Provided by: cmake_3.31.5-2ubuntu3_amd64 
NAME
cmake - CMake Command-Line Reference
SYNOPSIS
Generate a Project Buildsystem
cmake [<options>] -B <path-to-build> [-S <path-to-source>]
cmake [<options>] <path-to-source | path-to-existing-build>
Build a Project
cmake --build <dir> [<options>] [-- <build-tool-options>]
Install a Project
cmake --install <dir> [<options>]
Open a Project
cmake --open <dir>
Run a Script
cmake [-D <var>=<value>]... -P <cmake-script-file>
Run a Command-Line Tool
cmake -E <command> [<options>]
Run the Find-Package Tool
cmake --find-package [<options>]
Run a Workflow Preset
cmake --workflow <options>
View Help
cmake --help[-<topic>]
DESCRIPTION
The cmake executable is the command-line interface of the cross-platform buildsystem generator CMake.
The above Synopsis lists various actions the tool can perform as described in sections below.
To build a software project with CMake, Generate a Project Buildsystem. Optionally use cmake to Build a
Project, Install a Project or just run the corresponding build tool (e.g. make) directly. cmake can also
be used to View Help.
The other actions are meant for use by software developers writing scripts in the CMake language to
support their builds.
For graphical user interfaces that may be used in place of cmake, see ccmake and cmake-gui. For
command-line interfaces to the CMake testing and packaging facilities, see ctest and cpack.
For more information on CMake at large, see also the links at the end of this manual.
INTRODUCTION TO CMAKE BUILDSYSTEMS
A buildsystem describes how to build a project's executables and libraries from its source code using a
build tool to automate the process. For example, a buildsystem may be a Makefile for use with a
command-line make tool or a project file for an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). In order to
avoid maintaining multiple such buildsystems, a project may specify its buildsystem abstractly using
files written in the CMake language. From these files CMake generates a preferred buildsystem locally
for each user through a backend called a generator.
To generate a buildsystem with CMake, the following must be selected:
Source Tree
The top-level directory containing source files provided by the project. The project specifies
its buildsystem using files as described in the cmake-language(7) manual, starting with a
top-level file named CMakeLists.txt. These files specify build targets and their dependencies as
described in the cmake-buildsystem(7) manual.
Build Tree
The top-level directory in which buildsystem files and build output artifacts (e.g. executables
and libraries) are to be stored. CMake will write a CMakeCache.txt file to identify the directory
as a build tree and store persistent information such as buildsystem configuration options.
To maintain a pristine source tree, perform an out-of-source build by using a separate dedicated
build tree. An in-source build in which the build tree is placed in the same directory as the
source tree is also supported, but discouraged.
Generator
This chooses the kind of buildsystem to generate. See the cmake-generators(7) manual for
documentation of all generators. Run cmake --help to see a list of generators available locally.
Optionally use the -G option below to specify a generator, or simply accept the default CMake
chooses for the current platform.
When using one of the Command-Line Build Tool Generators CMake expects that the environment needed
by the compiler toolchain is already configured in the shell. When using one of the IDE Build
Tool Generators, no particular environment is needed.
GENERATE A PROJECT BUILDSYSTEM
Run CMake with one of the following command signatures to specify the source and build trees and generate
a buildsystem:
cmake [<options>] -B <path-to-build> [-S <path-to-source>]
Added in version 3.13.
Uses <path-to-build> as the build tree and <path-to-source> as the source tree. The specified paths
may be absolute or relative to the current working directory. The source tree must contain a
CMakeLists.txt file. The build tree will be created automatically if it does not already exist. For
example:
$ cmake -S src -B build
cmake [<options>] <path-to-source>
Uses the current working directory as the build tree, and <path-to-source> as the source tree.
The specified path may be absolute or relative to the current working directory. The source tree
must contain a CMakeLists.txt file and must not contain a CMakeCache.txt file because the latter
identifies an existing build tree. For example:
$ mkdir build ; cd build
$ cmake ../src
cmake [<options>] <path-to-existing-build>
Uses <path-to-existing-build> as the build tree, and loads the path to the source tree from its
CMakeCache.txt file, which must have already been generated by a previous run of CMake. The
specified path may be absolute or relative to the current working directory. For example:
$ cd build
$ cmake .
In all cases the <options> may be zero or more of the Options below.
The above styles for specifying the source and build trees may be mixed. Paths specified with -S or -B
are always classified as source or build trees, respectively. Paths specified with plain arguments are
classified based on their content and the types of paths given earlier. If only one type of path is
given, the current working directory (cwd) is used for the other. For example:
┌───────────────────────┬────────────┬───────────┐
│Command Line │ Source Dir │ Build Dir │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake -B build │ cwd │ build │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake -B build src │ src │ build │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake -B build -S src │ src │ build │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake src │ src │ cwd │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake build (existing) │ loaded │ build │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake -S src │ src │ cwd │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake -S src build │ src │ build │
├───────────────────────┼────────────┼───────────┤
│cmake -S src -B build │ src │ build │
└───────────────────────┴────────────┴───────────┘
Changed in version 3.23: CMake warns when multiple source paths are specified. This has never been
officially documented or supported, but older versions accidentally accepted multiple source paths and
used the last path specified. Avoid passing multiple source path arguments.
