Provided by: cmake_3.16.3-1ubuntu1.20.04.1_amd64 
NAME
ctest - CTest Command-Line Reference
Contents
• ctest(1)
• Synopsis
• Description
• Options
• Label and Subproject Summary
• Build and Test Mode
• Dashboard Client
• Dashboard Client Steps
• Dashboard Client Modes
• Dashboard Client via CTest Command-Line
• Dashboard Client via CTest Script
• Dashboard Client Configuration
• CTest Start Step
• CTest Update Step
• CTest Configure Step
• CTest Build Step
• CTest Test Step
• CTest Coverage Step
• CTest MemCheck Step
• CTest Submit Step
• Show as JSON Object Model
• Resource Allocation
• Resource Specification File
• RESOURCE_GROUPS Property
• Environment Variables
• See Also
SYNOPSIS
ctest [<options>]
ctest --build-and-test <path-to-source> <path-to-build>
--build-generator <generator> [<options>...]
[--build-options <opts>...] [--test-command <command> [<args>...]]
ctest {-D <dashboard> | -M <model> -T <action> | -S <script> | -SP <script>}
[-- <dashboard-options>...]
DESCRIPTION
The ctest executable is the CMake test driver program. CMake-generated build trees
created for projects that use the enable_testing() and add_test() commands have testing
support. This program will run the tests and report results.
OPTIONS
-C <cfg>, --build-config <cfg>
Choose configuration to test.
Some CMake-generated build trees can have multiple build configurations in the same
tree. This option can be used to specify which one should be tested. Example
configurations are Debug and Release.
--progress
Enable short progress output from tests.
When the output of ctest is being sent directly to a terminal, the progress through
the set of tests is reported by updating the same line rather than printing start
and end messages for each test on new lines. This can significantly reduce the
verbosity of the test output. Test completion messages are still output on their
own line for failed tests and the final test summary will also still be logged.
This option can also be enabled by setting the environment variable
CTEST_PROGRESS_OUTPUT.
-V,--verbose
Enable verbose output from tests.
Test output is normally suppressed and only summary information is displayed. This
option will show all test output.
-VV,--extra-verbose
Enable more verbose output from tests.
Test output is normally suppressed and only summary information is displayed. This
option will show even more test output.
--debug
Displaying more verbose internals of CTest.
This feature will result in a large number of output that is mostly useful for
debugging dashboard problems.
--output-on-failure
Output anything outputted by the test program if the test should fail. This option
can also be enabled by setting the CTEST_OUTPUT_ON_FAILURE environment variable
-F Enable failover.
This option allows CTest to resume a test set execution that was previously
interrupted. If no interruption occurred, the -F option will have no effect.
-j <jobs>, --parallel <jobs>
Run the tests in parallel using the given number of jobs.
This option tells CTest to run the tests in parallel using given number of jobs.
This option can also be set by setting the CTEST_PARALLEL_LEVEL environment
variable.
This option can be used with the PROCESSORS test property.
See Label and Subproject Summary.
--resource-spec-file <file>
Run CTest with resource allocation enabled, using the resource specification file
specified in <file>.
When ctest is run as a Dashboard Client this sets the ResourceSpecFile option of
the CTest Test Step.
--test-load <level>
While running tests in parallel (e.g. with -j), try not to start tests when they
may cause the CPU load to pass above a given threshold.
When ctest is run as a Dashboard Client this sets the TestLoad option of the CTest
Test Step.
-Q,--quiet
Make CTest quiet.
This option will suppress all the output. The output log file will still be
generated if the --output-log is specified. Options such as --verbose,
--extra-verbose, and --debug are ignored if --quiet is specified.
-O <file>, --output-log <file>
Output to log file.
This option tells CTest to write all its output to a <file> log file.
-N,--show-only[=<format>]
Disable actual execution of tests.
This option tells CTest to list the tests that would be run but not actually run
them. Useful in conjunction with the -R and -E options.
<format> can be one of the following values.
human Human-friendly output. This is not guaranteed to be stable. This is the
default.
json-v1
Dump the test information in JSON format. See Show as JSON Object Model.
-L <regex>, --label-regex <regex>
Run tests with labels matching regular expression.
This option tells CTest to run only the tests whose labels match the given regular
expression.
-R <regex>, --tests-regex <regex>
Run tests matching regular expression.
This option tells CTest to run only the tests whose names match the given regular
expression.
-E <regex>, --exclude-regex <regex>
Exclude tests matching regular expression.
This option tells CTest to NOT run the tests whose names match the given regular
expression.
-LE <regex>, --label-exclude <regex>
Exclude tests with labels matching regular expression.
This option tells CTest to NOT run the tests whose labels match the given regular
expression.
-FA <regex>, --fixture-exclude-any <regex>
Exclude fixtures matching <regex> from automatically adding any tests to the test
set.
If a test in the set of tests to be executed requires a particular fixture, that
fixture’s setup and cleanup tests would normally be added to the test set
automatically. This option prevents adding setup or cleanup tests for fixtures
matching the <regex>. Note that all other fixture behavior is retained, including
test dependencies and skipping tests that have fixture setup tests that fail.
-FS <regex>, --fixture-exclude-setup <regex>
Same as -FA except only matching setup tests are excluded.
-FC <regex>, --fixture-exclude-cleanup <regex>
Same as -FA except only matching cleanup tests are excluded.
