1CMAKE(1) CMake CMAKE(1)
2
6 cmake - CMake Command-Line Reference
7
9 Generate a Project Buildsystem
10 cmake [<options>] <path-to-source | path-to-existing-build>
11 cmake [<options>] -S <path-to-source> -B <path-to-build>
12 Build a Project
14 cmake --build <dir> [<options>] [-- <build-tool-options>]
15 Install a Project
17 cmake --install <dir> [<options>]
18 Open a Project
20 cmake --open <dir>
21 Run a Script
23 cmake [-D <var>=<value>]... -P <cmake-script-file>
24 Run a Command-Line Tool
26 cmake -E <command> [<options>]
27 Run the Find-Package Tool
29 cmake --find-package [<options>]
30 Run a Workflow Preset
32 cmake --workflow [<options>]
33 View Help
35 cmake --help[-<topic>]
36
38 The cmake executable is the command-line interface of the cross-plat‐
39 form buildsystem generator CMake. The above Synopsis lists various ac‐
40 tions the tool can perform as described in sections below.
41 To build a software project with CMake, Generate a Project Buildsystem.
43 Optionally use cmake to Build a Project, Install a Project or just run
44 the corresponding build tool (e.g. make) directly. cmake can also be
45 used to View Help.
46 The other actions are meant for use by software developers writing
48 scripts in the CMake language to support their builds.
49 For graphical user interfaces that may be used in place of cmake, see
51 ccmake and cmake-gui. For command-line interfaces to the CMake testing
52 and packaging facilities, see ctest and cpack.
53 For more information on CMake at large, see also the links at the end
55 of this manual.
56
58 A buildsystem describes how to build a project's executables and li‐
59 braries from its source code using a build tool to automate the
60 process. For example, a buildsystem may be a Makefile for use with a
61 command-line make tool or a project file for an Integrated Development
62 Environment (IDE). In order to avoid maintaining multiple such
63 buildsystems, a project may specify its buildsystem abstractly using
64 files written in the CMake language. From these files CMake generates
65 a preferred buildsystem locally for each user through a backend called
66 a generator.
67 To generate a buildsystem with CMake, the following must be selected:
69 Source Tree
71 The top-level directory containing source files provided by the
72 project. The project specifies its buildsystem using files as
73 described in the cmake-language(7) manual, starting with a
74 top-level file named CMakeLists.txt. These files specify build
75 targets and their dependencies as described in the
76 cmake-buildsystem(7) manual.
77 Build Tree
79 The top-level directory in which buildsystem files and build
80 output artifacts (e.g. executables and libraries) are to be
81 stored. CMake will write a CMakeCache.txt file to identify the
82 directory as a build tree and store persistent information such
83 as buildsystem configuration options.
84 To maintain a pristine source tree, perform an out-of-source
86 build by using a separate dedicated build tree. An in-source
87 build in which the build tree is placed in the same directory as
88 the source tree is also supported, but discouraged.
89 Generator
91 This chooses the kind of buildsystem to generate. See the
92 cmake-generators(7) manual for documentation of all generators.
93 Run cmake --help to see a list of generators available locally.
94 Optionally use the -G option below to specify a generator, or
95 simply accept the default CMake chooses for the current plat‐
96 form.
97 When using one of the Command-Line Build Tool Generators CMake
99 expects that the environment needed by the compiler toolchain is
100 already configured in the shell. When using one of the IDE
101 Build Tool Generators, no particular environment is needed.
102
104 Run CMake with one of the following command signatures to specify the
105 source and build trees and generate a buildsystem:
106 cmake [<options>] <path-to-source>
108 Uses the current working directory as the build tree, and
109 <path-to-source> as the source tree. The specified path may be
110 absolute or relative to the current working directory. The
111 source tree must contain a CMakeLists.txt file and must not con‐
112 tain a CMakeCache.txt file because the latter identifies an ex‐
113 isting build tree. For example:
114 $ mkdir build ; cd build
116 $ cmake ../src
117 cmake [<options>] <path-to-existing-build>
119 Uses <path-to-existing-build> as the build tree, and loads the
120 path to the source tree from its CMakeCache.txt file, which must
121 have already been generated by a previous run of CMake. The
122 specified path may be absolute or relative to the current work‐
123 ing directory. For example:
124 $ cd build
126 $ cmake .
127 cmake [<options>] -S <path-to-source> -B <path-to-build>
129 New in version 3.13.
130 Uses <path-to-build> as the build tree and <path-to-source> as the
133 source tree. The specified paths may be absolute or relative to the
134 current working directory. The source tree must contain a CMake‐
135 Lists.txt file. The build tree will be created automatically if it
136 does not already exist. For example:
137 $ cmake -S src -B build
139 In all cases the <options> may be zero or more of the Options below.
141 The above styles for specifying the source and build trees may be
143 mixed. Paths specified with -S or -B are always classified as source
144 or build trees, respectively. Paths specified with plain arguments are
145 classified based on their content and the types of paths given earlier.
