1CMAKE-GENERATORS(7) CMake CMAKE-GENERATORS(7)
2
6 cmake-generators - CMake Generators Reference
7
9 A CMake Generator is responsible for writing the input files for a na‐
10 tive build system. Exactly one of the CMake Generators must be se‐
11 lected for a build tree to determine what native build system is to be
12 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 (Minimal SYStem) make under the
34 MSYS shell.
35 Use this generator in a MSYS shell prompt and using make as the build
37 tool. The generated makefiles use /bin/sh as the shell to launch build
38 rules. They are not compatible with a Windows command prompt.
39 To build under a Windows command prompt, use the MinGW Makefiles gener‐
41 ator.
42 MinGW Makefiles
44 Generates makefiles for use with mingw32-make under a Windows command
45 prompt.
46 Use this generator under a Windows command prompt with MinGW (Minimal‐
48 ist GNU for Windows) in the PATH and using mingw32-make as the build
49 tool. The generated makefiles use cmd.exe as the shell to launch build
50 rules. They are not compatible with MSYS or a unix shell.
51 To build under the MSYS shell, use the MSYS Makefiles generator.
53 NMake Makefiles
55 Generates NMake makefiles.
56 NMake Makefiles JOM
58 Generates JOM makefiles.
59 New in version 3.8: CodeBlocks generator can be used as an extra gener‐
61 ator.
62 Unix Makefiles
65 Generates standard UNIX makefiles.
66 A hierarchy of UNIX makefiles is generated into the build tree. Use
68 any standard UNIX-style make program to build the project through the
69 all target and install the project through the install (or in‐
70 stall/strip) target.
71 For each subdirectory sub/dir of the project a UNIX makefile will be
73 created, containing the following targets:
74 all Depends on all targets required by the subdirectory.
76 install
78 Runs the install step in the subdirectory, if any.
79 install/strip
81 Runs the install step in the subdirectory followed by a
82 CMAKE_STRIP command, if any.
83 The CMAKE_STRIP variable will contain the platform's strip util‐
85 ity, which removes symbols information from generated binaries.
86 test Runs the test step in the subdirectory, if any.
88 package
90 Runs the package step in the subdirectory, if any.
91 Watcom WMake
93 Generates Watcom WMake makefiles.
94 Ninja Generators
96 Ninja
97 Generates build.ninja files.
98 A build.ninja file is generated into the build tree. Use the ninja
100 program to build the project through the all target and install the
101 project through the install (or install/strip) target.
102 For each subdirectory sub/dir of the project, additional targets are
104 generated:
105 sub/dir/all
107 New in version 3.6: Depends on all targets required by the subdirec‐
108 tory.
109 sub/dir/install
112 New in version 3.7: Runs the install step in the subdirectory, if
113 any.
114 sub/dir/install/strip
117 New in version 3.7: Runs the install step in the subdirectory fol‐
118 lowed by a CMAKE_STRIP command, if any.
119 The CMAKE_STRIP variable will contain the platform's strip utility,
121 which removes symbols information from generated binaries.
122 sub/dir/test
125 New in version 3.7: Runs the test step in the subdirectory, if any.
126 sub/dir/package
129 New in version 3.7: Runs the package step in the subdirectory, if
130 any.
131 Fortran Support
134 New in version 3.7.
135 The Ninja generator conditionally supports Fortran when the ninja tool
138 is at least version 1.10 (which has the required features).
139 Swift Support
141 New in version 3.15.
142 The Swift support is experimental, not considered stable, and may
145 change in future releases of CMake.
146 See Also
148 New in version 3.17: The Ninja Multi-Config generator is similar to the
149 Ninja generator, but generates multiple configurations at once.
150 Ninja Multi-Config
153 New in version 3.17.
154 Generates multiple build-<Config>.ninja files.
157 This generator is very much like the Ninja generator, but with some key
159 differences. Only these differences will be discussed in this document.