-D <dashboard>, --dashboard <dashboard>
Execute dashboard test.
This option tells CTest to act as a CDash client and perform a dashboard test. All
tests are <Mode><Test>, where <Mode> can be Experimental, Nightly, and Continuous,
and <Test> can be Start, Update, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit.
See Dashboard Client.
-D <var>:<type>=<value>
Define a variable for script mode.
Pass in variable values on the command line. Use in conjunction with -S to pass
variable values to a dashboard script. Parsing -D arguments as variable values is
only attempted if the value following -D does not match any of the known dashboard
types.
-M <model>, --test-model <model>
Sets the model for a dashboard.
This option tells CTest to act as a CDash client where the <model> can be
Experimental, Nightly, and Continuous. Combining -M and -T is similar to -D.
See Dashboard Client.
-T <action>, --test-action <action>
Sets the dashboard action to perform.
This option tells CTest to act as a CDash client and perform some action such as
start, build, test etc. See Dashboard Client Steps for the full list of actions.
Combining -M and -T is similar to -D.
See Dashboard Client.
-S <script>, --script <script>
Execute a dashboard for a configuration.
This option tells CTest to load in a configuration script which sets a number of
parameters such as the binary and source directories. Then CTest will do what is
required to create and run a dashboard. This option basically sets up a dashboard
and then runs ctest -D with the appropriate options.
See Dashboard Client.
-SP <script>, --script-new-process <script>
Execute a dashboard for a configuration.
This option does the same operations as -S but it will do them in a separate
process. This is primarily useful in cases where the script may modify the
environment and you do not want the modified environment to impact other -S
scripts.
See Dashboard Client.
-I [Start,End,Stride,test#,test#|Test file], --tests-information
Run a specific number of tests by number.
This option causes CTest to run tests starting at number Start, ending at number
End, and incrementing by Stride. Any additional numbers after Stride are
considered individual test numbers. Start, End, or Stride can be empty.
Optionally a file can be given that contains the same syntax as the command line.
-U, --union
Take the Union of -I and -R.
When both -R and -I are specified by default the intersection of tests are run. By
specifying -U the union of tests is run instead.
--rerun-failed
Run only the tests that failed previously.
This option tells CTest to perform only the tests that failed during its previous
run. When this option is specified, CTest ignores all other options intended to
modify the list of tests to run (-L, -R, -E, -LE, -I, etc). In the event that
CTest runs and no tests fail, subsequent calls to CTest with the --rerun-failed
option will run the set of tests that most recently failed (if any).
--repeat-until-fail <n>
Require each test to run <n> times without failing in order to pass.
This is useful in finding sporadic failures in test cases.
--max-width <width>
Set the max width for a test name to output.
Set the maximum width for each test name to show in the output. This allows the
user to widen the output to avoid clipping the test name which can be very
annoying.
--interactive-debug-mode [0|1]
Set the interactive mode to 0 or 1.
This option causes CTest to run tests in either an interactive mode or a
non-interactive mode. On Windows this means that in non-interactive mode, all
system debug pop up windows are blocked. In dashboard mode (Experimental, Nightly,
Continuous), the default is non-interactive. When just running tests not for a
dashboard the default is to allow popups and interactive debugging.
--no-label-summary
Disable timing summary information for labels.
This option tells CTest not to print summary information for each label associated
with the tests run. If there are no labels on the tests, nothing extra is printed.
See Label and Subproject Summary.
--no-subproject-summary
Disable timing summary information for subprojects.
This option tells CTest not to print summary information for each subproject
associated with the tests run. If there are no subprojects on the tests, nothing
extra is printed.
See Label and Subproject Summary.
--build-and-test See Build and Test Mode.
--test-output-size-passed <size>
Limit the output for passed tests to <size> bytes.
--test-output-size-failed <size>
Limit the output for failed tests to <size> bytes.
--overwrite
Overwrite CTest configuration option.
By default CTest uses configuration options from configuration file. This option
will overwrite the configuration option.
--force-new-ctest-process
Run child CTest instances as new processes.
By default CTest will run child CTest instances within the same process. If this
behavior is not desired, this argument will enforce new processes for child CTest
processes.
--schedule-random
Use a random order for scheduling tests.
This option will run the tests in a random order. It is commonly used to detect
implicit dependencies in a test suite.
--submit-index
Legacy option for old Dart2 dashboard server feature. Do not use.
--timeout <seconds>
Set the default test timeout.
This option effectively sets a timeout on all tests that do not already have a
timeout set on them via the TIMEOUT property.
--stop-time <time>
Set a time at which all tests should stop running.
Set a real time of day at which all tests should timeout. Example: 7:00:00 -0400.
Any time format understood by the curl date parser is accepted. Local time is
assumed if no timezone is specified.
--print-labels
Print all available test labels.
This option will not run any tests, it will simply print the list of all labels
associated with the test set.
--help,-help,-usage,-h,-H,/?
Print usage information and exit.
Usage describes the basic command line interface and its options.
--version,-version,/V [<f>]
Show program name/version banner and exit.
If a file is specified, the version is written into it. The help is printed to a
named <f>ile if given.
--help-full [<f>]
Print all help manuals and exit.
All manuals are printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a
named <f>ile if given.
--help-manual <man> [<f>]
Print one help manual and exit.
The specified manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is
printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-manual-list [<f>]
List help manuals available and exit.