146 If only one type of path is given, the current working directory (cwd)
147 is used for the other. For example:
148 ┌────────────────────┬────────────┬───────────┐
150 │Command Line │ Source Dir │ Build Dir │
151 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
152 │cmake src │ src │ cwd │
153 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
154 │cmake build (exist‐ │ loaded │ build │
155 │ing) │ │ │
156 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
157 │cmake -S src │ src │ cwd │
158 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
159 │cmake -S src build │ src │ build │
160 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
161 │cmake -S src -B │ src │ build │
162 │build │ │ │
163 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
164 │cmake -B build │ cwd │ build │
165 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
166 │cmake -B build src │ src │ build │
167 ├────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
168 │cmake -B build -S │ src │ build │
169 │src │ │ │
170 └────────────────────┴────────────┴───────────┘
171 Changed in version 3.23: CMake warns when multiple source paths are
173 specified. This has never been officially documented or supported, but
174 older versions accidentally accepted multiple source paths and used the
175 last path specified. Avoid passing multiple source path arguments.
176 After generating a buildsystem one may use the corresponding native
179 build tool to build the project. For example, after using the Unix
180 Makefiles generator one may run make directly:
181 $ make
183 $ make install
184 Alternatively, one may use cmake to Build a Project by automatically
186 choosing and invoking the appropriate native build tool.
187 Options
189 -S <path-to-source>
190 Path to root directory of the CMake project to build.
191 -B <path-to-build>
193 Path to directory which CMake will use as the root of build di‐
194 rectory.
195 If the directory doesn't already exist CMake will make it.
197 -C <initial-cache>
199 Pre-load a script to populate the cache.
200 When CMake is first run in an empty build tree, it creates a
202 CMakeCache.txt file and populates it with customizable settings
203 for the project. This option may be used to specify a file from
204 which to load cache entries before the first pass through the
205 project's CMake listfiles. The loaded entries take priority
206 over the project's default values. The given file should be a
207 CMake script containing set() commands that use the CACHE op‐
208 tion, not a cache-format file.
209 References to CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR and CMAKE_BINARY_DIR within the
211 script evaluate to the top-level source and build tree.
212 -D <var>:<type>=<value>, -D <var>=<value>
214 Create or update a CMake CACHE entry.
215 When CMake is first run in an empty build tree, it creates a
217 CMakeCache.txt file and populates it with customizable settings
218 for the project. This option may be used to specify a setting
219 that takes priority over the project's default value. The op‐
220 tion may be repeated for as many CACHE entries as desired.
221 If the :<type> portion is given it must be one of the types
223 specified by the set() command documentation for its CACHE sig‐
224 nature. If the :<type> portion is omitted the entry will be
225 created with no type if it does not exist with a type already.
226 If a command in the project sets the type to PATH or FILEPATH
227 then the <value> will be converted to an absolute path.
228 This option may also be given as a single argument:
230 -D<var>:<type>=<value> or -D<var>=<value>.
231 It's important to note that the order of -C and -D arguments is
233 significant. They will be carried out in the order they are
234 listed, with the last argument taking precedence over the previ‐
235 ous ones. For example, if you specify -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug,
236 followed by a -C argument with a file that calls:
237 set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Release" CACHE STRING "" FORCE)
239 then the -C argument will take precedence, and CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE
241 will be set to Release. However, if the -D argument comes after
242 the -C argument, it will be set to Debug.
243 If a set(... CACHE ...) call in the -C file does not use FORCE,
245 and a -D argument sets the same variable, the -D argument will
246 take precedence regardless of order because of the nature of
247 non-FORCE set(... CACHE ...) calls.
248 -U <globbing_expr>
250 Remove matching entries from CMake CACHE.
251 This option may be used to remove one or more variables from the
253 CMakeCache.txt file, globbing expressions using * and ? are sup‐
254 ported. The option may be repeated for as many CACHE entries as
255 desired.
256 Use with care, you can make your CMakeCache.txt non-working.
258 -G <generator-name>
260 Specify a build system generator.
261 CMake may support multiple native build systems on certain plat‐
263 forms. A generator is responsible for generating a particular
264 build system. Possible generator names are specified in the
265 cmake-generators(7) manual.
266 If not specified, CMake checks the CMAKE_GENERATOR environment
268 variable and otherwise falls back to a builtin default selec‐
269 tion.
270 -T <toolset-spec>
272 Toolset specification for the generator, if supported.
273 Some CMake generators support a toolset specification to tell
275 the native build system how to choose a compiler. See the
276 CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for details.
277 -A <platform-name>
279 Specify platform name if supported by generator.
280 Some CMake generators support a platform name to be given to the
282 native build system to choose a compiler or SDK. See the
283 CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable for details.
284 --toolchain <path-to-file>
286 Specify the cross compiling toolchain file, equivalent to set‐
287 ting CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE variable.
288 --install-prefix <directory>
290 Specify the installation directory, used by the
291 CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX variable. Must be an absolute path.
292 -Wno-dev
294 Suppress developer warnings.
295 Suppress warnings that are meant for the author of the CMake‐
297 Lists.txt files. By default this will also turn off deprecation
298 warnings.
299 -Wdev Enable developer warnings.
301 Enable warnings that are meant for the author of the CMake‐
303 Lists.txt files. By default this will also turn on deprecation
304 warnings.
305 -Wdeprecated
307 Enable deprecated functionality warnings.
308 Enable warnings for usage of deprecated functionality, that are
310 meant for the author of the CMakeLists.txt files.
311 -Wno-deprecated
313 Suppress deprecated functionality warnings.
314 Suppress warnings for usage of deprecated functionality, that
316 are meant for the author of the CMakeLists.txt files.
