1CMAKE-GENERATORS(7) CMake CMAKE-GENERATORS(7)
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6 cmake-generators - CMake Generators Reference
7
9 A CMake Generator is responsible for writing the input files for a
10 native build system. Exactly one of the CMake Generators must be
11 selected for a build tree to determine what native build system is to
12 be used. Optionally one of the Extra Generators may be selected as a
13 variant of some of the Command-Line Build Tool Generators to produce
14 project files for an auxiliary IDE.
15 CMake Generators are platform-specific so each may be available only on
17 certain platforms. The cmake(1) command-line tool --help output lists
18 available generators on the current platform. Use its -G option to
19 specify the generator for a new build tree. The cmake-gui(1) offers
20 interactive selection of a generator when creating a new build tree.
21
23 Command-Line Build Tool Generators
24 These generators support command-line build tools. In order to use
25 them, one must launch CMake from a command-line prompt whose environ‐
26 ment is already configured for the chosen compiler and build tool.
27 Makefile Generators
29 Borland Makefiles
30 Generates Borland makefiles.
31 MSYS Makefiles
33 Generates makefiles for use with MSYS make under the MSYS shell.
34 Use this generator in a MSYS shell prompt and using make as the build
36 tool. The generated makefiles use /bin/sh as the shell to launch build
37 rules. They are not compatible with a Windows command prompt.
38 To build under a Windows command prompt, use the MinGW Makefiles gener‐
40 ator.
41 MinGW Makefiles
43 Generates makefiles for use with mingw32-make under a Windows command
44 prompt.
45 Use this generator under a Windows command prompt with MinGW in the
47 PATH and using mingw32-make as the build tool. The generated makefiles
48 use cmd.exe as the shell to launch build rules. They are not compati‐
49 ble with MSYS or a unix shell.
50 To build under the MSYS shell, use the MSYS Makefiles generator.
52 NMake Makefiles
54 Generates NMake makefiles.
55 NMake Makefiles JOM
57 Generates JOM makefiles.
58 Unix Makefiles
60 Generates standard UNIX makefiles.
61 A hierarchy of UNIX makefiles is generated into the build tree. Any
63 standard UNIX-style make program can build the project through the
64 default make target. A “make install” target is also provided.
65 Watcom WMake
67 Generates Watcom WMake makefiles.
68 Ninja Generator
70 Ninja
71 Generates build.ninja files.
72 A build.ninja file is generated into the build tree. Recent versions
74 of the ninja program can build the project through the “all” target.
75 An “install” target is also provided.
76 For each subdirectory sub/dir of the project, additional targets are
78 generated:
79 sub/dir/all
81 Depends on all targets required by the subdirectory.
82 sub/dir/install
84 Runs the install step in the subdirectory, if any.
85 sub/dir/test
87 Runs the test step in the subdirectory, if any.
88 sub/dir/package
90 Runs the package step in the subdirectory, if any.
91 Fortran Support
93 The Ninja generator conditionally supports Fortran when the ninja tool
94 has the required features. As of this version of CMake the needed fea‐
95 tures have not been integrated into upstream Ninja. Kitware maintains
96 a branch of Ninja with the required features on
97 github.com/Kitware/ninja.
98 IDE Build Tool Generators
100 These generators support Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
101 project files. Since the IDEs configure their own environment one may
102 launch CMake from any environment.
103 Visual Studio Generators
105 Visual Studio 6
106 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio 6 project files, but the
107 generator has been removed since CMake 3.6. It is still possible to
108 build with VS 6 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
109 Visual Studio 7
111 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio .NET 2002 project files,
112 but the generator has been removed since CMake 3.6. It is still possi‐
113 ble to build with VS 7.0 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
114 Visual Studio 7 .NET 2003
116 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio .NET 2003 project files,
117 but the generator has been removed since CMake 3.9. It is still possi‐
118 ble to build with VS 7.1 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
119 Visual Studio 8 2005
121 Deprecated. Generates Visual Studio 8 2005 project files.
122 NOTE:
124 This generator is deprecated and will be removed in a future version
125 of CMake. It will still be possible to build with VS 8 2005 tools
126 using the Visual Studio 10 2010 (or above) generator with CMAKE_GEN‐
127 ERATOR_TOOLSET set to v80, or by using the NMake Makefiles genera‐
128 tor.
129 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
131 platform name.
132 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
134 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
135 Visual Studio 8 2005 Win64
137 Specify target platform x64.
138 Visual Studio 8 2005 <WinCE-SDK>
140 Specify target platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.
141 Visual Studio 9 2008
143 Generates Visual Studio 9 2008 project files.
144 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
146 platform name.