After generating a buildsystem one may use the corresponding native build tool to build the project. For
example, after using the Unix Makefiles generator one may run make directly:
$ make
$ make install
Alternatively, one may use cmake to Build a Project by automatically choosing and invoking the
appropriate native build tool.
Options
-S <path-to-source>
Path to root directory of the CMake project to build.
-B <path-to-build>
Path to directory which CMake will use as the root of build directory.
If the directory doesn't already exist CMake will make it.
-C <initial-cache>
Pre-load a script to populate the cache.
When CMake is first run in an empty build tree, it creates a CMakeCache.txt file and populates it
with customizable settings for the project. This option may be used to specify a file from which
to load cache entries before the first pass through the project's CMake listfiles. The loaded
entries take priority over the project's default values. The given file should be a CMake script
containing set() commands that use the CACHE option, not a cache-format file.
References to CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR and CMAKE_BINARY_DIR within the script evaluate to the top-level
source and build tree.
-D <var>:<type>=<value>, -D <var>=<value>
Create or update a CMake CACHE entry.
When CMake is first run in an empty build tree, it creates a CMakeCache.txt file and populates it
with customizable settings for the project. This option may be used to specify a setting that
takes priority over the project's default value. The option may be repeated for as many CACHE
entries as desired.
If the :<type> portion is given it must be one of the types specified by the set() command
documentation for its CACHE signature. If the :<type> portion is omitted the entry will be
created with no type if it does not exist with a type already. If a command in the project sets
the type to PATH or FILEPATH then the <value> will be converted to an absolute path.
This option may also be given as a single argument: -D<var>:<type>=<value> or -D<var>=<value>.
It's important to note that the order of -C and -D arguments is significant. They will be carried
out in the order they are listed, with the last argument taking precedence over the previous ones.
For example, if you specify -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug, followed by a -C argument with a file that
calls:
set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "Release" CACHE STRING "" FORCE)
then the -C argument will take precedence, and CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE will be set to Release. However,
if the -D argument comes after the -C argument, it will be set to Debug.
If a set(... CACHE ...) call in the -C file does not use FORCE, and a -D argument sets the same
variable, the -D argument will take precedence regardless of order because of the nature of
non-FORCE set(... CACHE ...) calls.
-U <globbing_expr>
Remove matching entries from CMake CACHE.
This option may be used to remove one or more variables from the CMakeCache.txt file, globbing
expressions using * and ? are supported. The option may be repeated for as many CACHE entries as
desired.
Use with care, you can make your CMakeCache.txt non-working.
-G <generator-name>
Specify a build system generator.
CMake may support multiple native build systems on certain platforms. A generator is responsible
for generating a particular build system. Possible generator names are specified in the
cmake-generators(7) manual.
If not specified, CMake checks the CMAKE_GENERATOR environment variable and otherwise falls back
to a builtin default selection.
-T <toolset-spec>
Toolset specification for the generator, if supported.
Some CMake generators support a toolset specification to tell the native build system how to
choose a compiler. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET variable for details.
-A <platform-name>
Specify platform name if supported by generator.
Some CMake generators support a platform name to be given to the native build system to choose a
compiler or SDK. See the CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM variable for details.
--toolchain <path-to-file>
Added in version 3.21.
Specify the cross compiling toolchain file, equivalent to setting CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE variable.
Relative paths are interpreted as relative to the build directory, and if not found, relative to
the source directory.
--install-prefix <directory>
Added in version 3.21.
Specify the installation directory, used by the CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX variable. Must be an absolute
path.
-Wno-dev
Suppress developer warnings.
Suppress warnings that are meant for the author of the CMakeLists.txt files. By default this will
also turn off deprecation warnings.
-Wdev Enable developer warnings.
Enable warnings that are meant for the author of the CMakeLists.txt files. By default this will
also turn on deprecation warnings.
-Wdeprecated
Enable deprecated functionality warnings.
Enable warnings for usage of deprecated functionality, that are meant for the author of the
CMakeLists.txt files.
-Wno-deprecated
Suppress deprecated functionality warnings.
Suppress warnings for usage of deprecated functionality, that are meant for the author of the
CMakeLists.txt files.
-Werror=<what>
Treat CMake warnings as errors. <what> must be one of the following:
dev Make developer warnings errors.
Make warnings that are meant for the author of the CMakeLists.txt files errors. By default
this will also turn on deprecated warnings as errors.
deprecated
Make deprecated macro and function warnings errors.