317 -Werror=<what>
319 Treat CMake warnings as errors. <what> must be one of the fol‐
320 lowing:
321 dev Make developer warnings errors.
323 Make warnings that are meant for the author of the CMake‐
325 Lists.txt files errors. By default this will also turn on
326 deprecated warnings as errors.
327 deprecated
329 Make deprecated macro and function warnings errors.
330 Make warnings for usage of deprecated macros and func‐
332 tions, that are meant for the author of the CMake‐
333 Lists.txt files, errors.
334 -Wno-error=<what>
336 Do not treat CMake warnings as errors. <what> must be one of the
337 following:
338 dev Make warnings that are meant for the author of the CMake‐
340 Lists.txt files not errors. By default this will also
341 turn off deprecated warnings as errors.
342 deprecated
344 Make warnings for usage of deprecated macros and func‐
345 tions, that are meant for the author of the CMake‐
346 Lists.txt files, not errors.
347 --fresh
349 New in version 3.24.
350 Perform a fresh configuration of the build tree. This removes
353 any existing CMakeCache.txt file and associated CMakeFiles/ di‐
354 rectory, and recreates them from scratch.
355 -L[A][H]
357 List non-advanced cached variables.
358 List CACHE variables will run CMake and list all the variables
360 from the CMake CACHE that are not marked as INTERNAL or
361 ADVANCED. This will effectively display current CMake settings,
362 which can then be changed with -D option. Changing some of the
363 variables may result in more variables being created. If A is
364 specified, then it will display also advanced variables. If H
365 is specified, it will also display help for each variable.
366 -N View mode only.
368 Only load the cache. Do not actually run configure and generate
370 steps.
371 --graphviz=<file>
373 Generate graphviz of dependencies, see CMakeGraphVizOptions for
374 more.
375 Generate a graphviz input file that will contain all the library
377 and executable dependencies in the project. See the documenta‐
378 tion for CMakeGraphVizOptions for more details.
379 --system-information [file]
381 Dump information about this system.
382 Dump a wide range of information about the current system. If
384 run from the top of a binary tree for a CMake project it will
385 dump additional information such as the cache, log files etc.
386 --log-level=<level>
388 Set the log <level>.
389 The message() command will only output messages of the specified
391 log level or higher. The valid log levels are ERROR, WARNING,
392 NOTICE, STATUS (default), VERBOSE, DEBUG, or TRACE.
393 To make a log level persist between CMake runs, set
395 CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL as a cache variable instead. If both
396 the command line option and the variable are given, the command
397 line option takes precedence.
398 For backward compatibility reasons, --loglevel is also accepted
400 as a synonym for this option.
401 New in version 3.25: See the cmake_language() command for a way
403 to query the current message logging level.
404 --log-context
407 Enable the message() command outputting context attached to each
408 message.
409 This option turns on showing context for the current CMake run
411 only. To make showing the context persistent for all subsequent
412 CMake runs, set CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW as a cache variable
413 instead. When this command line option is given,
414 CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW is ignored.
415 --debug-trycompile
417 Do not delete the files and directories created for
418 try_compile() / try_run() calls. This is useful in debugging
419 failed checks.
420 Note that some uses of try_compile() may use the same build
422 tree, which will limit the usefulness of this option if a
423 project executes more than one try_compile(). For example, such
424 uses may change results as artifacts from a previous try-compile
425 may cause a different test to either pass or fail incorrectly.
426 This option is best used only when debugging.
427 (With respect to the preceding, the try_run() command is effec‐
429 tively a try_compile(). Any combination of the two is subject
430 to the potential issues described.)
431 New in version 3.25: When this option is enabled, every try-com‐
433 pile check prints a log message reporting the directory in which
434 the check is performed.
435 --debug-output
438 Put cmake in a debug mode.
439 Print extra information during the cmake run like stack traces
441 with message(SEND_ERROR) calls.
442 --debug-find
444 Put cmake find commands in a debug mode.
445 Print extra find call information during the cmake run to stan‐
447 dard error. Output is designed for human consumption and not for
448 parsing. See also the CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE variable for debug‐
449 ging a more local part of the project.
450 --debug-find-pkg=<pkg>[,...]
452 Put cmake find commands in a debug mode when running under calls
453 to find_package(<pkg>), where <pkg> is an entry in the given
454 comma-separated list of case-sensitive package names.
455 Like --debug-find, but limiting scope to the specified packages.
457 --debug-find-var=<var>[,...]
459 Put cmake find commands in a debug mode when called with <var>
460 as the result variable, where <var> is an entry in the given
461 comma-separated list.
462 Like --debug-find, but limiting scope to the specified variable
464 names.
465 --trace
467 Put cmake in trace mode.
468 Print a trace of all calls made and from where.
470 --trace-expand
472 Put cmake in trace mode.
473 Like --trace, but with variables expanded.
475 --trace-format=<format>
477 Put cmake in trace mode and sets the trace output format.
478 <format> can be one of the following values.
480 human Prints each trace line in a human-readable format.
482 This is the default format.
483 json-v1
485 Prints each line as a separate JSON document. Each
486 document is separated by a newline ( \n ). It is guar‐
487 anteed that no newline characters will be present in‐
488 side a JSON document.
489 JSON trace format:
491 {
493 "file": "/full/path/to/the/CMake/file.txt",
494 "line": 0,
495 "cmd": "add_executable",
496 "args": ["foo", "bar"],
497 "time": 1579512535.9687231,
498 "frame": 2,
499 "global_frame": 4
500 }
501 The members are:
503 file The full path to the CMake source file where
505 the function was called.