160 Unlike the Ninja generator, Ninja Multi-Config generates multiple con‐
162 figurations at once with CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES instead of only one
163 configuration with CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE. One build-<Config>.ninja file will
164 be generated for each of these configurations (with <Config> being the
165 configuration name.) These files are intended to be run with ninja -f
166 build-<Config>.ninja. A build.ninja file is also generated, using the
167 configuration from either CMAKE_DEFAULT_BUILD_TYPE or the first item
168 from CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES.
169 cmake --build . --config <Config> will always use build-<Config>.ninja
171 to build. If no --config argument is specified, cmake --build . will
172 use build.ninja.
173 Each build-<Config>.ninja file contains <target> targets as well as
175 <target>:<Config> targets, where <Config> is the same as the configura‐
176 tion specified in build-<Config>.ninja Additionally, if cross-config
177 mode is enabled, build-<Config>.ninja may contain <target>:<OtherCon‐
178 fig> targets, where <OtherConfig> is a cross-config, as well as <tar‐
179 get>:all, which builds the target in all cross-configs. See below for
180 how to enable cross-config mode.
181 The Ninja Multi-Config generator recognizes the following variables:
183 CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES
185 Specifies the total set of configurations to build. Unlike with
186 other multi-config generators, this variable has a value of De‐
187 bug;Release;RelWithDebInfo by default.
188 CMAKE_CROSS_CONFIGS
190 Specifies a semicolon-separated list of configurations available
191 from all build-<Config>.ninja files.
192 CMAKE_DEFAULT_BUILD_TYPE
194 Specifies the configuration to use by default in a build.ninja
195 file.
196 CMAKE_DEFAULT_CONFIGS
198 Specifies a semicolon-separated list of configurations to build
199 for a target in build.ninja if no :<Config> suffix is specified.
200 Consider the following example:
202 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
204 project(MultiConfigNinja C)
205 add_executable(generator generator.c)
207 add_custom_command(OUTPUT generated.c COMMAND generator generated.c)
208 add_library(generated ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/generated.c)
209 Now assume you configure the project with Ninja Multi-Config and run
211 one of the following commands:
212 ninja -f build-Debug.ninja generated
214 # OR
215 cmake --build . --config Debug --target generated
216 This would build the Debug configuration of generator, which would be
218 used to generate generated.c, which would be used to build the Debug
219 configuration of generated.
220 But if CMAKE_CROSS_CONFIGS is set to all, and you run the following in‐
222 stead:
223 ninja -f build-Release.ninja generated:Debug
225 # OR
226 cmake --build . --config Release --target generated:Debug
227 This would build the Release configuration of generator, which would be
229 used to generate generated.c, which would be used to build the Debug
230 configuration of generated. This is useful for running a release-opti‐
231 mized version of a generator utility while still building the debug
232 version of the targets built with the generated code.
233 Custom Commands
235 New in version 3.20.
236 The Ninja Multi-Config generator adds extra capabilities to add_cus‐
239 tom_command() and add_custom_target() through its cross-config mode.
240 The COMMAND, DEPENDS, and WORKING_DIRECTORY arguments can be evaluated
241 in the context of either the "command config" (the "native" configura‐
242 tion of the build-<Config>.ninja file in use) or the "output config"
243 (the configuration used to evaluate the OUTPUT and BYPRODUCTS).
244 If either OUTPUT or BYPRODUCTS names a path that is common to more than
246 one configuration (e.g. it does not use any generator expressions), all
247 arguments are evaluated in the command config by default. If all OUT‐
248 PUT and BYPRODUCTS paths are unique to each configuration (e.g. by us‐
249 ing the $<CONFIG> generator expression), the first argument of COMMAND
250 is still evaluated in the command config by default, while all subse‐
251 quent arguments, as well as the arguments to DEPENDS and WORKING_DIREC‐
252 TORY, are evaluated in the output config. These defaults can be over‐
253 ridden with the $<OUTPUT_CONFIG:...> and $<COMMAND_CONFIG:...> genera‐
254 tor-expressions. Note that if a target is specified by its name in DE‐
255 PENDS, or as the first argument of COMMAND, it is always evaluated in
256 the command config, even if it is wrapped in $<OUTPUT_CONFIG:...> (be‐
257 cause its plain name is not a generator expression).
