.1.0"
 ]
-build-backend = "backend"
-backend-path = ["_custom_build"]
+build-backend = "scikit_build_core.build"
+
+[project]
+name = "RapidFuzz"
+dynamic = ["version"]
+requires-python = ">= 3.9"
+authors = [
+  {name = "Max Bachmann", email = "pypi@maxbachmann.de"},
+]
+description = "rapid fuzzy string matching"
+readme = "README.md"
+classifiers=[
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
+  "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
+]
+Homepage = "https://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz"
+Documentation = "https://rapidfuzz.github.io/RapidFuzz/"
+Repository = "https://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz.git"
+Issues = "https://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz/issues"
+Changelog = "https://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz/blob/main/CHANGELOG.rst"
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+all = [
+  "numpy"
+]
+
+[project.entry-points.pyinstaller40]
+hook-dirs = "rapidfuzz.__pyinstaller:get_hook_dirs"
+tests = "rapidfuzz.__pyinstaller:get_PyInstaller_tests"
+
+[tool.scikit-build]
+minimum-version = "build-system.requires"
+sdist.include = [
+  "src/rapidfuzz/*.cxx",
+  "src/rapidfuzz/distance/*.cxx",
+]
+sdist.exclude = [
+  ".github"
+]
+wheel.exclude = [
+  "**.pyx",
+  "**.cxx",
+  "**.pxd",
+  "**.cpp",
+  "**.hpp",
+  "**.h",
+  "CMakeLists.txt",
+  "generate.sh"
+]
+wheel.packages = ["src/rapidfuzz"]
+wheel.cmake = false
+messages.after-success = "{yellow}Cmake unavailable, falling back to pure Python Extension"
+
+[[tool.scikit-build.overrides]]
+if.any.system-cmake = ">=3.15"
+if.any.cmake-wheel = true
+wheel.cmake = true
+messages.after-success = "{green}C++ Extension built successfully"
+
+[[tool.scikit-build.overrides]]
+if.failed = true
+if.env.CIBUILDWHEEL = false
+if.env.CONDA_BUILD = false
+if.env.PIWHEELS_BUILD = false
+if.env.RAPIDFUZZ_BUILD_EXTENSION = false
+wheel.cmake = false
+messages.after-success = "{yellow}Failed to build C++ Extension, falling back to pure Python Extension"
+
+[[tool.scikit-build.overrides]]
+if.any.env.CIBUILDWHEEL = true
+if.any.env.CONDA_BUILD = true
+if.any.env.PIWHEELS_BUILD = true
+if.any.env.RAPIDFUZZ_BUILD_EXTENSION = true
+wheel.cmake = true
+messages.after-success = "{green}C++ Extension built successfully"
+messages.after-failure = "{red}Failed to build C++ Extension in a packaged build"
+
+[tool.scikit-build.metadata.version]
+provider = "scikit_build_core.metadata.regex"
+input = "src/rapidfuzz/__init__.py"
+
 