147 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
149 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
150 Visual Studio 9 2008 Win64
152 Specify target platform x64.
153 Visual Studio 9 2008 IA64
155 Specify target platform Itanium.
156 Visual Studio 9 2008 <WinCE-SDK>
158 Specify target platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.
159 Visual Studio 10 2010
161 Generates Visual Studio 10 (VS 2010) project files.
162 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
164 platform name (architecture).
165 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
167 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
168 Visual Studio 10 2010 Win64
170 Specify target platform x64.
171 Visual Studio 10 2010 IA64
173 Specify target platform Itanium.
174 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.0, one may specify
176 this generator using the name Visual Studio 10 without the year compo‐
177 nent.
178 Toolset Selection
180 The v100 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 10 2010 is selected by
181 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
182 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
183 Visual Studio 11 2012
185 Generates Visual Studio 11 (VS 2012) project files.
186 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
188 platform name (architecture).
189 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
191 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
192 Visual Studio 11 2012 Win64
194 Specify target platform x64.
195 Visual Studio 11 2012 ARM
197 Specify target platform ARM.
198 Visual Studio 11 2012 <WinCE-SDK>
200 Specify target platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.
201 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.0, one may specify
203 this generator using the name “Visual Studio 11” without the year com‐
204 ponent.
205 Toolset Selection
207 The v110 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 11 2012 is selected by
208 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
209 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
210 Visual Studio 12 2013
212 Generates Visual Studio 12 (VS 2013) project files.
213 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
215 platform name (architecture).
216 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
218 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
219 Visual Studio 12 2013 Win64
221 Specify target platform x64.
222 Visual Studio 12 2013 ARM
224 Specify target platform ARM.
225 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.0, one may specify
227 this generator using the name “Visual Studio 12” without the year com‐
228 ponent.
229 Toolset Selection
231 The v120 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 12 2013 is selected by
232 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
233 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
234 For each toolset that comes with this version of Visual Studio, there
236 are variants that are themselves compiled for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit
237 (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture they target). By default
238 Visual Studio chooses the 32-bit variant even on a 64-bit host. One
239 may request use of the 64-bit host tools by adding a host=x64 option to
240 the toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable
241 for details.
242 Visual Studio 14 2015
244 Generates Visual Studio 14 (VS 2015) project files.
245 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
247 platform name (architecture).
248 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
250 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
251 Visual Studio 14 2015 Win64
253 Specify target platform x64.
254 Visual Studio 14 2015 ARM
256 Specify target platform ARM.
257 Toolset Selection
259 The v140 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 14 2015 is selected by
260 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
261 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
262 For each toolset that comes with this version of Visual Studio, there
264 are variants that are themselves compiled for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit
265 (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture they target). By default
266 Visual Studio chooses the 32-bit variant even on a 64-bit host. One
267 may request use of the 64-bit host tools by adding a host=x64 option to
268 the toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable
269 for details.
270 Visual Studio 15 2017
272 Generates Visual Studio 15 (VS 2017) project files.
273 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set to specify a target
275 platform name (architecture).
276 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
278 target platform name optionally at the end of this generator name:
279 Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64
281 Specify target platform x64.
282 Visual Studio 15 2017 ARM
284 Specify target platform ARM.
285 Instance Selection
287 VS 2017 supports multiple installations on the same machine. The
288 CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE variable may be set as a cache entry contain‐
289 ing the absolute path to a Visual Studio instance. If the value is not
290 specified explicitly by the user or a toolchain file, CMake queries the
291 Visual Studio Installer to locate VS instances, chooses one, and sets
292 the variable as a cache entry to hold the value persistently.
293 When CMake first chooses an instance, if the VS150COMNTOOLS environment
295 variable is set and points to the Common7/Tools directory within one of
296 the instances, that instance will be used. Otherwise, if more than one
297 instance is installed we do not define which one is chosen by default.
298 Toolset Selection
300 The v141 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 15 2017 is selected by
301 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
302 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
303 For each toolset that comes with this version of Visual Studio, there
305 are variants that are themselves compiled for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit
306 (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture they target). By default
307 Visual Studio chooses the 32-bit variant even on a 64-bit host. One
308 may request use of the 64-bit host tools by adding a host=x64 option to
309 the toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable
310 for details.
311 Other Generators
313 Green Hills MULTI
314 Generates Green Hills MULTI project files (experimental,
315 work-in-progress).