258 As an example, consider the following:
260 add_custom_command(
262 OUTPUT "$<CONFIG>.txt"
263 COMMAND generator "$<CONFIG>.txt" "$<OUTPUT_CONFIG:$<CONFIG>>" "$<COMMAND_CONFIG:$<CONFIG>>"
264 DEPENDS tgt1 "$<TARGET_FILE:tgt2>" "$<OUTPUT_CONFIG:$<TARGET_FILE:tgt3>>" "$<COMMAND_CONFIG:$<TARGET_FILE:tgt4>>"
265 )
266 Assume that generator, tgt1, tgt2, tgt3, and tgt4 are all executable
268 targets, and assume that $<CONFIG>.txt is built in the Debug output
269 config using the Release command config. The Release build of the gen‐
270 erator target is called with Debug.txt Debug Release as arguments. The
271 command depends on the Release builds of tgt1 and tgt4, and the Debug
272 builds of tgt2 and tgt3.
273 PRE_BUILD, PRE_LINK, and POST_BUILD custom commands for targets only
275 get run in their "native" configuration (the Release configuration in
276 the build-Release.ninja file) unless they have no BYPRODUCTS or their
277 BYPRODUCTS are unique per config. Consider the following example:
278 add_executable(exe main.c)
280 add_custom_command(
281 TARGET exe
282 POST_BUILD
283 COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo "Running no-byproduct command"
284 )
285 add_custom_command(
286 TARGET exe
287 POST_BUILD
288 COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo "Running separate-byproduct command for $<CONFIG>"
289 BYPRODUCTS $<CONFIG>.txt
290 )
291 add_custom_command(
292 TARGET exe
293 POST_BUILD
294 COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo "Running common-byproduct command for $<CONFIG>"
295 BYPRODUCTS exe.txt
296 )
297 In this example, if you build exe:Debug in build-Release.ninja, the
299 first and second custom commands get run, since their byproducts are
300 unique per-config, but the last custom command does not. However, if
301 you build exe:Release in build-Release.ninja, all three custom commands
302 get run.
303 IDE Build Tool Generators
305 These generators support Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
306 project files. Since the IDEs configure their own environment one may
307 launch CMake from any environment.
308 Visual Studio Generators
310 Visual Studio 6
311 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio 6 project files, but the
312 generator has been removed since CMake 3.6. It is still possible to
313 build with VS 6 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
314 Visual Studio 7
316 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio .NET 2002 project files,
317 but the generator has been removed since CMake 3.6. It is still possi‐
318 ble to build with VS 7.0 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
319 Visual Studio 7 .NET 2003
321 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio .NET 2003 project files,
322 but the generator has been removed since CMake 3.9. It is still possi‐
323 ble to build with VS 7.1 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
324 Visual Studio 8 2005
326 Removed. This once generated Visual Studio 8 2005 project files, but
327 the generator has been removed since CMake 3.12. It is still possible
328 to build with VS 2005 tools using the NMake Makefiles generator.
329 Visual Studio 9 2008
331 Generates Visual Studio 9 2008 project files.
332 Platform Selection
334 The default target platform name (architecture) is Win32.
335 New in version 3.1: The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set,
337 perhaps via the cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name
338 (architecture). For example:
339 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 9 2008" -A Win32
341 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 9 2008" -A x64
343 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 9 2008" -A Itanium
345 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 9 2008" -A <WinCE-SDK> (Specify a target
347 platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.)