The list contains all manuals for which help may be obtained by using the
--help-manual option followed by a manual name. The help is printed to a named
<f>ile if given.
--help-command <cmd> [<f>]
Print help for one command and exit.
The cmake-commands(7) manual entry for <cmd> is printed in a human-readable text
format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-command-list [<f>]
List commands with help available and exit.
The list contains all commands for which help may be obtained by using the
--help-command option followed by a command name. The help is printed to a named
<f>ile if given.
--help-commands [<f>]
Print cmake-commands manual and exit.
The cmake-commands(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help
is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-module <mod> [<f>]
Print help for one module and exit.
The cmake-modules(7) manual entry for <mod> is printed in a human-readable text
format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-module-list [<f>]
List modules with help available and exit.
The list contains all modules for which help may be obtained by using the
--help-module option followed by a module name. The help is printed to a named
<f>ile if given.
--help-modules [<f>]
Print cmake-modules manual and exit.
The cmake-modules(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help
is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-policy <cmp> [<f>]
Print help for one policy and exit.
The cmake-policies(7) manual entry for <cmp> is printed in a human-readable text
format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-policy-list [<f>]
List policies with help available and exit.
The list contains all policies for which help may be obtained by using the
--help-policy option followed by a policy name. The help is printed to a named
<f>ile if given.
--help-policies [<f>]
Print cmake-policies manual and exit.
The cmake-policies(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help
is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-property <prop> [<f>]
Print help for one property and exit.
The cmake-properties(7) manual entries for <prop> are printed in a human-readable
text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-property-list [<f>]
List properties with help available and exit.
The list contains all properties for which help may be obtained by using the
--help-property option followed by a property name. The help is printed to a named
<f>ile if given.
--help-properties [<f>]
Print cmake-properties manual and exit.
The cmake-properties(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The
help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-variable <var> [<f>]
Print help for one variable and exit.
The cmake-variables(7) manual entry for <var> is printed in a human-readable text
format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
--help-variable-list [<f>]
List variables with help available and exit.
The list contains all variables for which help may be obtained by using the
--help-variable option followed by a variable name. The help is printed to a named
<f>ile if given.
--help-variables [<f>]
Print cmake-variables manual and exit.
The cmake-variables(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help
is printed to a named <f>ile if given.
LABEL AND SUBPROJECT SUMMARY
CTest prints timing summary information for each LABEL and subproject associated with the
tests run. The label time summary will not include labels that are mapped to subprojects.
When the PROCESSORS test property is set, CTest will display a weighted test timing result
in label and subproject summaries. The time is reported with sec*proc instead of just sec.
The weighted time summary reported for each label or subproject j is computed as:
Weighted Time Summary for Label/Subproject j =
sum(raw_test_time[j,i] * num_processors[j,i], i=1...num_tests[j])
for labels/subprojects j=1...total
where:
• raw_test_time[j,i]: Wall-clock time for the i test for the j label or subproject
• num_processors[j,i]: Value of the CTest PROCESSORS property for the i test for the j
label or subproject
• num_tests[j]: Number of tests associated with the j label or subproject
• total: Total number of labels or subprojects that have at least one test run
Therefore, the weighted time summary for each label or subproject represents the amount of
time that CTest gave to run the tests for each label or subproject and gives a good
representation of the total expense of the tests for each label or subproject when
compared to other labels or subprojects.
For example, if SubprojectA showed 100 sec*proc and SubprojectB showed 10 sec*proc, then
CTest allocated approximately 10 times the CPU/core time to run the tests for SubprojectA
than for SubprojectB (e.g. so if effort is going to be expended to reduce the cost of the
test suite for the whole project, then reducing the cost of the test suite for SubprojectA
would likely have a larger impact than effort to reduce the cost of the test suite for
SubprojectB).
BUILD AND TEST MODE
CTest provides a command-line signature to configure (i.e. run cmake on), build, and/or
execute a test:
ctest --build-and-test <path-to-source> <path-to-build>
--build-generator <generator>
[<options>...]
[--build-options <opts>...]
[--test-command <command> [<args>...]]
The configure and test steps are optional. The arguments to this command line are the
source and binary directories. The --build-generator option must be provided to use
--build-and-test. If --test-command is specified then that will be run after the build is
complete. Other options that affect this mode include:
--build-target
Specify a specific target to build.
If left out the all target is built.
--build-nocmake
Run the build without running cmake first.
Skip the cmake step.
--build-run-dir
Specify directory to run programs from.
Directory where programs will be after it has been compiled.
--build-two-config
Run CMake twice.
--build-exe-dir
Specify the directory for the executable.
--build-generator
Specify the generator to use. See the cmake-generators(7) manual.
--build-generator-platform
Specify the generator-specific platform.
--build-generator-toolset
Specify the generator-specific toolset.
--build-project
Specify the name of the project to build.
--build-makeprogram
Specify the explicit make program to be used by CMake when configuring and building
the project. Only applicable for Make and Ninja based generators.
--build-noclean
Skip the make clean step.
--build-config-sample
A sample executable to use to determine the configuration that should be used.
e.g. Debug, Release etc.
--build-options
Additional options for configuring the build (i.e. for CMake, not for the build
tool). Note that if this is specified, the --build-options keyword and its
arguments must be the last option given on the command line, with the possible
exception of --test-command.
--test-command
The command to run as the test step with the --build-and-test option. All
arguments following this keyword will be assumed to be part of the test command
line, so it must be the last option given.
