blob: d698c8d63e5dcd407b7f9d26b16b400e27c9ec8a [file] [log] [blame]
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<title>cmake(1) &mdash; CMake 3.23.1 Documentation</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../_static/cmake.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../_static/pygments.css" type="text/css" />
<script type="text/javascript" id="documentation_options" data-url_root="../" src="../_static/documentation_options.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/jquery.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/underscore.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/doctools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/language_data.js"></script>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="../_static/cmake-favicon.ico"/>
<link rel="index" title="Index" href="../genindex.html" />
<link rel="search" title="Search" href="../search.html" />
<link rel="next" title="ctest(1)" href="ctest.1.html" />
<link rel="prev" title="Introduction" href="../index.html" />
</head><body>
<div class="related" role="navigation" aria-label="related navigation">
<h3>Navigation</h3>
<ul>
<li class="right" style="margin-right: 10px">
<a href="../genindex.html" title="General Index"
accesskey="I">index</a></li>
<li class="right" >
<a href="ctest.1.html" title="ctest(1)"
accesskey="N">next</a> |</li>
<li class="right" >
<a href="../index.html" title="Introduction"
accesskey="P">previous</a> |</li>
<li>
<img src="../_static/cmake-logo-16.png" alt=""
style="vertical-align: middle; margin-top: -2px" />
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://cmake.org/">CMake</a> &#187;
</li>
<li>
<a href="../index.html">3.23.1 Documentation</a> &#187;
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="document">
<div class="documentwrapper">
<div class="bodywrapper">
<div class="body" role="main">
<span class="target" id="manual:cmake(1)"></span><div class="section" id="cmake-1">
<h1>cmake(1)<a class="headerlink" href="#cmake-1" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h1>
<div class="section" id="synopsis">
<h2>Synopsis<a class="headerlink" href="#synopsis" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<pre class="literal-block"><a class="reference internal" href="#generate-a-project-buildsystem">Generate a Project Buildsystem</a>
cmake [&lt;options&gt;] &lt;path-to-source&gt;
cmake [&lt;options&gt;] &lt;path-to-existing-build&gt;
cmake [&lt;options&gt;] -S &lt;path-to-source&gt; -B &lt;path-to-build&gt;
<a class="reference internal" href="#build-a-project">Build a Project</a>
cmake --build &lt;dir&gt; [&lt;options&gt;] [-- &lt;build-tool-options&gt;]
<a class="reference internal" href="#install-a-project">Install a Project</a>
cmake --install &lt;dir&gt; [&lt;options&gt;]
<a class="reference internal" href="#open-a-project">Open a Project</a>
cmake --open &lt;dir&gt;
<a class="reference internal" href="#run-a-script">Run a Script</a>
cmake [{-D &lt;var&gt;=&lt;value&gt;}...] -P &lt;cmake-script-file&gt;
<a class="reference internal" href="#run-a-command-line-tool">Run a Command-Line Tool</a>
cmake -E &lt;command&gt; [&lt;options&gt;]
<a class="reference internal" href="#run-the-find-package-tool">Run the Find-Package Tool</a>
cmake --find-package [&lt;options&gt;]
<a class="reference internal" href="#view-help">View Help</a>
cmake --help[-&lt;topic&gt;]</pre>
</div>
<div class="section" id="description">
<h2>Description<a class="headerlink" href="#description" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>The <strong>cmake</strong> executable is the command-line interface of the cross-platform
buildsystem generator CMake. The above <a class="reference internal" href="#synopsis">Synopsis</a> lists various actions
the tool can perform as described in sections below.</p>
<p>To build a software project with CMake, <a class="reference internal" href="#generate-a-project-buildsystem">Generate a Project Buildsystem</a>.