348 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
351 target platform name optionally at the end of the generator name. This
352 is supported only for:
353 Visual Studio 9 2008 Win64
355 Specify target platform x64.
356 Visual Studio 9 2008 IA64
358 Specify target platform Itanium.
359 Visual Studio 9 2008 <WinCE-SDK>
361 Specify target platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.
362 Visual Studio 10 2010
364 Deprecated. Generates Visual Studio 10 (VS 2010) project files.
365 NOTE:
367 This generator is deprecated and will be removed in a future version
368 of CMake. It will still be possible to build with VS 10 2010 tools
369 using the Visual Studio 11 2012 (or above) generator with CMAKE_GEN‐
370 ERATOR_TOOLSET set to v100, or by using the NMake Makefiles genera‐
371 tor.
372 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.0, one may specify
374 this generator using the name Visual Studio 10 without the year compo‐
375 nent.
376 Project Types
378 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
379 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (Database, Website,
380 etc.) are not supported.
381 Platform Selection
383 The default target platform name (architecture) is Win32.
384 New in version 3.1: The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set,
386 perhaps via the cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name
387 (architecture). For example:
388 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 10 2010" -A Win32
390 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 10 2010" -A x64
392 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 10 2010" -A Itanium
394 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
397 target platform name optionally at the end of the generator name. This
398 is supported only for:
399 Visual Studio 10 2010 Win64
401 Specify target platform x64.
402 Visual Studio 10 2010 IA64
404 Specify target platform Itanium.
405 Toolset Selection
407 The v100 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 10 2010 is selected by
408 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
409 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
410 Visual Studio 11 2012
412 Generates Visual Studio 11 (VS 2012) project files.
413 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.0, one may specify
415 this generator using the name "Visual Studio 11" without the year com‐
416 ponent.
417 Project Types
419 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
420 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (JavaScript, Data‐
421 base, Website, etc.) are not supported.
422 Platform Selection
424 The default target platform name (architecture) is Win32.
425 New in version 3.1: The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set,
427 perhaps via the cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name
428 (architecture). For example:
429 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 11 2012" -A Win32
431 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 11 2012" -A x64
433 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 11 2012" -A ARM
435 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 11 2012" -A <WinCE-SDK> (Specify a target
437 platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.)
438 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
441 target platform name optionally at the end of the generator name. This
442 is supported only for:
443 Visual Studio 11 2012 Win64
445 Specify target platform x64.
446 Visual Studio 11 2012 ARM
448 Specify target platform ARM.
449 Visual Studio 11 2012 <WinCE-SDK>
451 Specify target platform matching a Windows CE SDK name.
452 Toolset Selection
454 The v110 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 11 2012 is selected by
455 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
456 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
457 Visual Studio 12 2013
459 Generates Visual Studio 12 (VS 2013) project files.
460 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.0, one may specify
462 this generator using the name "Visual Studio 12" without the year com‐
463 ponent.
464 Project Types
466 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
467 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (JavaScript, Power‐
468 shell, Python, etc.) are not supported.
469 Platform Selection
471 The default target platform name (architecture) is Win32.
472 New in version 3.1: The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set,
474 perhaps via the cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name
475 (architecture). For example:
476 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 12 2013" -A Win32
478 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 12 2013" -A x64
480 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 12 2013" -A ARM
482 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
485 target platform name optionally at the end of the generator name. This
486 is supported only for:
487 Visual Studio 12 2013 Win64
489 Specify target platform x64.
490 Visual Studio 12 2013 ARM
492 Specify target platform ARM.
493 Toolset Selection
495 The v120 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 12 2013 is selected by
496 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
497 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
498 New in version 3.8: For each toolset that comes with this version of
500 Visual Studio, there are variants that are themselves compiled for
501 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture
502 they target). By default this generator uses the 32-bit variant even
503 on a 64-bit host. One may explicitly request use of either the 32-bit
504 or 64-bit host tools by adding either host=x86 or host=x64 to the
505 toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for
506 details.