--test-timeout
The time limit in seconds
DASHBOARD CLIENT
CTest can operate as a client for the CDash software quality dashboard application. As a
dashboard client, CTest performs a sequence of steps to configure, build, and test
software, and then submits the results to a CDash server. The command-line signature used
to submit to CDash is:
ctest (-D <dashboard> | -M <model> -T <action> | -S <script> | -SP <script>)
[-- <dashboard-options>...]
Options for Dashboard Client include:
--group <group>
Specify what group you’d like to submit results to
Submit dashboard to specified group instead of default one. By default, the
dashboard is submitted to Nightly, Experimental, or Continuous group, but by
specifying this option, the group can be arbitrary.
This replaces the deprecated option --track. Despite the name change its behavior
is unchanged.
-A <file>, --add-notes <file>
Add a notes file with submission.
This option tells CTest to include a notes file when submitting dashboard.
--tomorrow-tag
Nightly or Experimental starts with next day tag.
This is useful if the build will not finish in one day.
--extra-submit <file>[;<file>]
Submit extra files to the dashboard.
This option will submit extra files to the dashboard.
--http1.0
Submit using HTTP 1.0.
This option will force CTest to use HTTP 1.0 to submit files to the dashboard,
instead of HTTP 1.1.
--no-compress-output
Do not compress test output when submitting.
This flag will turn off automatic compression of test output. Use this to maintain
compatibility with an older version of CDash which doesn’t support compressed test
output.
Dashboard Client Steps
CTest defines an ordered list of testing steps of which some or all may be run as a
dashboard client:
Start Start a new dashboard submission to be composed of results recorded by the
following steps. See the CTest Start Step section below.
Update Update the source tree from its version control repository. Record the old and new
versions and the list of updated source files. See the CTest Update Step section
below.
Configure
Configure the software by running a command in the build tree. Record the
configuration output log. See the CTest Configure Step section below.
Build Build the software by running a command in the build tree. Record the build output
log and detect warnings and errors. See the CTest Build Step section below.
Test Test the software by loading a CTestTestfile.cmake from the build tree and
executing the defined tests. Record the output and result of each test. See the
CTest Test Step section below.
Coverage
Compute coverage of the source code by running a coverage analysis tool and
recording its output. See the CTest Coverage Step section below.
MemCheck
Run the software test suite through a memory check tool. Record the test output,
results, and issues reported by the tool. See the CTest MemCheck Step section
below.
Submit Submit results recorded from other testing steps to the software quality dashboard
server. See the CTest Submit Step section below.
Dashboard Client Modes
CTest defines three modes of operation as a dashboard client:
Nightly
This mode is intended to be invoked once per day, typically at night. It enables
the Start, Update, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit steps by default.
Selected steps run even if the Update step reports no changes to the source tree.
Continuous
This mode is intended to be invoked repeatedly throughout the day. It enables the
Start, Update, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit steps by default, but
exits after the Update step if it reports no changes to the source tree.
Experimental
This mode is intended to be invoked by a developer to test local changes. It
enables the Start, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit steps by default.
Dashboard Client via CTest Command-Line
CTest can perform testing on an already-generated build tree. Run the ctest command with
the current working directory set to the build tree and use one of these signatures:
ctest -D <mode>[<step>]
ctest -M <mode> [ -T <step> ]...
The <mode> must be one of the above Dashboard Client Modes, and each <step> must be one of
the above Dashboard Client Steps.
CTest reads the Dashboard Client Configuration settings from a file in the build tree
called either CTestConfiguration.ini or DartConfiguration.tcl (the names are historical).
The format of the file is:
# Lines starting in '#' are comments.
# Other non-blank lines are key-value pairs.
<setting>: <value>
where <setting> is the setting name and <value> is the setting value.
In build trees generated by CMake, this configuration file is generated by the CTest
module if included by the project. The module uses variables to obtain a value for each
setting as documented with the settings below.
Dashboard Client via CTest Script
CTest can perform testing driven by a cmake-language(7) script that creates and maintains
the source and build tree as well as performing the testing steps. Run the ctest command
with the current working directory set outside of any build tree and use one of these
signatures:
ctest -S <script>
ctest -SP <script>
The <script> file must call CTest Commands commands to run testing steps explicitly as
documented below. The commands obtain Dashboard Client Configuration settings from their
arguments or from variables set in the script.
DASHBOARD CLIENT CONFIGURATION
The Dashboard Client Steps may be configured by named settings as documented in the
following sections.
CTest Start Step
Start a new dashboard submission to be composed of results recorded by the following
steps.
In a CTest Script, the ctest_start() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may
specify some of the step settings. The command first runs the command-line specified by
the CTEST_CHECKOUT_COMMAND variable, if set, to initialize the source directory.
Configuration settings include:
BuildDirectory
The full path to the project build tree.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_BINARY_DIRECTORY
• CTest module variable: PROJECT_BINARY_DIR
SourceDirectory
The full path to the project source tree.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SOURCE_DIRECTORY
• CTest module variable: PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR
CTest Update Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_update() command runs this step. Arguments to the command
may specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings to specify the version control tool include:
BZRCommand
bzr command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Bazaar.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_BZR_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: none
BZRUpdateOptions
Command-line options to the BZRCommand when updating the source.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_BZR_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: none
CVSCommand
cvs command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by CVS.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_CVS_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: CVSCOMMAND
CVSUpdateOptions
Command-line options to the CVSCommand when updating the source.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_CVS_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: CVS_UPDATE_OPTIONS
GITCommand
git command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Git.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_GIT_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: GITCOMMAND
The source tree is updated by git fetch followed by git reset --hard to the
FETCH_HEAD. The result is the same as git pull except that any local modifications
are overwritten. Use GITUpdateCustom to specify a different approach.