Optionally use <strong>cmake</strong> to <a class="reference internal" href="#build-a-project">Build a Project</a>, <a class="reference internal" href="#install-a-project">Install a Project</a> or just
run the corresponding build tool (e.g. <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">make</span></code>) directly. <strong>cmake</strong> can also
be used to <a class="reference internal" href="#view-help">View Help</a>.</p>
<p>The other actions are meant for use by software developers writing
scripts in the <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-language(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-language.7.html#manual:cmake-language(7)" title="cmake-language(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMake</span> <span class="pre">language</span></code></a> to support
their builds.</p>
<p>For graphical user interfaces that may be used in place of <strong>cmake</strong>,
see <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:ccmake(1)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="ccmake.1.html#manual:ccmake(1)" title="ccmake(1)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ccmake</span></code></a> and <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-gui(1)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-gui.1.html#manual:cmake-gui(1)" title="cmake-gui(1)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-gui</span></code></a>.
For command-line interfaces to the CMake testing and packaging facilities,
see <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:ctest(1)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="ctest.1.html#manual:ctest(1)" title="ctest(1)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ctest</span></code></a> and <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cpack(1)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cpack.1.html#manual:cpack(1)" title="cpack(1)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cpack</span></code></a>.</p>
<p>For more information on CMake at large, <a class="reference internal" href="#see-also">see also</a> the links at the end
of this manual.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="introduction-to-cmake-buildsystems">
<h2>Introduction to CMake Buildsystems<a class="headerlink" href="#introduction-to-cmake-buildsystems" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>A <em>buildsystem</em> describes how to build a project's executables and libraries
from its source code using a <em>build tool</em> to automate the process. For
example, a buildsystem may be a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Makefile</span></code> for use with a command-line
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">make</span></code> 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
<span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-language(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-language.7.html#manual:cmake-language(7)" title="cmake-language(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMake</span> <span class="pre">language</span></code></a>. From these files CMake
generates a preferred buildsystem locally for each user through a backend
called a <em>generator</em>.</p>
<p>To generate a buildsystem with CMake, the following must be selected:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Source Tree</dt><dd><p>The top-level directory containing source files provided by the project.
The project specifies its buildsystem using files as described in the
<span class="target" id="index-2-manual:cmake-language(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-language.7.html#manual:cmake-language(7)" title="cmake-language(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-language(7)</span></code></a> manual, starting with a top-level file named
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code>. These files specify build targets and their
dependencies as described in the <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-buildsystem(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-buildsystem.7.html#manual:cmake-buildsystem(7)" title="cmake-buildsystem(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-buildsystem(7)</span></code></a> manual.</p>
</dd>
<dt>Build Tree</dt><dd><p>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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> file to identify the directory
as a build tree and store persistent information such as buildsystem
configuration options.</p>
<p>To maintain a pristine source tree, perform an <em>out-of-source</em> build
by using a separate dedicated build tree. An <em>in-source</em> build in
which the build tree is placed in the same directory as the source
tree is also supported, but discouraged.</p>
</dd>
<dt>Generator</dt><dd><p>This chooses the kind of buildsystem to generate. See the
<span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-generators(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-generators.7.html#manual:cmake-generators(7)" title="cmake-generators(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-generators(7)</span></code></a> manual for documentation of all generators.
Run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">--help</span></code> to see a list of generators available locally.
Optionally use the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-G</span></code> option below to specify a generator, or simply
accept the default CMake chooses for the current platform.</p>
<p>When using one of the <a class="reference internal" href="cmake-generators.7.html#command-line-build-tool-generators"><span class="std std-ref">Command-Line Build Tool Generators</span></a>
CMake expects that the environment needed by the compiler toolchain
is already configured in the shell. When using one of the
<a class="reference internal" href="cmake-generators.7.html#ide-build-tool-generators"><span class="std std-ref">IDE Build Tool Generators</span></a>, no particular environment is needed.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="section" id="generate-a-project-buildsystem">
<span id="id1"></span><h2>Generate a Project Buildsystem<a class="headerlink" href="#generate-a-project-buildsystem" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>Run CMake with one of the following command signatures to specify the
source and build trees and generate a buildsystem:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;options&gt;]</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Uses the current working directory as the build tree, and
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;</span></code> as the source tree. The specified path may
be absolute or relative to the current working directory.