507 New in version 3.14: Added support for host=x86 option.
510 Visual Studio 14 2015
513 New in version 3.1.
514 Generates Visual Studio 14 (VS 2015) project files.
517 Project Types
519 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
520 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (JavaScript, Power‐
521 shell, Python, etc.) are not supported.
522 Platform Selection
524 The default target platform name (architecture) is Win32.
525 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set, perhaps via the
527 cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name (architecture).
528 For example:
529 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 14 2015" -A Win32
531 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 14 2015" -A x64
533 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 14 2015" -A ARM
535 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
537 target platform name optionally at the end of the generator name. This
538 is supported only for:
539 Visual Studio 14 2015 Win64
541 Specify target platform x64.
542 Visual Studio 14 2015 ARM
544 Specify target platform ARM.
545 Toolset Selection
547 The v140 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 14 2015 is selected by
548 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
549 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
550 New in version 3.8: For each toolset that comes with this version of
552 Visual Studio, there are variants that are themselves compiled for
553 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture
554 they target). By default this generator uses the 32-bit variant even
555 on a 64-bit host. One may explicitly request use of either the 32-bit
556 or 64-bit host tools by adding either host=x86 or host=x64 to the
557 toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for
558 details.
559 New in version 3.14: Added support for host=x86 option.
562 Windows 10 SDK Maximum Version for VS 2015
565 New in version 3.19.
566 Microsoft stated in a "Windows 10 October 2018 Update" blog post that
569 Windows 10 SDK versions (15063, 16299, 17134, 17763) are not supported
570 by VS 2015 and are only supported by VS 2017 and later. Therefore by
571 default CMake automatically ignores Windows 10 SDKs beyond
572 10.0.14393.0.
573 However, there are other recommendations for certain driver/Win32
575 builds that indicate otherwise. A user can override this behavior by
576 either setting the CMAKE_VS_WINDOWS_TARGET_PLATFORM_VERSION_MAXIMUM to
577 a false value or setting the CMAKE_VS_WINDOWS_TARGET_PLATFORM_VER‐
578 SION_MAXIMUM to the string value of the required maximum (e.g.
579 10.0.15063.0).
580 Visual Studio 15 2017
582 New in version 3.7.1.
583 Generates Visual Studio 15 (VS 2017) project files.
586 Project Types
588 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
589 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (JavaScript, Power‐
590 shell, Python, etc.) are not supported.
591 Instance Selection
593 New in version 3.11.
594 VS 2017 supports multiple installations on the same machine. The
597 CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE variable may be set as a cache entry contain‐
598 ing the absolute path to a Visual Studio instance. If the value is not
599 specified explicitly by the user or a toolchain file, CMake queries the
600 Visual Studio Installer to locate VS instances, chooses one, and sets
601 the variable as a cache entry to hold the value persistently.
602 When CMake first chooses an instance, if the VS150COMNTOOLS environment
604 variable is set and points to the Common7/Tools directory within one of
605 the instances, that instance will be used. Otherwise, if more than one
606 instance is installed we do not define which one is chosen by default.
607 Platform Selection
609 The default target platform name (architecture) is Win32.
610 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set, perhaps via the
612 cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name (architecture).
613 For example:
614 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017" -A Win32
616 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017" -A x64
618 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017" -A ARM
620 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017" -A ARM64
622 For compatibility with CMake versions prior to 3.1, one may specify a
624 target platform name optionally at the end of the generator name. This
625 is supported only for:
626 Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64
628 Specify target platform x64.
629 Visual Studio 15 2017 ARM
631 Specify target platform ARM.
632 Toolset Selection
634 The v141 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 15 2017 is selected by
635 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
636 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
637 New in version 3.8: For each toolset that comes with this version of
639 Visual Studio, there are variants that are themselves compiled for
640 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture
641 they target). By default this generator uses the 32-bit variant even
642 on a 64-bit host. One may explicitly request use of either the 32-bit
643 or 64-bit host tools by adding either host=x86 or host=x64 to the
644 toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for
645 details.