GITInitSubmodules
If set, CTest will update the repository’s submodules before updating.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_GIT_INIT_SUBMODULES
• CTest module variable: CTEST_GIT_INIT_SUBMODULES
GITUpdateCustom
Specify a custom command line (as a semicolon-separated list) to run in the source
tree (Git work tree) to update it instead of running the GITCommand.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_GIT_UPDATE_CUSTOM
• CTest module variable: CTEST_GIT_UPDATE_CUSTOM
GITUpdateOptions
Command-line options to the GITCommand when updating the source.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_GIT_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: GIT_UPDATE_OPTIONS
HGCommand
hg command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Mercurial.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_HG_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: none
HGUpdateOptions
Command-line options to the HGCommand when updating the source.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_HG_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: none
P4Client
Value of the -c option to the P4Command.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_P4_CLIENT
• CTest module variable: CTEST_P4_CLIENT
P4Command
p4 command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Perforce.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_P4_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: P4COMMAND
P4Options
Command-line options to the P4Command for all invocations.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_P4_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_P4_OPTIONS
P4UpdateCustom
Specify a custom command line (as a semicolon-separated list) to run in the source
tree (Perforce tree) to update it instead of running the P4Command.
• CTest Script variable: none
• CTest module variable: CTEST_P4_UPDATE_CUSTOM
P4UpdateOptions
Command-line options to the P4Command when updating the source.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_P4_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_P4_UPDATE_OPTIONS
SVNCommand
svn command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Subversion.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SVN_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: SVNCOMMAND
SVNOptions
Command-line options to the SVNCommand for all invocations.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SVN_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_SVN_OPTIONS
SVNUpdateOptions
Command-line options to the SVNCommand when updating the source.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SVN_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: SVN_UPDATE_OPTIONS
UpdateCommand
Specify the version-control command-line tool to use without detecting the VCS that
manages the source tree.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_UPDATE_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: <VCS>COMMAND when UPDATE_TYPE is <vcs>, else
UPDATE_COMMAND
UpdateOptions
Command-line options to the UpdateCommand.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_UPDATE_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: <VCS>_UPDATE_OPTIONS when UPDATE_TYPE is <vcs>, else
UPDATE_OPTIONS
UpdateType
Specify the version-control system that manages the source tree if it cannot be
detected automatically. The value may be bzr, cvs, git, hg, p4, or svn.
• CTest Script variable: none, detected from source tree
• CTest module variable: UPDATE_TYPE if set, else CTEST_UPDATE_TYPE
UpdateVersionOnly
Specify that you want the version control update command to only discover the
current version that is checked out, and not to update to a different version.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_UPDATE_VERSION_ONLY
UpdateVersionOverride
Specify the current version of your source tree.
When this variable is set to a non-empty string, CTest will report the value you
specified rather than using the update command to discover the current version that
is checked out. Use of this variable supersedes UpdateVersionOnly. Like
UpdateVersionOnly, using this variable tells CTest not to update the source tree to
a different version.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_UPDATE_VERSION_OVERRIDE
Additional configuration settings include:
NightlyStartTime
In the Nightly dashboard mode, specify the “nightly start time”. With centralized
version control systems (cvs and svn), the Update step checks out the version of
the software as of this time so that multiple clients choose a common version to
test. This is not well-defined in distributed version-control systems so the
setting is ignored.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_NIGHTLY_START_TIME
• CTest module variable: NIGHTLY_START_TIME if set, else CTEST_NIGHTLY_START_TIME
CTest Configure Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_configure() command runs this step. Arguments to the command
may specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings include:
ConfigureCommand
Command-line to launch the software configuration process. It will be executed in
the location specified by the BuildDirectory setting.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_CONFIGURE_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: CMAKE_COMMAND followed by PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR
LabelsForSubprojects
Specify a semicolon-separated list of labels that will be treated as subprojects.
This mapping will be passed on to CDash when configure, test or build results are
submitted.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_LABELS_FOR_SUBPROJECTS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_LABELS_FOR_SUBPROJECTS
See Label and Subproject Summary.
CTest Build Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_build() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may
specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings include:
DefaultCTestConfigurationType
When the build system to be launched allows build-time selection of the
configuration (e.g. Debug, Release), this specifies the default configuration to be
built when no -C option is given to the ctest command. The value will be
substituted into the value of MakeCommand to replace the literal string
${CTEST_CONFIGURATION_TYPE} if it appears.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_CONFIGURATION_TYPE
• CTest module variable: DEFAULT_CTEST_CONFIGURATION_TYPE, initialized by the
CMAKE_CONFIG_TYPE environment variable
LabelsForSubprojects
Specify a semicolon-separated list of labels that will be treated as subprojects.
This mapping will be passed on to CDash when configure, test or build results are
submitted.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_LABELS_FOR_SUBPROJECTS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_LABELS_FOR_SUBPROJECTS
See Label and Subproject Summary.