Make warnings for usage of deprecated macros and functions, that are meant for the author
of the CMakeLists.txt files, errors.
-Wno-error=<what>
Do not treat CMake warnings as errors. <what> must be one of the following:
dev Make warnings that are meant for the author of the CMakeLists.txt files not errors. By
default this will also turn off deprecated warnings as errors.
deprecated
Make warnings for usage of deprecated macros and functions, that are meant for the author
of the CMakeLists.txt files, not errors.
--fresh
Added in version 3.24.
Perform a fresh configuration of the build tree. This removes any existing CMakeCache.txt file
and associated CMakeFiles/ directory, and recreates them from scratch.
Changed in version 3.30: For dependencies previously populated by FetchContent with the NEW
setting for policy CMP0168, their stamp and script files from any previous run will be removed.
The download, update, and patch steps will therefore be forced to re-execute.
-L[A][H]
List non-advanced cached variables.
List CACHE variables will run CMake and list all the variables from the CMake CACHE that are not
marked as INTERNAL or ADVANCED. This will effectively display current CMake settings, which can
then be changed with -D option. Changing some of the variables may result in more variables being
created. If A is specified, then it will display also advanced variables. If H is specified, it
will also display help for each variable.
-LR[A][H] <regex>
Added in version 3.31.
Show specific non-advanced cached variables
Show non-INTERNAL nor ADVANCED variables from the CMake CACHE that match the given regex. If A is
specified, then it will also show advanced variables. If H is specified, it will also display
help for each variable.
-N View mode only.
Only load the cache. Do not actually run configure and generate steps.
--graphviz=<file>
Generate graphviz of dependencies, see CMakeGraphVizOptions for more.
Generate a graphviz input file that will contain all the library and executable dependencies in
the project. See the documentation for CMakeGraphVizOptions for more details.
--system-information [file]
Dump information about this system.
Dump a wide range of information about the current system. If run from the top of a binary tree
for a CMake project it will dump additional information such as the cache, log files etc.
--print-config-dir
Added in version 3.31.
Print CMake config directory for user-wide FileAPI queries.
See CMAKE_CONFIG_DIR for more details.
--log-level=<level>
Added in version 3.16.
Set the log <level>.
The message() command will only output messages of the specified log level or higher. The valid
log levels are ERROR, WARNING, NOTICE, STATUS (default), VERBOSE, DEBUG, or TRACE.
To make a log level persist between CMake runs, set CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL as a cache variable
instead. If both the command line option and the variable are given, the command line option
takes precedence.
For backward compatibility reasons, --loglevel is also accepted as a synonym for this option.
Added in version 3.25: See the cmake_language() command for a way to query the current message
logging level.
--log-context
Enable the message() command outputting context attached to each message.
This option turns on showing context for the current CMake run only. To make showing the context
persistent for all subsequent CMake runs, set CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW as a cache variable
instead. When this command line option is given, CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW is ignored.
--debug-trycompile
Do not delete the files and directories created for try_compile() / try_run() calls. This is
useful in debugging failed checks.
Note that some uses of try_compile() may use the same build tree, which will limit the usefulness
of this option if a project executes more than one try_compile(). For example, such uses may
change results as artifacts from a previous try-compile may cause a different test to either pass
or fail incorrectly. This option is best used only when debugging.
(With respect to the preceding, the try_run() command is effectively a try_compile(). Any
combination of the two is subject to the potential issues described.)
Added in version 3.25: When this option is enabled, every try-compile check prints a log message
reporting the directory in which the check is performed.
--debug-output
Put cmake in a debug mode.
Print extra information during the cmake run like stack traces with message(SEND_ERROR) calls.
--debug-find
Added in version 3.17.
Put cmake find commands in a debug mode.
Print extra find call information during the cmake run to standard error. Output is designed for
human consumption and not for parsing. See also the CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE variable for debugging
a more local part of the project.
--debug-find-pkg=<pkg>[,...]
Added in version 3.23.
Put cmake find commands in a debug mode when running under calls to find_package(<pkg>), where
<pkg> is an entry in the given comma-separated list of case-sensitive package names.
Like --debug-find, but limiting scope to the specified packages.
--debug-find-var=<var>[,...]
Added in version 3.23.
Put cmake find commands in a debug mode when called with <var> as the result variable, where <var>
is an entry in the given comma-separated list.
Like --debug-find, but limiting scope to the specified variable names.
--trace
Put cmake in trace mode.
Print a trace of all calls made and from where.
--trace-expand
Put cmake in trace mode.
Like --trace, but with variables expanded.
--trace-format=<format>
Added in version 3.17.
Put cmake in trace mode and sets the trace output format.
<format> can be one of the following values.
human Prints each trace line in a human-readable format. This is the default format.
json-v1
Prints each line as a separate JSON document. Each document is separated by a newline (
\n ). It is guaranteed that no newline characters will be present inside a JSON
document.