646 New in version 3.14: Added support for host=x86 option.
649 Visual Studio 16 2019
652 New in version 3.14.
653 Generates Visual Studio 16 (VS 2019) project files.
656 Project Types
658 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
659 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (JavaScript, Power‐
660 shell, Python, etc.) are not supported.
661 Instance Selection
663 VS 2019 supports multiple installations on the same machine. The
664 CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE variable may be set as a cache entry contain‐
665 ing the absolute path to a Visual Studio instance. If the value is not
666 specified explicitly by the user or a toolchain file, CMake queries the
667 Visual Studio Installer to locate VS instances, chooses one, and sets
668 the variable as a cache entry to hold the value persistently.
669 When CMake first chooses an instance, if the VS160COMNTOOLS environment
671 variable is set and points to the Common7/Tools directory within one of
672 the instances, that instance will be used. Otherwise, if more than one
673 instance is installed we do not define which one is chosen by default.
674 Platform Selection
676 The default target platform name (architecture) is that of the host and
677 is provided in the CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME_DEFAULT variable.
678 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set, perhaps via the
680 cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name (architecture).
681 For example:
682 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A Win32
684 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64
686 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A ARM
688 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A ARM64
690 Toolset Selection
692 The v142 toolset that comes with Visual Studio 16 2019 is selected by
693 default. The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via
694 the cmake(1) -T option, to specify another toolset.
695 For each toolset that comes with this version of Visual Studio, there
697 are variants that are themselves compiled for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit
698 (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture they target). By default
699 this generator uses the 64-bit variant on x64 hosts and the 32-bit
700 variant otherwise. One may explicitly request use of either the 32-bit
701 or 64-bit host tools by adding either host=x86 or host=x64 to the
702 toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for
703 details.
704 Visual Studio 17 2022
706 New in version 3.21.
707 Generates Visual Studio 17 (VS 2022) project files.
710 Project Types
712 Only Visual C++ and C# projects may be generated (and Fortran with In‐
713 tel compiler integration). Other types of projects (JavaScript, Power‐
714 shell, Python, etc.) are not supported.
715 Instance Selection
717 VS 2022 supports multiple installations on the same machine. The
718 CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE variable may be set as a cache entry contain‐
719 ing the absolute path to a Visual Studio instance. If the value is not
720 specified explicitly by the user or a toolchain file, CMake queries the
721 Visual Studio Installer to locate VS instances, chooses one, and sets
722 the variable as a cache entry to hold the value persistently.
723 When CMake first chooses an instance, if the VS170COMNTOOLS environment
725 variable is set and points to the Common7/Tools directory within one of
726 the instances, that instance will be used. Otherwise, if more than one
727 instance is installed we do not define which one is chosen by default.
728 Platform Selection
730 The default target platform name (architecture) is that of the host and
731 is provided in the CMAKE_VS_PLATFORM_NAME_DEFAULT variable.
732 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable may be set, perhaps via the
734 cmake(1) -A option, to specify a target platform name (architecture).
735 For example:
736 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A Win32
738 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
740 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A ARM
742 • cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A ARM64
744 Toolset Selection
746 The v143 toolset that comes with VS 17 2022 is selected by default.
747 The CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via the cmake(1)
748 -T option, to specify another toolset.
749 For each toolset that comes with this version of Visual Studio, there
751 are variants that are themselves compiled for 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit
752 (x64) hosts (independent of the architecture they target). By default
753 this generator uses the 64-bit variant on x64 hosts and the 32-bit
754 variant otherwise. One may explicitly request use of either the 32-bit
755 or 64-bit host tools by adding either host=x86 or host=x64 to the
756 toolset specification. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for
757 details.
758 Other Generators
760 Green Hills MULTI
761 New in version 3.3.
762 New in version 3.15: Linux support.
765 Generates Green Hills MULTI project files (experimental,
768 work-in-progress).