MakeCommand
Command-line to launch the software build process. It will be executed in the
location specified by the BuildDirectory setting.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_BUILD_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: MAKECOMMAND, initialized by the build_command() command
UseLaunchers
For build trees generated by CMake using one of the Makefile Generators or the
Ninja generator, specify whether the CTEST_USE_LAUNCHERS feature is enabled by the
CTestUseLaunchers module (also included by the CTest module). When enabled, the
generated build system wraps each invocation of the compiler, linker, or custom
command line with a “launcher” that communicates with CTest via environment
variables and files to report granular build warning and error information.
Otherwise, CTest must “scrape” the build output log for diagnostics.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_USE_LAUNCHERS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_USE_LAUNCHERS
CTest Test Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_test() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may
specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings include:
ResourceSpecFile
Specify a resource specification file. See Resource Allocation for more
information.
LabelsForSubprojects
Specify a semicolon-separated list of labels that will be treated as subprojects.
This mapping will be passed on to CDash when configure, test or build results are
submitted.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_LABELS_FOR_SUBPROJECTS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_LABELS_FOR_SUBPROJECTS
See Label and Subproject Summary.
TestLoad
While running tests in parallel (e.g. with -j), try not to start tests when they
may cause the CPU load to pass above a given threshold.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_TEST_LOAD
• CTest module variable: CTEST_TEST_LOAD
TimeOut
The default timeout for each test if not specified by the TIMEOUT test property.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_TEST_TIMEOUT
• CTest module variable: DART_TESTING_TIMEOUT
CTest Coverage Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_coverage() command runs this step. Arguments to the command
may specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings include:
CoverageCommand
Command-line tool to perform software coverage analysis. It will be executed in
the location specified by the BuildDirectory setting.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_COVERAGE_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: COVERAGE_COMMAND
CoverageExtraFlags
Specify command-line options to the CoverageCommand tool.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_COVERAGE_EXTRA_FLAGS
• CTest module variable: COVERAGE_EXTRA_FLAGS
These options are the first arguments passed to CoverageCommand.
CTest MemCheck Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_memcheck() command runs this step. Arguments to the command
may specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings include:
MemoryCheckCommand
Command-line tool to perform dynamic analysis. Test command lines will be launched
through this tool.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND
MemoryCheckCommandOptions
Specify command-line options to the MemoryCheckCommand tool. They will be placed
prior to the test command line.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: MEMORYCHECK_COMMAND_OPTIONS
MemoryCheckType
Specify the type of memory checking to perform.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_TYPE
• CTest module variable: MEMORYCHECK_TYPE
MemoryCheckSanitizerOptions
Specify options to sanitizers when running with a sanitize-enabled build.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_SANITIZER_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: MEMORYCHECK_SANITIZER_OPTIONS
MemoryCheckSuppressionFile
Specify a file containing suppression rules for the MemoryCheckCommand tool. It
will be passed with options appropriate to the tool.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_MEMORYCHECK_SUPPRESSIONS_FILE
• CTest module variable: MEMORYCHECK_SUPPRESSIONS_FILE
Additional configuration settings include:
BoundsCheckerCommand
Specify a MemoryCheckCommand that is known to be command-line compatible with
Bounds Checker.
• CTest Script variable: none
• CTest module variable: none
PurifyCommand
Specify a MemoryCheckCommand that is known to be command-line compatible with
Purify.
• CTest Script variable: none
• CTest module variable: PURIFYCOMMAND
ValgrindCommand
Specify a MemoryCheckCommand that is known to be command-line compatible with
Valgrind.
• CTest Script variable: none
• CTest module variable: VALGRIND_COMMAND
ValgrindCommandOptions
Specify command-line options to the ValgrindCommand tool. They will be placed
prior to the test command line.
• CTest Script variable: none
• CTest module variable: VALGRIND_COMMAND_OPTIONS
CTest Submit Step
In a CTest Script, the ctest_submit() command runs this step. Arguments to the command
may specify some of the step settings.
Configuration settings include:
BuildName
Describe the dashboard client platform with a short string. (Operating system,
compiler, etc.)
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_BUILD_NAME
• CTest module variable: BUILDNAME
CDashVersion
Legacy option. Not used.
• CTest Script variable: none, detected from server
• CTest module variable: CTEST_CDASH_VERSION
CTestSubmitRetryCount
Specify a number of attempts to retry submission on network failure.
• CTest Script variable: none, use the ctest_submit() RETRY_COUNT option.
• CTest module variable: CTEST_SUBMIT_RETRY_COUNT
CTestSubmitRetryDelay
Specify a delay before retrying submission on network failure.
• CTest Script variable: none, use the ctest_submit() RETRY_DELAY option.