The source tree must contain a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> file and must
<em>not</em> contain a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> file because the latter
identifies an existing build tree. For example:</p>
<div class="highlight-console notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">$</span> mkdir build <span class="p">;</span> <span class="nb">cd</span> build
<span class="gp">$</span> cmake ../src
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;options&gt;]</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-existing-build&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Uses <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;path-to-existing-build&gt;</span></code> as the build tree, and loads the
path to the source tree from its <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> 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:</p>
<div class="highlight-console notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">$</span> <span class="nb">cd</span> build
<span class="gp">$</span> cmake .
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;options&gt;]</span> <span class="pre">-S</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;</span> <span class="pre">-B</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-build&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Uses <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;path-to-build&gt;</span></code> as the build tree and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;</span></code>
as the source tree. The specified paths may be absolute or relative
to the current working directory. The source tree must contain a
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> file. The build tree will be created automatically
if it does not already exist. For example:</p>
<div class="highlight-console notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">$</span> cmake -S src -B build
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>In all cases the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;options&gt;</span></code> may be zero or more of the <a class="reference internal" href="#options">Options</a> below.</p>
<p>The above styles for specifying the source and build trees may be mixed.
Paths specified with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-S</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-B</span></code> 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:</p>
<table class="docutils align-default">
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 57%" />
<col style="width: 23%" />
<col style="width: 21%" />
</colgroup>
<thead>
<tr class="row-odd"><th class="head"><p>Command Line</p></th>
<th class="head"><p>Source Dir</p></th>
<th class="head"><p>Build Dir</p></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr class="row-even"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><cite>cwd</cite></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">build</span></code> (existing)</p></td>
<td><p><cite>loaded</cite></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-S</span> <span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><cite>cwd</cite></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-S</span> <span class="pre">src</span> <span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-S</span> <span class="pre">src</span> <span class="pre">-B</span> <span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-B</span> <span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><cite>cwd</cite></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-B</span> <span class="pre">build</span> <span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-B</span> <span class="pre">build</span> <span class="pre">-S</span> <span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">src</span></code></p></td>
<td><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">build</span></code></p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="versionchanged">
<p><span class="versionmodified changed">Changed in version 3.23: </span>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.</p>
</div>
<p>After generating a buildsystem one may use the corresponding native
build tool to build the project. For example, after using the
<span class="target" id="index-0-generator:Unix Makefiles"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../generator/Unix Makefiles.html#generator:Unix Makefiles" title="Unix Makefiles"><code class="xref cmake cmake-generator docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">Unix</span> <span class="pre">Makefiles</span></code></a> generator one may run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">make</span></code> directly:</p>
<blockquote>
<div><div class="highlight-console notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">$</span> make
<span class="gp">$</span> make install
</pre></div>
</div>
</div></blockquote>
<p>Alternatively, one may use <strong>cmake</strong> to <a class="reference internal" href="#build-a-project">Build a Project</a> by
automatically choosing and invoking the appropriate native build tool.</p>
<div class="section" id="options">
<span id="cmake-options"></span><h3>Options<a class="headerlink" href="#options" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-S</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Path to root directory of the CMake project to build.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-B</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-build&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Path to directory which CMake will use as the root of build directory.</p>
<p>If the directory doesn't already exist CMake will make it.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-C</span> <span class="pre">&lt;initial-cache&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Pre-load a script to populate the cache.</p>
<p>When CMake is first run in an empty build tree, it creates a
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> 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 <span class="target" id="index-0-command:set"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/set.html#command:set" title="set"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">set()</span></code></a> commands that use the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> option, not a
cache-format file.</p>
<p>References to <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR.html#variable:CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR" title="CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR</span></code></a> and <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_BINARY_DIR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_BINARY_DIR.html#variable:CMAKE_BINARY_DIR" title="CMAKE_BINARY_DIR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_BINARY_DIR</span></code></a>
within the script evaluate to the top-level source and build tree.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-D</span> <span class="pre">&lt;var&gt;:&lt;type&gt;=&lt;value&gt;,</span> <span class="pre">-D</span> <span class="pre">&lt;var&gt;=&lt;value&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Create or update a CMake <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> entry.</p>
<p>When CMake is first run in an empty build tree, it creates a
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> 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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> entries as desired.</p>
<p>If the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">:&lt;type&gt;</span></code> portion is given it must be one of the types
specified by the <span class="target" id="index-1-command:set"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/set.html#command:set" title="set"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">set()</span></code></a> command documentation for its
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> signature.