JSON trace format
{
"file": "/full/path/to/the/CMake/file.txt",
"line": 0,
"cmd": "add_executable",
"args": ["foo", "bar"],
"time": 1579512535.9687231,
"frame": 2,
"global_frame": 4
}
The members are:
file The full path to the CMake source file where the function was called.
line The line in file where the function call begins.
line_end
If the function call spans multiple lines, this field will be set to the line
where the function call ends. If the function calls spans a single line, this
field will be unset. This field was added in minor version 2 of the json-v1
format.
defer Optional member that is present when the function call was deferred by
cmake_language(DEFER). If present, its value is a string containing the deferred
call <id>.
cmd The name of the function that was called.
args A string list of all function parameters.
time Timestamp (seconds since epoch) of the function call.
frame Stack frame depth of the function that was called, within the context of the
CMakeLists.txt being processed currently.
global_frame
Stack frame depth of the function that was called, tracked globally across all
CMakeLists.txt files involved in the trace. This field was added in minor version
2 of the json-v1 format.
Additionally, the first JSON document outputted contains the version key for the current
major and minor version of the
JSON version format
{
"version": {
"major": 1,
"minor": 2
}
}
The members are:
version
Indicates the version of the JSON format. The version has a major and minor
components following semantic version conventions.
--trace-source=<file>
Put cmake in trace mode, but output only lines of a specified file.
Multiple options are allowed.
--trace-redirect=<file>
Put cmake in trace mode and redirect trace output to a file instead of stderr.
--warn-uninitialized
Warn about uninitialized values.
Print a warning when an uninitialized variable is used.
--warn-unused-vars
Does nothing. In CMake versions 3.2 and below this enabled warnings about unused variables. In
CMake versions 3.3 through 3.18 the option was broken. In CMake 3.19 and above the option has
been removed.
--no-warn-unused-cli
Don't warn about command line options.
Don't find variables that are declared on the command line, but not used.
--check-system-vars
Find problems with variable usage in system files.
Normally, unused and uninitialized variables are searched for only in CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR and
CMAKE_BINARY_DIR. This flag tells CMake to warn about other files as well.
--compile-no-warning-as-error
Added in version 3.24.
Ignore target property COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR and variable CMAKE_COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR,
preventing warnings from being treated as errors on compile.
--profiling-output=<path>
Added in version 3.18.
Used in conjunction with --profiling-format to output to a given path.
--profiling-format=<file>
Enable the output of profiling data of CMake script in the given format.
This can aid performance analysis of CMake scripts executed. Third party applications should be
used to process the output into human readable format.
Currently supported values are: google-trace Outputs in Google Trace Format, which can be parsed
by the about:tracing tab of Google Chrome or using a plugin for a tool like Trace Compass.
--preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
Reads a preset from CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json files, which must be located in
the same directory as the top level CMakeLists.txt file. The preset may specify the generator, the
build directory, a list of variables, and other arguments to pass to CMake. At least one of
CMakePresets.json or CMakeUserPresets.json must be present. The CMake GUI also recognizes and
supports CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json files. For full details on these files, see
cmake-presets(7).
The presets are read before all other command line options, although the -S option can be used to
specify the source directory containing the CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json files. If
-S is not given, the current directory is assumed to be the top level source directory and must
contain the presets files. The options specified by the chosen preset (variables, generator, etc.)
can all be overridden by manually specifying them on the command line. For example, if the preset
sets a variable called MYVAR to 1, but the user sets it to 2 with a -D argument, the value 2 is
preferred.
--list-presets[=<type>]
Lists the available presets of the specified <type>. Valid values for <type> are configure,
build, test, package, or all. If <type> is omitted, configure is assumed. The current working
directory must contain CMake preset files unless the -S option is used to specify a different top
level source directory.
--debugger
Enables interactive debugging of the CMake language. CMake exposes a debugging interface on the
pipe named by --debugger-pipe that conforms to the Debug Adapter Protocol specification with the
following modifications.
The initialize response includes an additional field named cmakeVersion which specifies the
version of CMake being debugged.
Debugger initialize response
{
"cmakeVersion": {
"major": 3,
"minor": 27,
"patch": 0,
"full": "3.27.0"
}
}
The members are:
major An integer specifying the major version number.
minor An integer specifying the minor version number.
patch An integer specifying the patch version number.
full A string specifying the full CMake version.
--debugger-pipe <pipe name>, --debugger-pipe=<pipe name>
Name of the pipe (on Windows) or domain socket (on Unix) to use for debugger communication.
--debugger-dap-log <log path>, --debugger-dap-log=<log path>
Logs all debugger communication to the specified file.
BUILD A PROJECT
CMake provides a command-line signature to build an already-generated project binary tree:
cmake --build <dir> [<options>] [-- <build-tool-options>]
cmake --build --preset <preset> [<options>] [-- <build-tool-options>]
This abstracts a native build tool's command-line interface with the following options:
--build <dir>
Project binary directory to be built. This is required (unless a preset is specified) and must be
first.
--preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
Use a build preset to specify build options. The project binary directory is inferred from the
configurePreset key. The current working directory must contain CMake preset files. See preset
for more details.
--list-presets
Lists the available build presets. The current working directory must contain CMake preset files.
-j [<jobs>], --parallel [<jobs>]
Added in version 3.12.
The maximum number of concurrent processes to use when building. If <jobs> is omitted the native
build tool's default number is used.
The CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL environment variable, if set, specifies a default parallel level
when this option is not given.
Some native build tools always build in parallel. The use of <jobs> value of 1 can be used to
limit to a single job.
-t <tgt>..., --target <tgt>...
Build <tgt> instead of the default target. Multiple targets may be given, separated by spaces.
--config <cfg>
For multi-configuration tools, choose configuration <cfg>.
--clean-first
Build target clean first, then build. (To clean only, use --target clean.)
--resolve-package-references=<value>
Added in version 3.23.
Resolve remote package references from external package managers (e.g. NuGet) before build. When
<value> is set to on (default), packages will be restored before building a target. When <value>
is set to only, the packages will be restored, but no build will be performed. When <value> is
set to off, no packages will be restored.
If the target does not define any package references, this option does nothing.
This setting can be specified in a build preset (using resolvePackageReferences). The preset
setting will be ignored, if this command line option is specified.
If no command line parameter or preset option are provided, an environment- specific cache
variable will be evaluated to decide, if package restoration should be performed.
When using the Visual Studio generator, package references are defined using the
VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES property. Package references are restored using NuGet. It can be disabled by
setting the CMAKE_VS_NUGET_PACKAGE_RESTORE variable to OFF.
--use-stderr
Ignored. Behavior is default in CMake >= 3.0.
-v, --verbose
Enable verbose output - if supported - including the build commands to be executed.
This option can be omitted if VERBOSE environment variable or CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE cached
variable is set.
-- Pass remaining options to the native tool.
Run cmake --build with no options for quick help.
INSTALL A PROJECT
CMake provides a command-line signature to install an already-generated project binary tree:
cmake --install <dir> [<options>]
This may be used after building a project to run installation without using the generated build system or
the native build tool. The options are:
--install <dir>
Project binary directory to install. This is required and must be first.
--config <cfg>
For multi-configuration generators, choose configuration <cfg>.
--component <comp>
Component-based install. Only install component <comp>.
--default-directory-permissions <permissions>
Default directory install permissions. Permissions in format <u=rwx,g=rx,o=rx>.
--prefix <prefix>
Override the installation prefix, CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX.
--strip
Strip before installing.
-v, --verbose
Enable verbose output.
This option can be omitted if VERBOSE environment variable is set.
-j <jobs>, --parallel <jobs>
Added in version 3.31.
Install in parallel using the given number of jobs. Only available if INSTALL_PARALLEL is enabled.
The CMAKE_INSTALL_PARALLEL_LEVEL environment variable specifies a default parallel level when this
option is not provided.
Run cmake --install with no options for quick help.
OPEN A PROJECT
cmake --open <dir>
Open the generated project in the associated application. This is only supported by some generators.
RUN A SCRIPT
cmake [-D <var>=<value>]... -P <cmake-script-file> [-- <unparsed-options>...]
-D <var>=<value>
Define a variable for script mode.
-P <cmake-script-file>
Process the given cmake file as a script written in the CMake language. No configure or generate
step is performed and the cache is not modified. If variables are defined using -D, this must be
done before the -P argument.
Any options after -- are not parsed by CMake, but they are still included in the set of CMAKE_ARGV<n>
variables passed to the script (including the -- itself).
RUN A COMMAND-LINE TOOL
CMake provides builtin command-line tools through the signature
cmake -E <command> [<options>]
-E [help]
Run cmake -E or cmake -E help for a summary of commands.
Available commands are:
capabilities
Added in version 3.7.
Report cmake capabilities in JSON format. The output is a JSON object with the following keys:
version
A JSON object with version information. Keys are:
string The full version string as displayed by cmake --version.
major The major version number in integer form.
minor The minor version number in integer form.
patch The patch level in integer form.
suffix The cmake version suffix string.
isDirty
A bool that is set if the cmake build is from a dirty tree.
generators
A list available generators. Each generator is a JSON object with the following keys:
name A string containing the name of the generator.
toolsetSupport
true if the generator supports toolsets and false otherwise.
platformSupport
true if the generator supports platforms and false otherwise.
supportedPlatforms
Added in version 3.21.