506 line The line in file where the function call be‐
508 gins.
509 line_end
511 If the function call spans multiple lines, this
512 field will be set to the line where the func‐
513 tion call ends. If the function calls spans a
514 single line, this field will be unset. This
515 field was added in minor version 2 of the
516 json-v1 format.
517 defer Optional member that is present when the func‐
519 tion call was deferred by
520 cmake_language(DEFER). If present, its value
521 is a string containing the deferred call <id>.
522 cmd The name of the function that was called.
524 args A string list of all function parameters.
526 time Timestamp (seconds since epoch) of the function
528 call.
529 frame Stack frame depth of the function that was
531 called, within the context of the CMake‐
532 Lists.txt being processed currently.
533 global_frame
535 Stack frame depth of the function that was
536 called, tracked globally across all CMake‐
537 Lists.txt files involved in the trace. This
538 field was added in minor version 2 of the
539 json-v1 format.
540 Additionally, the first JSON document outputted con‐
542 tains the version key for the current major and minor
543 version of the
544 JSON trace format:
546 {
548 "version": {
549 "major": 1,
550 "minor": 2
551 }
552 }
553 The members are:
555 version
557 Indicates the version of the JSON format. The
558 version has a major and minor components fol‐
559 lowing semantic version conventions.
560 --trace-source=<file>
562 Put cmake in trace mode, but output only lines of a specified
563 file.
564 Multiple options are allowed.
566 --trace-redirect=<file>
568 Put cmake in trace mode and redirect trace output to a file in‐
569 stead of stderr.
570 --warn-uninitialized
572 Warn about uninitialized values.
573 Print a warning when an uninitialized variable is used.
575 --warn-unused-vars
577 Does nothing. In CMake versions 3.2 and below this enabled
578 warnings about unused variables. In CMake versions 3.3 through
579 3.18 the option was broken. In CMake 3.19 and above the option
580 has been removed.
581 --no-warn-unused-cli
583 Don't warn about command line options.
584 Don't find variables that are declared on the command line, but
586 not used.
587 --check-system-vars
589 Find problems with variable usage in system files.
590 Normally, unused and uninitialized variables are searched for
592 only in CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR and CMAKE_BINARY_DIR. This flag tells
593 CMake to warn about other files as well.
594 --compile-no-warning-as-error
596 Ignore target property COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR and variable
597 CMAKE_COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR, preventing warnings from being
598 treated as errors on compile.
599 --profiling-output=<path>
601 Used in conjunction with --profiling-format to output to a given
602 path.
603 --profiling-format=<file>
605 Enable the output of profiling data of CMake script in the given
606 format.
607 This can aid performance analysis of CMake scripts executed.
609 Third party applications should be used to process the output
610 into human readable format.
611 Currently supported values are: google-trace Outputs in Google
613 Trace Format, which can be parsed by the about:tracing tab of
614 Google Chrome or using a plugin for a tool like Trace Compass.
615 --preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
617 Reads a preset from <path-to-source>/CMakePresets.json and
618 <path-to-source>/CMakeUserPresets.json. The preset may specify
619 the generator and the build directory, and a list of variables
620 and other arguments to pass to CMake. The current working direc‐
621 tory must contain CMake preset files. The CMake GUI can also
622 recognize CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json files. For
623 full details on these files, see cmake-presets(7).
624 The presets are read before all other command line options. The
626 options specified by the preset (variables, generator, etc.) can
627 all be overridden by manually specifying them on the command
628 line. For example, if the preset sets a variable called MYVAR to
629 1, but the user sets it to 2 with a -D argument, the value 2 is
630 preferred.
631 --list-presets[=<type>]
633 Lists the available presets of the specified <type>. Valid val‐
634 ues for <type> are configure, build, test, package, or all. If
635 <type> is omitted, configure is assumed. The current working
636 directory must contain CMake preset files.
637
639 CMake provides a command-line signature to build an already-generated
640 project binary tree:
641 cmake --build <dir> [<options>] [-- <build-tool-options>]
643 cmake --build --preset <preset> [<options>] [-- <build-tool-options>]
644 This abstracts a native build tool's command-line interface with the
646 following options:
647 --build <dir>
649 Project binary directory to be built. This is required (unless
650 a preset is specified) and must be first.
651 --preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
653 Use a build preset to specify build options. The project binary
654 directory is inferred from the configurePreset key. The current
655 working directory must contain CMake preset files. See preset
656 for more details.
657 --list-presets
659 Lists the available build presets. The current working directory
660 must contain CMake preset files.
661 -j [<jobs>], --parallel [<jobs>]
663 New in version 3.12.
664 The maximum number of concurrent processes to use when building.
667 If <jobs> is omitted the native build tool's default number is
668 used.
669 The CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL environment variable, if set,
671 specifies a default parallel level when this option is not
672 given.
673 Some native build tools always build in parallel. The use of
675 <jobs> value of 1 can be used to limit to a single job.
676 -t <tgt>..., --target <tgt>...
678 Build <tgt> instead of the default target. Multiple targets may
679 be given, separated by spaces.
680 --config <cfg>
682 For multi-configuration tools, choose configuration <cfg>.
683 --clean-first
685 Build target clean first, then build. (To clean only, use
686 --target clean.)