 [tool.black]
 line-length = 120
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 1c185a2f..00000000
--- a/setup.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,87 +0,0 @@
-from __future__ import annotations
-
-import os
-
-
-def show_message(*lines):
-    print("=" * 74)
-    for line in lines:
-        print(line)
-    print("=" * 74)
-
-
-with open("README.md", encoding="utf8") as f:
-    readme = f.read()
-
-setup_args = {
-    "name": "rapidfuzz",
-    "version": "3.9.7",
-    "extras_require": {"full": ["numpy"]},
-    "url": "https://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz",
-    "author": "Max Bachmann",
-    "author_email": "pypi@maxbachmann.de",
-    "description": "rapid fuzzy string matching",
-    "long_description": readme,
-    "long_description_content_type": "text/markdown",
-    "license": "MIT",
-    "classifiers": [
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
-        "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
-    ],
-    "packages": ["rapidfuzz", "rapidfuzz.distance", "rapidfuzz.__pyinstaller"],
-    "entry_points": {
-        "pyinstaller40": [
-            "hook-dirs = rapidfuzz.__pyinstaller:get_hook_dirs",
-            "tests = rapidfuzz.__pyinstaller:get_PyInstaller_tests",
-        ],
-    },
-    "package_dir": {
-        "": "src",
-    },
-    "package_data": {
-        "rapidfuzz": ["*.pyi", "py.typed", "__init__.pxd", "rapidfuzz.h"],
-        "rapidfuzz.distance": ["*.pyi"],
-    },
-    "python_requires": ">=3.9",
-}
-
-
-def run_setup(with_binary):
-    if with_binary:
-        from skbuild import setup
-
-        setup(**setup_args)
-    else:
-        from setuptools import setup
-
-        setup(**setup_args)
-
-
-# when packaging only build wheels which include the C extension
-packaging = "1" in {
-    os.environ.get("CIBUILDWHEEL", "0"),
-    os.environ.get("CONDA_BUILD", "0"),
-    os.environ.get("PIWHEELS_BUILD", "0"),
-    os.environ.get("RAPIDFUZZ_BUILD_EXTENSION", "0"),
-}
-if packaging:
-    run_setup(True)
-else:
-    try:
-        run_setup(True)
-    except BaseException:
-        show_message(
-            "WARNING: The C extension could not be compiled, speedups are not enabled.",
-            "Failure information, if any, is above.",
-            "Retrying the build without the C extension now.",
-        )
-        run_setup(False)
-        show_message(
-            "WARNING: The C extension could not be compiled, speedups are not enabled.",
-            "Plain-Python build succeeded.",
-        )
diff --git a/src/rapidfuzz/CMakeLists.txt b/src/rapidfuzz/CMakeLists.txt
index 2e7a3549..a4bfbba3 100644
--- a/src/rapidfuzz/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/rapidfuzz/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,13 +4,17 @@ function(create_cython_target _name)
         ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/${_name}.cxx
         PARENT_SCOPE)
   else()
-    find_package(Cython REQUIRED)
-    # should use target_include_directories once this is supported by
-    # scikit-build
-    include_directories(${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz)
-    add_cython_target(${_name} CXX)
+    add_custom_command(
+      OUTPUT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${_name}.cxx"
+      MAIN_DEPENDENCY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/${_name}.pyx"
+      VERBATIM
+      COMMAND
+        Python::Interpreter -m cython "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/${_name}.pyx"
+        --cplus -I "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}"
+        --output-file "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${_name}.cxx")
+
     set(${_name}
-        ${_name}
+        ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${_name}.cxx
         PARENT_SCOPE)
   endif()
 endfunction(create_cython_target)
@@ -39,7 +43,7 @@ if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X64 OR RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
   target_include_directories(_feature_detector_cpp
                              PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz)
   target_link_libraries(_feature_detector_cpp PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-  install(TARGETS _feature_detector_cpp LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz)
+  install(TARGETS _feature_detector_cpp DESTINATION rapidfuzz)
 endif()
 
 create_cython_target(utils_cpp)
@@ -47,14 +51,14 @@ rf_add_library(utils_cpp ${utils_cpp} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/utils.cpp)
 target_compile_features(utils_cpp PUBLIC cxx_std_17)
 target_include_directories(utils_cpp PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz)
 target_link_libraries(utils_cpp PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-install(TARGETS utils_cpp LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz)
+install(TARGETS utils_cpp DESTINATION rapidfuzz)
 
 create_cython_target(fuzz_cpp)
 rf_add_library(fuzz_cpp ${fuzz_cpp})
 target_compile_features(fuzz_cpp PUBLIC cxx_std_17)
 target_include_directories(fuzz_cpp PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz)
 target_link_libraries(fuzz_cpp PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-install(TARGETS fuzz_cpp LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz)
+install(TARGETS fuzz_cpp DESTINATION rapidfuzz)
 
 if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X64 OR RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
   # on macOs this generates illegal instructions
@@ -72,7 +76,7 @@ if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X64 OR RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
 
     target_include_directories(fuzz_cpp_avx2 PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz)
     target_link_libraries(fuzz_cpp_avx2 PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-    install(TARGETS fuzz_cpp_avx2 LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz)
+    install(TARGETS fuzz_cpp_avx2 DESTINATION rapidfuzz)
   endif()
 endif()
 
@@ -89,7 +93,7 @@ if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
 
   target_include_directories(fuzz_cpp_sse2 PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz)
   target_link_libraries(fuzz_cpp_sse2 PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-  install(TARGETS fuzz_cpp_sse2 LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz)
+  install(TARGETS fuzz_cpp_sse2 DESTINATION rapidfuzz)
 endif()
 
 create_cython_target(process_cpp_impl)
@@ -185,4 +189,4 @@ if(NOT Windows)
   endif()
 endif()
 