• CTest module variable: CTEST_SUBMIT_RETRY_DELAY
CurlOptions
Specify a semicolon-separated list of options to control the Curl library that
CTest uses internally to connect to the server. Possible options are
CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER_OFF and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST_OFF.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_CURL_OPTIONS
• CTest module variable: CTEST_CURL_OPTIONS
DropLocation
Legacy option. When SubmitURL is not set, it is constructed from DropMethod,
DropSiteUser, DropSitePassword, DropSite, and DropLocation.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_DROP_LOCATION
• CTest module variable: DROP_LOCATION if set, else CTEST_DROP_LOCATION
DropMethod
Legacy option. When SubmitURL is not set, it is constructed from DropMethod,
DropSiteUser, DropSitePassword, DropSite, and DropLocation.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_DROP_METHOD
• CTest module variable: DROP_METHOD if set, else CTEST_DROP_METHOD
DropSite
Legacy option. When SubmitURL is not set, it is constructed from DropMethod,
DropSiteUser, DropSitePassword, DropSite, and DropLocation.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_DROP_SITE
• CTest module variable: DROP_SITE if set, else CTEST_DROP_SITE
DropSitePassword
Legacy option. When SubmitURL is not set, it is constructed from DropMethod,
DropSiteUser, DropSitePassword, DropSite, and DropLocation.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_DROP_SITE_PASSWORD
• CTest module variable: DROP_SITE_PASSWORD if set, else CTEST_DROP_SITE_PASWORD
DropSiteUser
Legacy option. When SubmitURL is not set, it is constructed from DropMethod,
DropSiteUser, DropSitePassword, DropSite, and DropLocation.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_DROP_SITE_USER
• CTest module variable: DROP_SITE_USER if set, else CTEST_DROP_SITE_USER
IsCDash
Legacy option. Not used.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_DROP_SITE_CDASH
• CTest module variable: CTEST_DROP_SITE_CDASH
ScpCommand
Legacy option. Not used.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SCP_COMMAND
• CTest module variable: SCPCOMMAND
Site Describe the dashboard client host site with a short string. (Hostname, domain,
etc.)
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SITE
• CTest module variable: SITE, initialized by the site_name() command
SubmitURL
The http or https URL of the dashboard server to send the submission to.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_SUBMIT_URL
• CTest module variable: SUBMIT_URL if set, else CTEST_SUBMIT_URL
TriggerSite
Legacy option. Not used.
• CTest Script variable: CTEST_TRIGGER_SITE
• CTest module variable: TRIGGER_SITE if set, else CTEST_TRIGGER_SITE
SHOW AS JSON OBJECT MODEL
When the --show-only=json-v1 command line option is given, the test information is output
in JSON format. Version 1.0 of the JSON object model is defined as follows:
kind The string “ctestInfo”.
version
A JSON object specifying the version components. Its members are
major A non-negative integer specifying the major version component.
minor A non-negative integer specifying the minor version component.
backtraceGraph
JSON object representing backtrace information with the following members:
commands
List of command names.
files List of file names.
nodes List of node JSON objects with members:
command
Index into the commands member of the backtraceGraph.
file Index into the files member of the backtraceGraph.
line Line number in the file where the backtrace was added.
parent Index into the nodes member of the backtraceGraph representing the
parent in the graph.
tests A JSON array listing information about each test. Each entry is a JSON object with
members:
name Test name.
config Configuration that the test can run on. Empty string means any config.
command
List where the first element is the test command and the remaining elements
are the command arguments.
backtrace
Index into the nodes member of the backtraceGraph.
properties
Test properties. Can contain keys for each of the supported test
properties.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
CTest provides a mechanism for tests to specify the resources that they need in a
fine-grained way, and for users to specify the resources availiable on the running
machine. This allows CTest to internally keep track of which resources are in use and
which are free, scheduling tests in a way that prevents them from trying to claim
resources that are not available.
A common use case for this feature is for tests that require the use of a GPU. Multiple
tests can simultaneously allocate memory from a GPU, but if too many tests try to do this
at once, some of them will fail to allocate, resulting in a failed test, even though the
test would have succeeded if it had the memory it needed. By using the resource allocation
feature, each test can specify how much memory it requires from a GPU, allowing CTest to
schedule tests in a way that running several of these tests at once does not exhaust the
GPU’s memory pool.
Please note that CTest has no concept of what a GPU is or how much memory it has, nor does
it have any way of communicating with a GPU to retrieve this information or perform any
memory management. CTest simply keeps track of a list of abstract resource types, each of
which has a certain number of slots available for tests to use. Each test specifies the
number of slots that it requires from a certain resource, and CTest then schedules them in
a way that prevents the total number of slots in use from exceeding the listed capacity.
When a test is executed, and slots from a resource are allocated to that test, tests may
assume that they have exclusive use of those slots for the duration of the test’s process.
The CTest resource allocation feature consists of two inputs:
• The resource specification file, described below, which describes the resources
available on the system.
• The RESOURCE_GROUPS property of tests, which describes the resources required by the
test.
When CTest runs a test, the resources allocated to that test are passed in the form of a
set of environment variables as described below. Using this information to decide which
resource to connect to is left to the test writer.
The RESOURCE_GROUPS property tells CTest what resources a test expects to use grouped in a
way meaningful to the test. The test itself must read the environment variables to
determine which resources have been allocated to each group. For example, each group may
correspond to a process the test will spawn when executed.
Note that even if a test specifies a RESOURCE_GROUPS property, it is still possible for
that to test to run without any resource allocation (and without the corresponding
environment variables) if the user does not pass a resource specification file. Passing
this file, either through the --resource-spec-file command-line argument or the
RESOURCE_SPEC_FILE argument to ctest_test(), is what activates the resource allocation
feature. Tests should check the CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_COUNT environment variable to find
out whether or not resource allocation is activated. This variable will always (and only)
be defined if resource allocation is activated. If resource allocation is not activated,
then the CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_COUNT variable will not exist, even if it exists for the
parent ctest process. If a test absolutely must have resource allocation, then it can
return a failing exit code or use the SKIP_RETURN_CODE or SKIP_REGULAR_EXPRESSION
properties to indicate a skipped test.