687 --resolve-package-references=<value>
689 New in version 3.23.
690 Resolve remote package references from external package managers
693 (e.g. NuGet) before build. When <value> is set to on (default),
694 packages will be restored before building a target. When
695 <value> is set to only, the packages will be restored, but no
696 build will be performed. When <value> is set to off, no pack‐
697 ages will be restored.
698 If the target does not define any package references, this op‐
700 tion does nothing.
701 This setting can be specified in a build preset (using re‐
703 solvePackageReferences). The preset setting will be ignored, if
704 this command line option is specified.
705 If no command line parameter or preset option are provided, an
707 environment- specific cache variable will be evaluated to de‐
708 cide, if package restoration should be performed.
709 When using the Visual Studio generator, package references are
711 defined using the VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES property. Package refer‐
712 ences are restored using NuGet. It can be disabled by setting
713 the CMAKE_VS_NUGET_PACKAGE_RESTORE variable to OFF.
714 --use-stderr
716 Ignored. Behavior is default in CMake >= 3.0.
717 -v, --verbose
719 Enable verbose output - if supported - including the build com‐
720 mands to be executed.
721 This option can be omitted if VERBOSE environment variable or
723 CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE cached variable is set.
724 -- Pass remaining options to the native tool.
726 Run cmake --build with no options for quick help.
728
730 CMake provides a command-line signature to install an already-generated
731 project binary tree:
732 cmake --install <dir> [<options>]
734 This may be used after building a project to run installation without
736 using the generated build system or the native build tool. The options
737 are:
738 --install <dir>
740 Project binary directory to install. This is required and must
741 be first.
742 --config <cfg>
744 For multi-configuration generators, choose configuration <cfg>.
745 --component <comp>
747 Component-based install. Only install component <comp>.
748 --default-directory-permissions <permissions>
750 Default directory install permissions. Permissions in format
751 <u=rwx,g=rx,o=rx>.
752 --prefix <prefix>
754 Override the installation prefix, CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX.
755 --strip
757 Strip before installing.
758 -v, --verbose
760 Enable verbose output.
761 This option can be omitted if VERBOSE environment variable is
763 set.
764 Run cmake --install with no options for quick help.
766
768 cmake --open <dir>
769 Open the generated project in the associated application. This is only
771 supported by some generators.
772
774 cmake [-D <var>=<value>]... -P <cmake-script-file> [-- <unparsed-options>...]
775 -D <var>=<value>
777 Define a variable for script mode.
778 -P <cmake-script-file>
780 Process the given cmake file as a script written in the CMake
781 language. No configure or generate step is performed and the
782 cache is not modified. If variables are defined using -D, this
783 must be done before the -P argument.
784 Any options after -- are not parsed by CMake, but they are still in‐
786 cluded in the set of CMAKE_ARGV<n> variables passed to the script (in‐
787 cluding the -- itself).
788
790 CMake provides builtin command-line tools through the signature
791 cmake -E <command> [<options>]
793 -E [help]
795 Run cmake -E or cmake -E help for a summary of commands.
796 Available commands are:
798 capabilities
800 New in version 3.7.
801 Report cmake capabilities in JSON format. The output is a JSON
804 object with the following keys:
805 version
807 A JSON object with version information. Keys are:
808 string The full version string as displayed by cmake
810 --version.
811 major The major version number in integer form.
813 minor The minor version number in integer form.
815 patch The patch level in integer form.
817 suffix The cmake version suffix string.
819 isDirty
821 A bool that is set if the cmake build is from a
822 dirty tree.
823 generators
825 A list available generators. Each generator is a JSON ob‐
826 ject with the following keys:
827 name A string containing the name of the generator.
829 toolsetSupport
831 true if the generator supports toolsets and false
832 otherwise.
833 platformSupport
835 true if the generator supports platforms and false
836 otherwise.
837 supportedPlatforms
839 New in version 3.21.
840 Optional member that may be present when the gen‐
843 erator supports platform specification via
844 CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM (-A ...). The value is a
845 list of platforms known to be supported.
846 extraGenerators
848 A list of strings with all the extra generators
849 compatible with the generator.
850 fileApi
852 Optional member that is present when the
853 cmake-file-api(7) is available. The value is a JSON ob‐
854 ject with one member:
855 requests
857 A JSON array containing zero or more supported
858 file-api requests. Each request is a JSON object
859 with members:
860 kind Specifies one of the supported Object
862 Kinds.
863 version
865 A JSON array whose elements are each a JSON
866 object containing major and minor members
867 specifying non-negative integer version
868 components.
869 serverMode
871 true if cmake supports server-mode and false otherwise.
872 Always false since CMake 3.20.
873 tls New in version 3.25.
875 true if TLS support is enabled and false otherwise.
878 cat [--] <files>...
880 New in version 3.18.
881 Concatenate files and print on the standard output.
884 -- New in version 3.24.
886 Added support for the double dash argument --. This basic
889 implementation of cat does not support any options, so
890 using a option starting with - will result in an error.
891 Use -- to indicate the end of options, in case a file
892 starts with -.
893 chdir <dir> <cmd> [<arg>...]
895 Change the current working directory and run a command.
896 compare_files [--ignore-eol] <file1> <file2>
898 Check if <file1> is same as <file2>. If files are the same, then
899 returns 0, if not it returns 1. In case of invalid arguments,
900 it returns 2.