-install(TARGETS process_cpp_impl LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz)
+install(TARGETS process_cpp_impl DESTINATION rapidfuzz)
diff --git a/src/rapidfuzz/__init__.py b/src/rapidfuzz/__init__.py
index 66e10fa8..63e5062a 100644
--- a/src/rapidfuzz/__init__.py
+++ b/src/rapidfuzz/__init__.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 __author__: str = "Max Bachmann"
 __license__: str = "MIT"
-__version__: str = "3.9.7"
+__version__: str = "3.10.0"
 
 from rapidfuzz import distance, fuzz, process, utils
 
diff --git a/src/rapidfuzz/distance/CMakeLists.txt b/src/rapidfuzz/distance/CMakeLists.txt
index e9350911..59f7cbc7 100644
--- a/src/rapidfuzz/distance/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/rapidfuzz/distance/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,14 +4,17 @@ function(create_cython_target _name)
         ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/${_name}.cxx
         PARENT_SCOPE)
   else()
-    find_package(Cython REQUIRED)
-    # should use target_include_directories once this is supported by
-    # scikit-build
-    include_directories(${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz
-                        ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz/distance)
-    add_cython_target(${_name} CXX)
+    add_custom_command(
+      OUTPUT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${_name}.cxx"
+      MAIN_DEPENDENCY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/${_name}.pyx"
+      VERBATIM
+      COMMAND
+        Python::Interpreter -m cython "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/${_name}.pyx"
+        --cplus -I "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/.."
+        --output-file "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${_name}.cxx")
+
     set(${_name}
-        ${_name}
+        ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${_name}.cxx
         PARENT_SCOPE)
   endif()
 endfunction(create_cython_target)
@@ -39,7 +42,7 @@ target_include_directories(
   _initialize_cpp PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz
                           ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz/distance)
 target_link_libraries(_initialize_cpp PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-install(TARGETS _initialize_cpp LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz/distance)
+install(TARGETS _initialize_cpp DESTINATION rapidfuzz/distance)
 
 create_cython_target(metrics_cpp)
 rf_add_library(metrics_cpp ${metrics_cpp})
@@ -48,7 +51,7 @@ target_include_directories(
   metrics_cpp PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz
                       ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz/distance)
 target_link_libraries(metrics_cpp PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-install(TARGETS metrics_cpp LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz/distance)
+install(TARGETS metrics_cpp DESTINATION rapidfuzz/distance)
 
 if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X64 OR RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
   # on macOs this generates illegal instructions
@@ -69,7 +72,7 @@ if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X64 OR RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
       metrics_cpp_avx2 PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz
                                ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz/distance)
     target_link_libraries(metrics_cpp_avx2 PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-    install(TARGETS metrics_cpp_avx2 LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz/distance)
+    install(TARGETS metrics_cpp_avx2 DESTINATION rapidfuzz/distance)
   endif()
 endif()
 
@@ -89,5 +92,5 @@ if(RAPIDFUZZ_ARCH_X86)
     metrics_cpp_sse2 PRIVATE ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz
                              ${RF_BASE_DIR}/rapidfuzz/distance)
   target_link_libraries(metrics_cpp_sse2 PRIVATE rapidfuzz::rapidfuzz)
-  install(TARGETS metrics_cpp_sse2 LIBRARY DESTINATION src/rapidfuzz/distance)
+  install(TARGETS metrics_cpp_sse2 DESTINATION rapidfuzz/distance)
 endif()
diff --git a/tools/sdist.patch b/tools/sdist.patch
index 2c7610c8..cc463ec2 100644
--- a/tools/sdist.patch
+++ b/tools/sdist.patch
@@ -1,14 +1,13 @@
 diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
-index 77671b1..7692f90 100644
+index 517f32d..1e855ed 100644
 --- a/pyproject.toml
 +++ b/pyproject.toml
-@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
+@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
  [build-system]
  requires = [
-     "setuptools>=42",
--    "scikit-build~=0.18.0",
+-    "scikit-build-core>=0.10.7",
 -    "Cython >=3.0.11, <3.1.0"
-+    "scikit-build~=0.18.0"
++    "scikit-build-core>=0.10.7"
  ]
- build-backend = "backend"
- backend-path = ["_custom_build"]
+ build-backend = "scikit_build_core.build"
+