316 Customizations are available through the following cache variables:
318 · GHS_BSP_NAME
320 · GHS_CUSTOMIZATION
322 · GHS_GPJ_MACROS
324 · GHS_OS_DIR
326 NOTE:
328 This generator is deemed experimental as of CMake 3.11.4 and is
329 still a work in progress. Future versions of CMake may make break‐
330 ing changes as the generator matures.
331 Xcode
333 Generate Xcode project files.
334 This supports Xcode 3.0 and above.
336 Toolset Selection
338 By default Xcode is allowed to select its own default toolchain. The
339 CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via the cmake(1) -T
340 option, to specify another toolset.
341
343 Some of the CMake Generators listed in the cmake(1) command-line tool
344 --help output may have variants that specify an extra generator for an
345 auxiliary IDE tool. Such generator names have the form <extra-genera‐
346 tor> - <main-generator>. The following extra generators are known to
347 CMake.
348 CodeBlocks
350 Generates CodeBlocks project files.
351 Project files for CodeBlocks will be created in the top directory and
353 in every subdirectory which features a CMakeLists.txt file containing a
354 PROJECT() call. Additionally a hierarchy of makefiles is generated
355 into the build tree. The CMAKE_CODEBLOCKS_EXCLUDE_EXTERNAL_FILES vari‐
356 able may be set to ON to exclude any files which are located outside of
357 the project root directory. The appropriate make program can build the
358 project through the default make target. A “make install” target is
359 also provided.
360 This “extra” generator may be specified as:
362 CodeBlocks - MinGW Makefiles
364 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
365 CodeBlocks - NMake Makefiles
367 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
368 CodeBlocks - NMake Makefiles JOM
370 Generate with NMake Makefiles JOM.
371 CodeBlocks - Ninja
373 Generate with Ninja.
374 CodeBlocks - Unix Makefiles
376 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
377 CodeLite
379 Generates CodeLite project files.
380 Project files for CodeLite will be created in the top directory and in
382 every subdirectory which features a CMakeLists.txt file containing a
383 project() call. The CMAKE_CODELITE_USE_TARGETS variable may be set to
384 ON to change the default behaviour from projects to targets as the
385 basis for project files. The appropriate make program can build the
386 project through the default make target. A “make install” target is
387 also provided.
388 This “extra” generator may be specified as:
390 CodeLite - MinGW Makefiles
392 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
393 CodeLite - NMake Makefiles
395 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
396 CodeLite - Ninja
398 Generate with Ninja.
399 CodeLite - Unix Makefiles
401 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
402 Eclipse CDT4
404 Generates Eclipse CDT 4.0 project files.
405 Project files for Eclipse will be created in the top directory. In out
407 of source builds, a linked resource to the top level source directory
408 will be created. Additionally a hierarchy of makefiles is generated
409 into the build tree. The appropriate make program can build the
410 project through the default make target. A “make install” target is
411 also provided.
412 This “extra” generator may be specified as:
414 Eclipse CDT4 - MinGW Makefiles
416 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
417 Eclipse CDT4 - NMake Makefiles
419 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
420 Eclipse CDT4 - Ninja
422 Generate with Ninja.
423 Eclipse CDT4 - Unix Makefiles
425 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
426 Kate
428 Generates Kate project files.
429 A project file for Kate will be created in the top directory in the top
431 level build directory. To use it in kate, the Project plugin must be
432 enabled. The project file is loaded in kate simply by opening the Pro‐
433 jectName.kateproject file in the editor. If the kate Build-plugin is
434 enabled, all targets generated by CMake are available for building.
435 This “extra” generator may be specified as:
437 Kate - MinGW Makefiles
439 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
440 Kate - NMake Makefiles
442 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
443 Kate - Ninja
445 Generate with Ninja.
446 Kate - Unix Makefiles
448 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
449 Sublime Text 2
451 Generates Sublime Text 2 project files.
452 Project files for Sublime Text 2 will be created in the top directory
454 and in every subdirectory which features a CMakeLists.txt file contain‐
455 ing a PROJECT() call. Additionally Makefiles (or build.ninja files)
456 are generated into the build tree. The appropriate make program can
457 build the project through the default make target. A “make install”
458 target is also provided.
459 This “extra” generator may be specified as:
461 Sublime Text 2 - MinGW Makefiles
463 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
464 Sublime Text 2 - NMake Makefiles
466 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
467 Sublime Text 2 - Ninja
469 Generate with Ninja.
470 Sublime Text 2 - Unix Makefiles
472 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
473
475 2000-2018 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
4763.11.4 May 13, 2019 CMAKE-GENERATORS(7)