901 --ignore-eol
903 New in version 3.14.
904 The option implies line-wise comparison and ignores
907 LF/CRLF differences.
908 copy <file>... <destination>
910 Copy files to <destination> (either file or directory). If mul‐
911 tiple files are specified, the <destination> must be directory
912 and it must exist. Wildcards are not supported. copy does fol‐
913 low symlinks. That means it does not copy symlinks, but the
914 files or directories it point to.
915 New in version 3.5: Support for multiple input files.
917 copy_directory <dir>... <destination>
920 Copy content of <dir>... directories to <destination> directory.
921 If <destination> directory does not exist it will be created.
922 copy_directory does follow symlinks.
923 New in version 3.5: Support for multiple input directories.
925 New in version 3.15: The command now fails when the source di‐
928 rectory does not exist. Previously it succeeded by creating an
929 empty destination directory.
930 copy_if_different <file>... <destination>
933 Copy files to <destination> (either file or directory) if they
934 have changed. If multiple files are specified, the <destina‐
935 tion> must be directory and it must exist. copy_if_different
936 does follow symlinks.
937 New in version 3.5: Support for multiple input files.
939 create_symlink <old> <new>
942 Create a symbolic link <new> naming <old>.
943 New in version 3.13: Support for creating symlinks on Windows.
945 NOTE:
948 Path to where <new> symbolic link will be created has to ex‐
949 ist beforehand.
950 create_hardlink <old> <new>
952 New in version 3.19.
953 Create a hard link <new> naming <old>.
956 NOTE:
958 Path to where <new> hard link will be created has to exist
959 beforehand. <old> has to exist beforehand.
960 echo [<string>...]
962 Displays arguments as text.
963 echo_append [<string>...]
965 Displays arguments as text but no new line.
966 env [<options>] [--] <command> [<arg>...]
968 New in version 3.1.
969 Run command in a modified environment. Options are:
972 NAME=VALUE
974 Replaces the current value of NAME with VALUE.
975 --unset=NAME
977 Unsets the current value of NAME.
978 --modify ENVIRONMENT_MODIFICATION
980 New in version 3.25.
981 Apply a single ENVIRONMENT_MODIFICATION operation to the
984 modified environment.
985 The NAME=VALUE and --unset=NAME options are equivalent to
987 --modify NAME=set:VALUE and --modify NAME=unset:, respec‐
988 tively. Note that --modify NAME=reset: resets NAME to
989 the value it had when cmake launched (or unsets it), not
990 to the most recent NAME=VALUE option.
991 -- New in version 3.24.
993 Added support for the double dash argument --. Use -- to
996 stop interpreting options/environment variables and treat
997 the next argument as the command, even if it start with -
998 or contains a =.
999 environment
1001 Display the current environment variables.
1002 false New in version 3.16.
1004 Do nothing, with an exit code of 1.
1007 make_directory <dir>...
1009 Create <dir> directories. If necessary, create parent directo‐
1010 ries too. If a directory already exists it will be silently ig‐
1011 nored.
1012 New in version 3.5: Support for multiple input directories.
1014 md5sum <file>...
1017 Create MD5 checksum of files in md5sum compatible format:
1018 351abe79cd3800b38cdfb25d45015a15 file1.txt
1020 052f86c15bbde68af55c7f7b340ab639 file2.txt
1021 sha1sum <file>...
1023 New in version 3.10.
1024 Create SHA1 checksum of files in sha1sum compatible format:
1027 4bb7932a29e6f73c97bb9272f2bdc393122f86e0 file1.txt
1029 1df4c8f318665f9a5f2ed38f55adadb7ef9f559c file2.txt
1030 sha224sum <file>...
1032 New in version 3.10.
1033 Create SHA224 checksum of files in sha224sum compatible format:
1036 b9b9346bc8437bbda630b0b7ddfc5ea9ca157546dbbf4c613192f930 file1.txt
1038 6dfbe55f4d2edc5fe5c9197bca51ceaaf824e48eba0cc453088aee24 file2.txt
1039 sha256sum <file>...
1041 New in version 3.10.
1042 Create SHA256 checksum of files in sha256sum compatible format:
1045 76713b23615d31680afeb0e9efe94d47d3d4229191198bb46d7485f9cb191acc file1.txt
1047 15b682ead6c12dedb1baf91231e1e89cfc7974b3787c1e2e01b986bffadae0ea file2.txt
1048 sha384sum <file>...
1050 New in version 3.10.
1051 Create SHA384 checksum of files in sha384sum compatible format:
1054 acc049fedc091a22f5f2ce39a43b9057fd93c910e9afd76a6411a28a8f2b8a12c73d7129e292f94fc0329c309df49434 file1.txt
1056 668ddeb108710d271ee21c0f3acbd6a7517e2b78f9181c6a2ff3b8943af92b0195dcb7cce48aa3e17893173c0a39e23d file2.txt
1057 sha512sum <file>...
1059 New in version 3.10.
1060 Create SHA512 checksum of files in sha512sum compatible format:
1063 2a78d7a6c5328cfb1467c63beac8ff21794213901eaadafd48e7800289afbc08e5fb3e86aa31116c945ee3d7bf2a6194489ec6101051083d1108defc8e1dba89 file1.txt
1065 7a0b54896fe5e70cca6dd643ad6f672614b189bf26f8153061c4d219474b05dad08c4e729af9f4b009f1a1a280cb625454bf587c690f4617c27e3aebdf3b7a2d file2.txt
1066 remove [-f] <file>...