Optional member that may be present when the generator supports platform
specification via CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM (-A ...). The value is a list of
platforms known to be supported.
extraGenerators
A list of strings with all the Extra Generators compatible with the generator.
fileApi
Optional member that is present when the cmake-file-api(7) is available. The value is a
JSON object with one member:
requests
A JSON array containing zero or more supported file-api requests. Each request is a
JSON object with members:
kind Specifies one of the supported Object Kinds.
version
A JSON array whose elements are each a JSON object containing major and minor
members specifying non-negative integer version components.
serverMode
true if cmake supports server-mode and false otherwise. Always false since CMake 3.20.
tls Added in version 3.25.
true if TLS support is enabled and false otherwise.
debugger
Added in version 3.27.
true if the --debugger mode is supported and false otherwise.
cat [--] <files>...
Added in version 3.18.
Concatenate files and print on the standard output.
-- Added in version 3.24.
Added support for the double dash argument --. This basic implementation of cat does not
support any options, so using a option starting with - will result in an error. Use -- to
indicate the end of options, in case a file starts with -.
Added in version 3.29: cat can now print the standard input by passing the - argument.
chdir <dir> <cmd> [<arg>...]
Change the current working directory and run a command.
compare_files [--ignore-eol] <file1> <file2>
Check if <file1> is same as <file2>. If files are the same, then returns 0, if not it returns 1.
In case of invalid arguments, it returns 2.
--ignore-eol
Added in version 3.14.
The option implies line-wise comparison and ignores LF/CRLF differences.
copy <file>... <destination>, copy -t <destination> <file>...
Copy files to <destination> (either file or directory). If multiple files are specified, or if -t
is specified, the <destination> must be directory and it must exist. If -t is not specified, the
last argument is assumed to be the <destination>. Wildcards are not supported. copy does follow
symlinks. That means it does not copy symlinks, but the files or directories it point to.
Added in version 3.5: Support for multiple input files.
Added in version 3.26: Support for -t argument.
copy_directory <dir>... <destination>
Copy content of <dir>... directories to <destination> directory. If <destination> directory does
not exist it will be created. copy_directory does follow symlinks.
Added in version 3.5: Support for multiple input directories.
Added in version 3.15: The command now fails when the source directory does not exist. Previously
it succeeded by creating an empty destination directory.
copy_directory_if_different <dir>... <destination>
Added in version 3.26.
Copy changed content of <dir>... directories to <destination> directory. If <destination>
directory does not exist it will be created.
copy_directory_if_different does follow symlinks. The command fails when the source directory
does not exist.
copy_if_different <file>... <destination>
Copy files to <destination> (either file or directory) if they have changed. If multiple files
are specified, the <destination> must be directory and it must exist. copy_if_different does
follow symlinks.
Added in version 3.5: Support for multiple input files.
create_symlink <old> <new>
Create a symbolic link <new> naming <old>.
Added in version 3.13: Support for creating symlinks on Windows.
NOTE:
Path to where <new> symbolic link will be created has to exist beforehand.
create_hardlink <old> <new>
Added in version 3.19.
Create a hard link <new> naming <old>.
NOTE:
Path to where <new> hard link will be created has to exist beforehand. <old> has to exist
beforehand.
echo [<string>...]
Displays arguments as text.
echo_append [<string>...]
Displays arguments as text but no new line.
env [<options>] [--] <command> [<arg>...]
Added in version 3.1.
Run command in a modified environment. Options are:
NAME=VALUE
Replaces the current value of NAME with VALUE.
--unset=NAME
Unsets the current value of NAME.
--modify ENVIRONMENT_MODIFICATION
Added in version 3.25.
Apply a single ENVIRONMENT_MODIFICATION operation to the modified environment.
The NAME=VALUE and --unset=NAME options are equivalent to --modify NAME=set:VALUE and
--modify NAME=unset:, respectively. Note that --modify NAME=reset: resets NAME to the
value it had when cmake launched (or unsets it), not to the most recent NAME=VALUE option.
-- Added in version 3.24.
Added support for the double dash argument --. Use -- to stop interpreting
options/environment variables and treat the next argument as the command, even if it start
with - or contains a =.
environment
Display the current environment variables.
false Added in version 3.16.
Do nothing, with an exit code of 1.
make_directory <dir>...
Create <dir> directories. If necessary, create parent directories too. If a directory already
exists it will be silently ignored.
Added in version 3.5: Support for multiple input directories.
md5sum <file>...
Create MD5 checksum of files in md5sum compatible format:
351abe79cd3800b38cdfb25d45015a15 file1.txt
052f86c15bbde68af55c7f7b340ab639 file2.txt
sha1sum <file>...
Added in version 3.10.
Create SHA1 checksum of files in sha1sum compatible format:
4bb7932a29e6f73c97bb9272f2bdc393122f86e0 file1.txt
1df4c8f318665f9a5f2ed38f55adadb7ef9f559c file2.txt
sha224sum <file>...
Added in version 3.10.