If the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">:&lt;type&gt;</span></code> 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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">PATH</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">FILEPATH</span></code>
then the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;value&gt;</span></code> will be converted to an absolute path.</p>
<p>This option may also be given as a single argument:
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-D&lt;var&gt;:&lt;type&gt;=&lt;value&gt;</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-D&lt;var&gt;=&lt;value&gt;</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-U</span> <span class="pre">&lt;globbing_expr&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Remove matching entries from CMake <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code>.</p>
<p>This option may be used to remove one or more variables from the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> file, globbing expressions using <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">*</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">?</span></code> are
supported. The option may be repeated for as many <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> entries as
desired.</p>
<p>Use with care, you can make your <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeCache.txt</span></code> non-working.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-G</span> <span class="pre">&lt;generator-name&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Specify a build system generator.</p>
<p>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
<span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-generators(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-generators.7.html#manual:cmake-generators(7)" title="cmake-generators(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-generators(7)</span></code></a> manual.</p>
<p>If not specified, CMake checks the <span class="target" id="index-0-envvar:CMAKE_GENERATOR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../envvar/CMAKE_GENERATOR.html#envvar:CMAKE_GENERATOR" title="CMAKE_GENERATOR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-envvar docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_GENERATOR</span></code></a> environment
variable and otherwise falls back to a builtin default selection.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-T</span> <span class="pre">&lt;toolset-spec&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Toolset specification for the generator, if supported.</p>
<p>Some CMake generators support a toolset specification to tell
the native build system how to choose a compiler. See the
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET.html#variable:CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET" title="CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET</span></code></a> variable for details.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-A</span> <span class="pre">&lt;platform-name&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Specify platform name if supported by generator.</p>
<p>Some CMake generators support a platform name to be given to the
native build system to choose a compiler or SDK. See the
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM.html#variable:CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM" title="CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM</span></code></a> variable for details.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--toolchain</span> <span class="pre">&lt;path-to-file&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Specify the cross compiling toolchain file, equivalent to setting
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE.html#variable:CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE" title="CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE</span></code></a> variable.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--install-prefix</span> <span class="pre">&lt;directory&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Specify the installation directory, used by the
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX.html#variable:CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX" title="CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX</span></code></a> variable. Must be an absolute path.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Wno-dev</span></code></dt><dd><p>Suppress developer warnings.</p>
<p>Suppress warnings that are meant for the author of the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files. By default this will also turn off
deprecation warnings.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Wdev</span></code></dt><dd><p>Enable developer warnings.</p>
<p>Enable warnings that are meant for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code>
files. By default this will also turn on deprecation warnings.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Werror=dev</span></code></dt><dd><p>Make developer warnings errors.</p>
<p>Make warnings that are meant for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files
errors. By default this will also turn on deprecated warnings as errors.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Wno-error=dev</span></code></dt><dd><p>Make developer warnings not errors.</p>
<p>Make warnings that are meant for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files not
errors. By default this will also turn off deprecated warnings as errors.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Wdeprecated</span></code></dt><dd><p>Enable deprecated functionality warnings.</p>
<p>Enable warnings for usage of deprecated functionality, that are meant
for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Wno-deprecated</span></code></dt><dd><p>Suppress deprecated functionality warnings.</p>
<p>Suppress warnings for usage of deprecated functionality, that are meant
for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Werror=deprecated</span></code></dt><dd><p>Make deprecated macro and function warnings errors.</p>
<p>Make warnings for usage of deprecated macros and functions, that are meant
for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files, errors.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-Wno-error=deprecated</span></code></dt><dd><p>Make deprecated macro and function warnings not errors.</p>
<p>Make warnings for usage of deprecated macros and functions, that are meant
for the author of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeLists.txt</span></code> files, not errors.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-L[A][H]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List non-advanced cached variables.</p>
<p>List <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> variables will run CMake and list all the variables from
the CMake <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CACHE</span></code> that are not marked as <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">INTERNAL</span></code> or <span class="target" id="index-0-prop_cache:ADVANCED"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../prop_cache/ADVANCED.html#prop_cache:ADVANCED" title="ADVANCED"><code class="xref cmake cmake-prop_cache docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ADVANCED</span></code></a>.