1068 Deprecated since version 3.17.
1069 Remove the file(s). The planned behavior was that if any of the
1072 listed files already do not exist, the command returns a
1073 non-zero exit code, but no message is logged. The -f option
1074 changes the behavior to return a zero exit code (i.e. success)
1075 in such situations instead. remove does not follow symlinks.
1076 That means it remove only symlinks and not files it point to.
1077 The implementation was buggy and always returned 0. It cannot be
1079 fixed without breaking backwards compatibility. Use rm instead.
1080 remove_directory <dir>...
1082 Deprecated since version 3.17.
1083 Remove <dir> directories and their contents. If a directory does
1086 not exist it will be silently ignored. Use rm instead.
1087 New in version 3.15: Support for multiple directories.
1089 New in version 3.16: If <dir> is a symlink to a directory, just
1092 the symlink will be removed.
1093 rename <oldname> <newname>
1096 Rename a file or directory (on one volume). If file with the
1097 <newname> name already exists, then it will be silently re‐
1098 placed.
1099 rm [-rRf] [--] <file|dir>...
1101 New in version 3.17.
1102 Remove the files <file> or directories <dir>. Use -r or -R to
1105 remove directories and their contents recursively. If any of
1106 the listed files/directories do not exist, the command returns a
1107 non-zero exit code, but no message is logged. The -f option
1108 changes the behavior to return a zero exit code (i.e. success)
1109 in such situations instead. Use -- to stop interpreting options
1110 and treat all remaining arguments as paths, even if they start
1111 with -.
1112 server Launch cmake-server(7) mode.
1114 sleep <number>...
1116 New in version 3.0.
1117 Sleep for given number of seconds.
1120 tar [cxt][vf][zjJ] file.tar [<options>] [--] [<pathname>...]
1122 Create or extract a tar or zip archive. Options are:
1123 c Create a new archive containing the specified files. If
1125 used, the <pathname>... argument is mandatory.
1126 x Extract to disk from the archive.
1128 New in version 3.15: The <pathname>... argument could be
1130 used to extract only selected files or directories. When
1131 extracting selected files or directories, you must pro‐
1132 vide their exact names including the path, as printed by
1133 list (-t).
1134 t List archive contents.
1137 New in version 3.15: The <pathname>... argument could be
1139 used to list only selected files or directories.
1140 v Produce verbose output.
1143 z Compress the resulting archive with gzip.
1145 j Compress the resulting archive with bzip2.
1147 J New in version 3.1.
1149 Compress the resulting archive with XZ.
1152 --zstd New in version 3.15.
1154 Compress the resulting archive with Zstandard.
1157 --files-from=<file>
1159 New in version 3.1.
1160 Read file names from the given file, one per line. Blank
1163 lines are ignored. Lines may not start in - except for
1164 --add-file=<name> to add files whose names start in -.
1165 --format=<format>
1167 New in version 3.3.
1168 Specify the format of the archive to be created. Sup‐
1171 ported formats are: 7zip, gnutar, pax, paxr (restricted
1172 pax, default), and zip.
1173 --mtime=<date>
1175 New in version 3.1.
1176 Specify modification time recorded in tarball entries.
1179 --touch
1181 New in version 3.24.
1182 Use current local timestamp instead of extracting file
1185 timestamps from the archive.
1186 -- New in version 3.1.
1188 Stop interpreting options and treat all remaining argu‐
1191 ments as file names, even if they start with -.
1192 New in version 3.1: LZMA (7zip) support.
1194 New in version 3.15: The command now continues adding files to
1197 an archive even if some of the files are not readable. This be‐
1198 havior is more consistent with the classic tar tool. The command
1199 now also parses all flags, and if an invalid flag was provided,
1200 a warning is issued.
1201 time <command> [<args>...]
1204 Run command and display elapsed time.
1205 New in version 3.5: The command now properly passes arguments
1207 with spaces or special characters through to the child process.
1208 This may break scripts that worked around the bug with their own
1209 extra quoting or escaping.
1210 touch <file>...
1213 Creates <file> if file do not exist. If <file> exists, it is
1214 changing <file> access and modification times.
1215 touch_nocreate <file>...
1217 Touch a file if it exists but do not create it. If a file does
1218 not exist it will be silently ignored.
1219 true New in version 3.16.
1221 Do nothing, with an exit code of 0.
1224 Windows-specific Command-Line Tools
1226 The following cmake -E commands are available only on Windows:
1227 delete_regv <key>
1229 Delete Windows registry value.
1230 env_vs8_wince <sdkname>
1232 New in version 3.2.
1233 Displays a batch file which sets the environment for the pro‐
1236 vided Windows CE SDK installed in VS2005.
1237 env_vs9_wince <sdkname>
1239 New in version 3.2.
1240 Displays a batch file which sets the environment for the pro‐
1243 vided Windows CE SDK installed in VS2008.
1244 write_regv <key> <value>
1246 Write Windows registry value.
1247
1249 CMake provides a pkg-config like helper for Makefile-based projects:
1250 cmake --find-package [<options>]
1252 It searches a package using find_package() and prints the resulting
1254 flags to stdout. This can be used instead of pkg-config to find in‐
1255 stalled libraries in plain Makefile-based projects or in autoconf-based
1256 projects (via share/aclocal/cmake.m4).