769 Customizations are available through the following cache variables:
771 • GHS_CUSTOMIZATION
773 • GHS_GPJ_MACROS
775 New in version 3.14: The buildsystem has predetermined build-configura‐
777 tion settings that can be controlled via the CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE variable.
778 Toolset and Platform Selection
781 New in version 3.13.
782 Customizations that are used to pick toolset and target system:
785 • The -A <arch> can be supplied for setting the target architecture.
787 <arch> usually is one of arm, ppc, 86, etcetera. If the target ar‐
788 chitecture is not specified then the default architecture of arm will
789 be used.
790 • The -T <toolset> option can be used to set the directory location of
792 the toolset. Both absolute and relative paths are valid. Relative
793 paths use GHS_TOOLSET_ROOT as the root. If the toolset is not speci‐
794 fied then the latest toolset found in GHS_TOOLSET_ROOT will be used.
795 Cache variables that are used for toolset and target system customiza‐
797 tion:
798 • GHS_TARGET_PLATFORM
800 Defaults to integrity.
801 Usual values are integrity, threadx, uvelosity, velosity,
802 vxworks, standalone.
803 • GHS_PRIMARY_TARGET
806 Sets primaryTarget entry in project file.
807 Defaults to <arch>_<GHS_TARGET_PLATFORM>.tgt.
808 • GHS_TOOLSET_ROOT
811 Root path for toolset searches.
812 Defaults to C:/ghs in Windows or /usr/ghs in Linux.
813 • GHS_OS_ROOT
816 Root path for RTOS searches.
817 Defaults to C:/ghs in Windows or /usr/ghs in Linux.
818 • GHS_OS_DIR and GHS_OS_DIR_OPTION
821 Sets -os_dir entry in project file.
822 Defaults to latest platform OS installation at GHS_OS_ROOT. Set this value if
823 a specific RTOS is to be used.
824 GHS_OS_DIR_OPTION default value is -os_dir.
825 New in version 3.15: The GHS_OS_DIR_OPTION variable.
828 • GHS_BSP_NAME
831 Sets -bsp entry in project file.
832 Defaults to sim<arch> for integrity platforms.
833 Target Properties
836 New in version 3.14.
837 The following properties are available:
840 • GHS_INTEGRITY_APP
842 • GHS_NO_SOURCE_GROUP_FILE
844 NOTE:
846 This generator is deemed experimental as of CMake 3.22.2 and is
847 still a work in progress. Future versions of CMake may make break‐
848 ing changes as the generator matures.
849 Xcode
851 Generate Xcode project files.
852 Changed in version 3.15: This generator supports Xcode 5.0 and above.
854 Toolset and Build System Selection
857 By default Xcode is allowed to select its own default toolchain. The
858 CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET option may be set, perhaps via the cmake(1) -T
859 option, to specify another toolset.
860 New in version 3.19: This generator supports toolset specification us‐
862 ing one of these forms:
863 • toolset
866 • toolset[,key=value]*
868 • key=value[,key=value]*
870 The toolset specifies the toolset name. The selected toolset name is
872 provided in the CMAKE_XCODE_PLATFORM_TOOLSET variable.
873 The key=value pairs form a comma-separated list of options to specify
875 generator-specific details of the toolset selection. Supported pairs
876 are:
877 buildsystem=<variant>
879 Specify the buildsystem variant to use. See the
880 CMAKE_XCODE_BUILD_SYSTEM variable for allowed values.
881 For example, to select the original build system under Xcode 12,
883 run cmake(1) with the option -T buildsystem=1.
884 Swift Support
886 New in version 3.4.
887 When using the Xcode generator with Xcode 6.1 or higher, one may enable
890 the Swift language with the enable_language() command or the project().