Create SHA224 checksum of files in sha224sum compatible format:
b9b9346bc8437bbda630b0b7ddfc5ea9ca157546dbbf4c613192f930 file1.txt
6dfbe55f4d2edc5fe5c9197bca51ceaaf824e48eba0cc453088aee24 file2.txt
sha256sum <file>...
Added in version 3.10.
Create SHA256 checksum of files in sha256sum compatible format:
76713b23615d31680afeb0e9efe94d47d3d4229191198bb46d7485f9cb191acc file1.txt
15b682ead6c12dedb1baf91231e1e89cfc7974b3787c1e2e01b986bffadae0ea file2.txt
sha384sum <file>...
Added in version 3.10.
Create SHA384 checksum of files in sha384sum compatible format:
acc049fedc091a22f5f2ce39a43b9057fd93c910e9afd76a6411a28a8f2b8a12c73d7129e292f94fc0329c309df49434 file1.txt
668ddeb108710d271ee21c0f3acbd6a7517e2b78f9181c6a2ff3b8943af92b0195dcb7cce48aa3e17893173c0a39e23d file2.txt
sha512sum <file>...
Added in version 3.10.
Create SHA512 checksum of files in sha512sum compatible format:
2a78d7a6c5328cfb1467c63beac8ff21794213901eaadafd48e7800289afbc08e5fb3e86aa31116c945ee3d7bf2a6194489ec6101051083d1108defc8e1dba89 file1.txt
7a0b54896fe5e70cca6dd643ad6f672614b189bf26f8153061c4d219474b05dad08c4e729af9f4b009f1a1a280cb625454bf587c690f4617c27e3aebdf3b7a2d file2.txt
remove [-f] <file>...
Deprecated since version 3.17.
Remove the file(s). The planned behavior was that if any of the listed files already do not exist,
the command returns a non-zero exit code, but no message is logged. The -f option changes the
behavior to return a zero exit code (i.e. success) in such situations instead. remove does not
follow symlinks. That means it remove only symlinks and not files it point to.
The implementation was buggy and always returned 0. It cannot be fixed without breaking backwards
compatibility. Use rm instead.
remove_directory <dir>...
Deprecated since version 3.17.
Remove <dir> directories and their contents. If a directory does not exist it will be silently
ignored. Use rm instead.
Added in version 3.15: Support for multiple directories.
Added in version 3.16: If <dir> is a symlink to a directory, just the symlink will be removed.
rename <oldname> <newname>
Rename a file or directory (on one volume). If file with the <newname> name already exists, then
it will be silently replaced.
rm [-rRf] [--] <file|dir>...
Added in version 3.17.
Remove the files <file> or directories <dir>. Use -r or -R to remove directories and their
contents recursively. If any of the listed files/directories do not exist, the command returns a
non-zero exit code, but no message is logged. The -f option changes the behavior to return a zero
exit code (i.e. success) in such situations instead. Use -- to stop interpreting options and treat
all remaining arguments as paths, even if they start with -.
sleep <number>
Added in version 3.0.
Sleep for <number> seconds. <number> may be a floating point number. A practical minimum is about
0.1 seconds due to overhead in starting/stopping CMake executable. This can be useful in a CMake
script to insert a delay:
# Sleep for about 0.5 seconds
execute_process(COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E sleep 0.5)
tar [cxt][vf][zjJ] file.tar [<options>] [--] [<pathname>...]
Create or extract a tar or zip archive. Options are:
c Create a new archive containing the specified files. If used, the <pathname>... argument
is mandatory.
x Extract to disk from the archive.
Added in version 3.15: The <pathname>... argument could be used to extract only selected
files or directories. When extracting selected files or directories, you must provide
their exact names including the path, as printed by list (-t).
t List archive contents.
Added in version 3.15: The <pathname>... argument could be used to list only selected files
or directories.
v Produce verbose output.
z Compress the resulting archive with gzip.
j Compress the resulting archive with bzip2.
J Added in version 3.1.
Compress the resulting archive with XZ.
--zstd Added in version 3.15.
Compress the resulting archive with Zstandard.
--files-from=<file>
Added in version 3.1.
Read file names from the given file, one per line. Blank lines are ignored. Lines may not
start in - except for --add-file=<name> to add files whose names start in -.
--format=<format>
Added in version 3.3.
Specify the format of the archive to be created. Supported formats are: 7zip, gnutar, pax,
paxr (restricted pax, default), and zip.
--mtime=<date>
Added in version 3.1.
Specify modification time recorded in tarball entries.
--touch
Added in version 3.24.
Use current local timestamp instead of extracting file timestamps from the archive.
-- Added in version 3.1.
Stop interpreting options and treat all remaining arguments as file names, even if they
start with -.
Added in version 3.1: LZMA (7zip) support.
Added in version 3.15: The command now continues adding files to an archive even if some of the
files are not readable. This behavior is more consistent with the classic tar tool. The command
now also parses all flags, and if an invalid flag was provided, a warning is issued.
time <command> [<args>...]