This will effectively display current CMake settings, which can then be
changed with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-D</span></code> option. Changing some of the variables may result
in more variables being created. If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">A</span></code> is specified, then it will
display also advanced variables. If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">H</span></code> is specified, it will also
display help for each variable.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-N</span></code></dt><dd><p>View mode only.</p>
<p>Only load the cache. Do not actually run configure and generate
steps.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--graphviz=[file]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Generate graphviz of dependencies, see <span class="target" id="index-0-module:CMakeGraphVizOptions"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CMakeGraphVizOptions.html#module:CMakeGraphVizOptions" title="CMakeGraphVizOptions"><code class="xref cmake cmake-module docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeGraphVizOptions</span></code></a> for more.</p>
<p>Generate a graphviz input file that will contain all the library and
executable dependencies in the project. See the documentation for
<span class="target" id="index-1-module:CMakeGraphVizOptions"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../module/CMakeGraphVizOptions.html#module:CMakeGraphVizOptions" title="CMakeGraphVizOptions"><code class="xref cmake cmake-module docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeGraphVizOptions</span></code></a> for more details.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--system-information</span> <span class="pre">[file]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Dump information about this system.</p>
<p>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.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--log-level=&lt;ERROR|WARNING|NOTICE|STATUS|VERBOSE|DEBUG|TRACE&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Set the log level.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-command:message"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/message.html#command:message" title="message"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">message()</span></code></a> command will only output messages of the specified
log level or higher. The default log level is <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">STATUS</span></code>.</p>
<p>To make a log level persist between CMake runs, set
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL.html#variable:CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL" title="CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_MESSAGE_LOG_LEVEL</span></code></a> as a cache variable instead.
If both the command line option and the variable are given, the command line
option takes precedence.</p>
<p>For backward compatibility reasons, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--loglevel</span></code> is also accepted as a
synonym for this option.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--log-context</span></code></dt><dd><p>Enable the <span class="target" id="index-1-command:message"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/message.html#command:message" title="message"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">message()</span></code></a> command outputting context attached to each
message.</p>
<p>This option turns on showing context for the current CMake run only.
To make showing the context persistent for all subsequent CMake runs, set
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW.html#variable:CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW" title="CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW</span></code></a> as a cache variable instead.
When this command line option is given, <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW.html#variable:CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW" title="CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_MESSAGE_CONTEXT_SHOW</span></code></a>
is ignored.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-trycompile</span></code></dt><dd><p>Do not delete the <span class="target" id="index-0-command:try_compile"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/try_compile.html#command:try_compile" title="try_compile"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">try_compile()</span></code></a> build tree.