891
893 Some of the CMake Generators listed in the cmake(1) command-line tool
894 --help output may have variants that specify an extra generator for an
895 auxiliary IDE tool. Such generator names have the form <extra-genera‐
896 tor> - <main-generator>. The following extra generators are known to
897 CMake.
898 CodeBlocks
900 Generates CodeBlocks project files.
901 Project files for CodeBlocks will be created in the top directory and
903 in every subdirectory which features a CMakeLists.txt file containing a
904 project() call. Additionally a hierarchy of makefiles is generated
905 into the build tree. The appropriate make program can build the
906 project through the default all target. An install target is also pro‐
907 vided.
908 New in version 3.10: The CMAKE_CODEBLOCKS_EXCLUDE_EXTERNAL_FILES vari‐
910 able may be set to ON to exclude any files which are located outside of
911 the project root directory.
912 This "extra" generator may be specified as:
915 CodeBlocks - MinGW Makefiles
917 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
918 CodeBlocks - NMake Makefiles
920 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
921 CodeBlocks - NMake Makefiles JOM
923 New in version 3.8: Generate with NMake Makefiles JOM.
924 CodeBlocks - Ninja
927 Generate with Ninja.
928 CodeBlocks - Unix Makefiles
930 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
931 CodeLite
933 Generates CodeLite project files.
934 Project files for CodeLite will be created in the top directory and in
936 every subdirectory which features a CMakeLists.txt file containing a
937 project() call. The appropriate make program can build the project
938 through the default all target. An install target is also provided.
939 New in version 3.7: The CMAKE_CODELITE_USE_TARGETS variable may be set
941 to ON to change the default behavior from projects to targets as the
942 basis for project files.
943 This "extra" generator may be specified as:
946 CodeLite - MinGW Makefiles
948 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
949 CodeLite - NMake Makefiles
951 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
952 CodeLite - Ninja
954 Generate with Ninja.
955 CodeLite - Unix Makefiles
957 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
958 Eclipse CDT4
960 Generates Eclipse CDT 4.0 project files.
961 Project files for Eclipse will be created in the top directory. In out
963 of source builds, a linked resource to the top level source directory
964 will be created. Additionally a hierarchy of makefiles is generated
965 into the build tree. The appropriate make program can build the
966 project through the default all target. An install target is also pro‐
967 vided.
968 This "extra" generator may be specified as:
970 Eclipse CDT4 - MinGW Makefiles
972 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
973 Eclipse CDT4 - NMake Makefiles
975 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
976 Eclipse CDT4 - Ninja
978 Generate with Ninja.
979 Eclipse CDT4 - Unix Makefiles
981 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
982 Kate
984 Generates Kate project files.
985 A project file for Kate will be created in the top directory in the top
987 level build directory. To use it in Kate, the Project plugin must be
988 enabled. The project file is loaded in Kate by opening the Project‐
989 Name.kateproject file in the editor. If the Kate Build-plugin is en‐
990 abled, all targets generated by CMake are available for building.
991 This "extra" generator may be specified as:
993 Kate - MinGW Makefiles
995 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
996 Kate - NMake Makefiles
998 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
999 Kate - Ninja
1001 Generate with Ninja.
1002 Kate - Unix Makefiles
1004 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
1005 Sublime Text 2
1007 Generates Sublime Text 2 project files.
1008 Project files for Sublime Text 2 will be created in the top directory
1010 and in every subdirectory which features a CMakeLists.txt file contain‐
1011 ing a project() call. Additionally Makefiles (or build.ninja files)
1012 are generated into the build tree. The appropriate make program can
1013 build the project through the default all target. An install target is
1014 also provided.
1015 This "extra" generator may be specified as:
1017 Sublime Text 2 - MinGW Makefiles
1019 Generate with MinGW Makefiles.
1020 Sublime Text 2 - NMake Makefiles
1022 Generate with NMake Makefiles.
1023 Sublime Text 2 - Ninja
1025 Generate with Ninja.
1026 Sublime Text 2 - Unix Makefiles
1028 Generate with Unix Makefiles.
1029
1031 2000-2022 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
10323.22.2 Jan 25, 2022 CMAKE-GENERATORS(7)