Run <command> and display elapsed time (including overhead of CMake frontend).
Added in version 3.5: The command now properly passes arguments with spaces or special characters
through to the child process. This may break scripts that worked around the bug with their own
extra quoting or escaping.
touch <file>...
Creates <file> if file do not exist. If <file> exists, it is changing <file> access and
modification times.
touch_nocreate <file>...
Touch a file if it exists but do not create it. If a file does not exist it will be silently
ignored.
true Added in version 3.16.
Do nothing, with an exit code of 0.
Windows-specific Command-Line Tools
The following cmake -E commands are available only on Windows:
delete_regv <key>
Delete Windows registry value.
env_vs8_wince <sdkname>
Added in version 3.2.
Displays a batch file which sets the environment for the provided Windows CE SDK installed in
VS2005.
env_vs9_wince <sdkname>
Added in version 3.2.
Displays a batch file which sets the environment for the provided Windows CE SDK installed in
VS2008.
write_regv <key> <value>
Write Windows registry value.
RUN THE FIND-PACKAGE TOOL
CMake provides a pkg-config like helper for Makefile-based projects:
cmake --find-package [<options>]
It searches a package using find_package() and prints the resulting flags to stdout. This can be used
instead of pkg-config to find installed libraries in plain Makefile-based projects or in autoconf-based
projects (via share/aclocal/cmake.m4).
NOTE:
This mode is not well-supported due to some technical limitations. It is kept for compatibility but
should not be used in new projects.
RUN A WORKFLOW PRESET
Added in version 3.25.
CMake Presets provides a way to execute multiple build steps in order:
cmake --workflow <options>
The options are:
--workflow
Select a Workflow Preset using one of the following options.
--preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
Use a workflow preset to specify a workflow. The project binary directory is inferred from the
initial configure preset. The current working directory must contain CMake preset files. See
preset for more details.
Changed in version 3.31: When following immediately after the --workflow option, the --preset
argument can be omitted and just the <preset> name can be given. This means the following syntax
is valid:
$ cmake --workflow my-preset
--list-presets
Lists the available workflow presets. The current working directory must contain CMake preset
files.
--fresh
Perform a fresh configuration of the build tree, which has the same effect as cmake --fresh.
VIEW HELP
To print selected pages from the CMake documentation, use
cmake --help[-<topic>]
with one of the following options:
-version [<file>], --version [<file>], /V [<file>]
Show program name/version banner and exit. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
-h, -H, --help, -help, -usage, /?
Print usage information and exit.
Usage describes the basic command line interface and its options.
--help <keyword> [<file>]
Print help for one CMake keyword.
<keyword> can be a property, variable, command, policy, generator or module.
The relevant manual entry for <keyword> is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is
printed to a named <file> if given.
Changed in version 3.28: Prior to CMake 3.28, this option supported command names only.
--help-full [<file>]
Print all help manuals and exit.
All manuals are printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file>
if given.
--help-manual <man> [<file>]
Print one help manual and exit.
The specified manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named
<file> if given.
--help-manual-list [<file>]
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 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-command <cmd> [<file>]
Print help for one command and exit.
The cmake-commands(7) manual entry for <cmd> is printed in a human-readable text format. The
output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-command-list [<file>]
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 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-commands [<file>]
Print cmake-commands manual and exit.
The cmake-commands(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to
a named <file> if given.
--help-module <mod> [<file>]
Print help for one module and exit.
The cmake-modules(7) manual entry for <mod> is printed in a human-readable text format. The
output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-module-list [<file>]
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 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-modules [<file>]
Print cmake-modules manual and exit.
The cmake-modules(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to
a named <file> if given.
--help-policy <cmp> [<file>]
Print help for one policy and exit.
The cmake-policies(7) manual entry for <cmp> is printed in a human-readable text format. The
output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-policy-list [<file>]
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 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-policies [<file>]
Print cmake-policies manual and exit.
The cmake-policies(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to
a named <file> if given.
--help-property <prop> [<file>]
Print help for one property and exit.
The cmake-properties(7) manual entries for <prop> are printed in a human-readable text format.
The output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-property-list [<file>]
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 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-properties [<file>]
Print cmake-properties manual and exit.
The cmake-properties(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed
to a named <file> if given.
--help-variable <var> [<file>]
Print help for one variable and exit.
The cmake-variables(7) manual entry for <var> is printed in a human-readable text format. The
output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-variable-list [<file>]
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 output is printed to a named <file> if given.
--help-variables [<file>]
Print cmake-variables manual and exit.
The cmake-variables(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed
to a named <file> if given.
To view the presets available for a project, use
cmake <source-dir> --list-presets
RETURN VALUE (EXIT CODE)
Upon regular termination, the cmake executable returns the exit code 0.
If termination is caused by the command message(FATAL_ERROR), or another error condition, then a non-zero
exit code is returned.
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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