Section 7: overview, conventions, and miscellany
cmake-generators – CMake Generators Reference Introduction A CMake Generator is responsible for writing the input files for a native build system. Exactly one of the CMake Generators must be selected for a build tree to determine what native build system is to be used. Optionally one of the Extra Generators may be selected as a…
cmake-generator-expressions – CMake Generator Expressions Introduction Generator expressions are evaluated during build system generation to produce information specific to each build configuration. Generator expressions are allowed in the context of many target properties, such as LINK_LIBRARIES, INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES, COMPILE_DEFINITIONS and others. They may also be used when using commands to populate those properties, such as target_link_libraries(),…
cmake-developer – CMake Developer Reference Introduction This manual is intended for reference by developers modifying the CMake source tree itself. Permitted C++ Subset CMake is required to build with ancient C++ compilers and standard library implementations. Some common C++ constructs may not be used in CMake in order to build with such toolchains. std::auto_ptr Some…
cmake-compile-features – CMake Compile Features Reference Introduction Project source code may depend on, or be conditional on, the availability of certain features of the compiler. There are three use-cases which arise: Compile Feature Requirements, Optional Compile Features and Conditional Compilation Options. While features are typically specified in programming language standards, CMake provides a primary user…
cmake-commands – CMake Language Command Reference Normal Commands These commands may be used freely in CMake projects. add_compile_options Adds options to the compilation of source files. add_compile_options(<option> …) Adds options to the compiler command line for targets in the current directory and below that are added after this command is invoked. See documentation of the…
cmake-buildsystem – CMake Buildsystem Reference Introduction A CMake-based buildsystem is organized as a set of high-level logical targets. Each target corresponds to an executable or library, or is a custom target containing custom commands. Dependencies between the targets are expressed in the buildsystem to determine the build order and the rules for regeneration in response…
cmake-variables – CMake Variables Reference This page documents variables that are provided by CMake or have meaning to CMake when set by project code. For general information on variables, see the Variables section in the cmake-language manual. NOTE: CMake reserves identifiers that: • begin with CMAKE_ (upper-, lower-, or mixed-case), or • begin with _CMAKE_…
cmake-toolchains – CMake Toolchains Reference Introduction CMake uses a toolchain of utilities to compile, link libraries and create archives, and other tasks to drive the build. The toolchain utilities available are determined by the languages enabled. In normal builds, CMake automatically determines the toolchain for host builds based on system introspection and defaults. In cross-compiling…
cmake-server – CMake Server The cmake(1) server mode has been removed since CMake 3.20. Clients should use the cmake-file-api(7) instead. Copyright 2000-2022 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
cmake-qt – CMake Qt Features Reference Introduction CMake can find and use Qt 4 and Qt 5 libraries. The Qt 4 libraries are found by the FindQt4 find-module shipped with CMake, whereas the Qt 5 libraries are found using "Config-file Packages" shipped with Qt 5. See cmake-packages(7) for more information about CMake packages, and see…
cmake-properties – CMake Properties Reference Properties Of Global Scope Allow_Duplicate_Custom_Targets Allow duplicate custom targets to be created. Normally CMake requires that all targets built in a project have globally unique logical names (see policy CMP0002). This is necessary to generate meaningful project file names in Xcode and Visual Studio Generators IDE generators. It also allows…
cmake-presets – CMakePresets.json Introduction One problem that CMake users often face is sharing settings with other people for common ways to configure a project. This may be done to support CI builds, or for users who frequently use the same build. CMake supports two files, CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json, that allow users to specify common configure…
cmake-policies – CMake Policies Reference Introduction Policies in CMake are used to preserve backward compatible behavior across multiple releases. When a new policy is introduced, newer CMake versions will begin to warn about the backward compatible behavior. It is possible to disable the warning by explicitly requesting the OLD, or backward compatible behavior using the…
cmake-packages – CMake Packages Reference Introduction Packages provide dependency information to CMake based buildsystems. Packages are found with the find_package() command. The result of using find_package() is either a set of IMPORTED targets, or a set of variables corresponding to build-relevant information. Using Packages CMake provides direct support for two forms of packages, Config-file Packages…
cmake-modules – CMake Modules Reference The modules listed here are part of the CMake distribution. Projects may provide further modules; their location(s) can be specified in the CMAKE_MODULE_PATH variable. Utility Modules These modules are loaded using the include() command. AndroidTestUtilities New in version 3.7. Create a test that automatically loads specified data onto an Android…
cmake-language – CMake Language Reference Organization CMake input files are written in the "CMake Language" in source files named CMakeLists.txt or ending in a .cmake file name extension. CMake Language source files in a project are organized into: • Directories (CMakeLists.txt), • Scripts (<script>.cmake), and • Modules (<module>.cmake). Directories When CMake processes a project source…
cmake-generators – CMake Generators Reference Introduction A CMake Generator is responsible for writing the input files for a native build system. Exactly one of the CMake Generators must be selected for a build tree to determine what native build system is to be used. Optionally one of the Extra Generators may be selected as a…
cmake-generator-expressions – CMake Generator Expressions Introduction Generator expressions are evaluated during build system generation to produce information specific to each build configuration. Generator expressions are allowed in the context of many target properties, such as LINK_LIBRARIES, INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES, COMPILE_DEFINITIONS and others. They may also be used when using commands to populate those properties, such as target_link_libraries(),…
cmake-file-api – CMake File-Based API Introduction CMake provides a file-based API that clients may use to get semantic information about the buildsystems CMake generates. Clients may use the API by writing query files to a specific location in a build tree to request zero or more Object Kinds. When CMake generates the buildsystem in that…
cmake-env-variables – CMake Environment Variables Reference This page lists environment variables that have special meaning to CMake. For general information on environment variables, see the Environment Variables section in the cmake-language manual. Environment Variables That Change Behavior Cmake_Prefix_Path This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment. The…