Resource Specification File
The resource specification file is a JSON file which is passed to CTest, either on the
ctest(1) command line as --resource-spec-file, or as the RESOURCE_SPEC_FILE argument of
ctest_test(). The resource specification file must be a JSON object. All examples in this
document assume the following resource specification file:
{
"version": {
"major": 1,
"minor": 0
},
"local": [
{
"gpus": [
{
"id": "0",
"slots": 2
},
{
"id": "1",
"slots": 4
},
{
"id": "2",
"slots": 2
},
{
"id": "3"
}
],
"crypto_chips": [
{
"id": "card0",
"slots": 4
}
]
}
]
}
The members are:
version
An object containing a major integer field and a minor integer field. Currently,
the only supported version is major 1, minor 0. Any other value is an error.
local A JSON array of resource sets present on the system. Currently, this array is
restricted to being of size 1.
Each array element is a JSON object with members whose names are equal to the
desired resource types, such as gpus. These names must start with a lowercase
letter or an underscore, and subsequent characters can be a lowercase letter, a
digit, or an underscore. Uppercase letters are not allowed, because certain
platforms have case-insensitive environment variables. See the Environment
Variables section below for more information. It is recommended that the resource
type name be the plural of a noun, such as gpus or crypto_chips (and not gpu or
crypto_chip.)
Please note that the names gpus and crypto_chips are just examples, and CTest does
not interpret them in any way. You are free to make up any resource type you want
to meet your own requirements.
The value for each resource type is a JSON array consisting of JSON objects, each
of which describe a specific instance of the specified resource. These objects have
the following members:
id A string consisting of an identifier for the resource. Each character in the
identifier can be a lowercase letter, a digit, or an underscore. Uppercase
letters are not allowed.
Identifiers must be unique within a resource type. However, they do not have
to be unique across resource types. For example, it is valid to have a gpus
resource named 0 and a crypto_chips resource named 0, but not two gpus
resources both named 0.
Please note that the IDs 0, 1, 2, 3, and card0 are just examples, and CTest
does not interpret them in any way. You are free to make up any IDs you want
to meet your own requirements.
slots An optional unsigned number specifying the number of slots available on the
resource. For example, this could be megabytes of RAM on a GPU, or
cryptography units available on a cryptography chip. If slots is not
specified, a default value of 1 is assumed.
In the example file above, there are four GPUs with ID’s 0 through 3. GPU 0 has 2 slots,
GPU 1 has 4, GPU 2 has 2, and GPU 3 has a default of 1 slot. There is also one
cryptography chip with 4 slots.
RESOURCE_GROUPS Property
See RESOURCE_GROUPS for a description of this property.
Environment Variables
Once CTest has decided which resources to allocate to a test, it passes this information
to the test executable as a series of environment variables. For each example below, we
will assume that the test in question has a RESOURCE_GROUPS property of
2,gpus:2;gpus:4,gpus:1,crypto_chips:2.
The following variables are passed to the test process:
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_COUNT
The total number of groups specified by the RESOURCE_GROUPS property. For example:
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_COUNT=3
This variable will only be defined if ctest(1) has been given a
--resource-spec-file, or if ctest_test() has been given a RESOURCE_SPEC_FILE. If no
resource specification file has been given, this variable will not be defined.
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_<num>
The list of resource types allocated to each group, with each item separated by a
comma. <num> is a number from zero to CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_COUNT minus one.
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_<num> is defined for each <num> in this range. For example:
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_0=gpus
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_1=gpus
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_2=crypto_chips,gpus
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_<num>_<resource-type>
The list of resource IDs and number of slots from each ID allocated to each group
for a given resource type. This variable consists of a series of pairs, each pair
separated by a semicolon, and with the two items in the pair separated by a comma.
The first item in each pair is id: followed by the ID of a resource of type
<resource-type>, and the second item is slots: followed by the number of slots from
that resource allocated to the given group. For example:
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_0_GPUS=id:0,slots:2
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_1_GPUS=id:2,slots:2
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_2_GPUS=id:1,slots:4;id:3,slots:1
• CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_2_CRYPTO_CHIPS=id:card0,slots:2
In this example, group 0 gets 2 slots from GPU 0, group 1 gets 2 slots from GPU 2,
and group 2 gets 4 slots from GPU 1, 1 slot from GPU 3, and 2 slots from
cryptography chip card0.
<num> is a number from zero to CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_COUNT minus one.
<resource-type> is the name of a resource type, converted to uppercase.
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_<num>_<resource-type> is defined for the product of each <num>
in the range listed above and each resource type listed in
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_<num>.
Because some platforms have case-insensitive names for environment variables, the
names of resource types may not clash in a case-insensitive environment. Because
of this, for the sake of simplicity, all resource types must be listed in all
lowercase in the resource specification file and in the RESOURCE_GROUPS property,
and they are converted to all uppercase in the
CTEST_RESOURCE_GROUP_<num>_<resource-type> environment variable.
SEE ALSO
The following resources are available to get help using CMake:
Home Page
https://cmake.org
The primary starting point for learning about CMake.
Online Documentation and Community Resources
https://cmake.org/documentation
Links to available documentation and community resources may be found on this web
page.
Discourse Forum
https://discourse.cmake.org
The Discourse Forum hosts discussion and questions about CMake.
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