1257 NOTE:
1259 This mode is not well-supported due to some technical limitations.
1260 It is kept for compatibility but should not be used in new projects.
1261
1263 CMake Presets provides a way to execute multiple build steps in order:
1264 cmake --workflow [<options>]
1266 The options are:
1268 --workflow
1270 Select a Workflow Preset using one of the following options.
1271 --preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
1273 Use a workflow preset to specify a workflow. The project binary
1274 directory is inferred from the initial configure preset. The
1275 current working directory must contain CMake preset files. See
1276 preset for more details.
1277 --list-presets
1279 Lists the available workflow presets. The current working direc‐
1280 tory must contain CMake preset files.
1281 --fresh
1283 Perform a fresh configuration of the build tree. This removes
1284 any existing CMakeCache.txt file and associated CMakeFiles/ di‐
1285 rectory, and recreates them from scratch.
1286
1288 To print selected pages from the CMake documentation, use
1289 cmake --help[-<topic>]
1291 with one of the following options:
1293 -version [<file>], --version [<file>], /V [<file>]
1295 Show program name/version banner and exit. The output is
1296 printed to a named <file> if given.
1297 -h, -H, --help, -help, -usage, /?
1299 Print usage information and exit.
1300 Usage describes the basic command line interface and its op‐
1302 tions.
1303 --help-full [<file>]
1305 Print all help manuals and exit.
1306 All manuals are printed in a human-readable text format. The
1308 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1309 --help-manual <man> [<file>]
1311 Print one help manual and exit.
1312 The specified manual is printed in a human-readable text format.
1314 The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1315 --help-manual-list [<file>]
1317 List help manuals available and exit.
1318 The list contains all manuals for which help may be obtained by
1320 using the --help-manual option followed by a manual name. The
1321 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1322 --help-command <cmd> [<file>]
1324 Print help for one command and exit.
1325 The cmake-commands(7) manual entry for <cmd> is printed in a hu‐
1327 man-readable text format. The output is printed to a named
1328 <file> if given.
1329 --help-command-list [<file>]
1331 List commands with help available and exit.
1332 The list contains all commands for which help may be obtained by
1334 using the --help-command option followed by a command name. The
1335 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1336 --help-commands [<file>]
1338 Print cmake-commands manual and exit.
1339 The cmake-commands(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text
1341 format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1342 --help-module <mod> [<file>]
1344 Print help for one module and exit.
1345 The cmake-modules(7) manual entry for <mod> is printed in a hu‐
1347 man-readable text format. The output is printed to a named
1348 <file> if given.
1349 --help-module-list [<file>]
1351 List modules with help available and exit.
1352 The list contains all modules for which help may be obtained by
1354 using the --help-module option followed by a module name. The
1355 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1356 --help-modules [<file>]
1358 Print cmake-modules manual and exit.
1359 The cmake-modules(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text
1361 format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1362 --help-policy <cmp> [<file>]
1364 Print help for one policy and exit.
1365 The cmake-policies(7) manual entry for <cmp> is printed in a hu‐
1367 man-readable text format. The output is printed to a named
1368 <file> if given.
1369 --help-policy-list [<file>]
1371 List policies with help available and exit.
1372 The list contains all policies for which help may be obtained by
1374 using the --help-policy option followed by a policy name. The
1375 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1376 --help-policies [<file>]
1378 Print cmake-policies manual and exit.
1379 The cmake-policies(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text
1381 format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1382 --help-property <prop> [<file>]
1384 Print help for one property and exit.
1385 The cmake-properties(7) manual entries for <prop> are printed in
1387 a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named
1388 <file> if given.
1389 --help-property-list [<file>]
1391 List properties with help available and exit.
1392 The list contains all properties for which help may be obtained
1394 by using the --help-property option followed by a property name.
1395 The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1396 --help-properties [<file>]
1398 Print cmake-properties manual and exit.
1399 The cmake-properties(7) manual is printed in a human-readable
1401 text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1402 --help-variable <var> [<file>]
1404 Print help for one variable and exit.
1405 The cmake-variables(7) manual entry for <var> is printed in a
1407 human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named
1408 <file> if given.
1409 --help-variable-list [<file>]
1411 List variables with help available and exit.
1412 The list contains all variables for which help may be obtained
1414 by using the --help-variable option followed by a variable name.
1415 The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1416 --help-variables [<file>]
1418 Print cmake-variables manual and exit.
1419 The cmake-variables(7) manual is printed in a human-readable
1421 text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
1422 To view the presets available for a project, use
1424 cmake <source-dir> --list-presets
1426
1428 Upon regular termination, the cmake executable returns the exit code 0.
1429 If termination is caused by the command message(FATAL_ERROR), or an‐
1431 other error condition, then a non-zero exit code is returned.
1432
1434 The following resources are available to get help using CMake:
1435 Home Page
1437 https://cmake.org
1438 The primary starting point for learning about CMake.
1440 Online Documentation and Community Resources
1442 https://cmake.org/documentation
1443 Links to available documentation and community resources may be
1445 found on this web page.
1446 Discourse Forum
1448 https://discourse.cmake.org
1449 The Discourse Forum hosts discussion and questions about CMake.
1451
1453 2000-2023 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
14543.25.2 Jan 19, 2023 CMAKE(1)