Only useful on one <span class="target" id="index-1-command:try_compile"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/try_compile.html#command:try_compile" title="try_compile"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">try_compile()</span></code></a> at a time.</p>
<p>Do not delete the files and directories created for <span class="target" id="index-2-command:try_compile"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/try_compile.html#command:try_compile" title="try_compile"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">try_compile()</span></code></a>
calls. This is useful in debugging failed try_compiles. It may
however change the results of the try-compiles as old junk from a
previous try-compile may cause a different test to either pass or
fail incorrectly. This option is best used for one try-compile at a
time, and only when debugging.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-output</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake in a debug mode.</p>
<p>Print extra information during the cmake run like stack traces with
<span class="target" id="index-2-command:message"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/message.html#command:message" title="message"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">message(SEND_ERROR)</span></code></a> calls.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-find</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake find commands in a debug mode.</p>
<p>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 <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE.html#variable:CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE" title="CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_FIND_DEBUG_MODE</span></code></a> variable for debugging
a more local part of the project.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-find-pkg=&lt;pkg&gt;[,...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake find commands in a debug mode when running under calls
to <span class="target" id="index-0-command:find_package"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/find_package.html#command:find_package" title="find_package"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">find_package(&lt;pkg&gt;)</span></code></a>, where <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;pkg&gt;</span></code>
is an entry in the given comma-separated list of case-sensitive package
names.</p>
<p>Like <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-find</span></code>, but limiting scope to the specified packages.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-find-var=&lt;var&gt;[,...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake find commands in a debug mode when called with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;var&gt;</span></code>
as the result variable, where <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;var&gt;</span></code> is an entry in the given
comma-separated list.</p>
<p>Like <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--debug-find</span></code>, but limiting scope to the specified variable names.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--trace</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake in trace mode.</p>
<p>Print a trace of all calls made and from where.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--trace-expand</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake in trace mode.</p>
<p>Like <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--trace</span></code>, but with variables expanded.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--trace-format=&lt;format&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake in trace mode and sets the trace output format.</p>
<p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;format&gt;</span></code> can be one of the following values.</p>
<blockquote>
<div><dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">human</span></code></dt><dd><p>Prints each trace line in a human-readable format. This is the
default format.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">json-v1</span></code></dt><dd><p>Prints each line as a separate JSON document. Each document is
separated by a newline ( <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">\n</span></code> ). It is guaranteed that no
newline characters will be present inside a JSON document.</p>
<p>JSON trace format:</p>
<div class="highlight-json notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="p">{</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;file&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="s2">&quot;/full/path/to/the/CMake/file.txt&quot;</span><span class="p">,</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;line&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">,</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;cmd&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="s2">&quot;add_executable&quot;</span><span class="p">,</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;args&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="p">[</span><span class="s2">&quot;foo&quot;</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s2">&quot;bar&quot;</span><span class="p">],</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;time&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mf">1579512535.9687231</span><span class="p">,</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;frame&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mi">2</span>
<span class="p">}</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The members are:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">file</span></code></dt><dd><p>The full path to the CMake source file where the function
was called.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">line</span></code></dt><dd><p>The line in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">file</span></code> of the function call.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">defer</span></code></dt><dd><p>Optional member that is present when the function call was deferred
by <span class="target" id="index-0-command:cmake_language"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/cmake_language.html#command:cmake_language" title="cmake_language"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake_language(DEFER)</span></code></a>. If present, its value is a
string containing the deferred call <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;id&gt;</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmd</span></code></dt><dd><p>The name of the function that was called.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">args</span></code></dt><dd><p>A string list of all function parameters.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">time</span></code></dt><dd><p>Timestamp (seconds since epoch) of the function call.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">frame</span></code></dt><dd><p>Stack frame depth of the function that was called.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>Additionally, the first JSON document outputted contains the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">version</span></code> key for the current major and minor version of the</p>
<p>JSON trace format:</p>
<div class="highlight-json notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="p">{</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;version&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="p">{</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;major&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">,</span>
<span class="nt">&quot;minor&quot;</span><span class="p">:</span> <span class="mi">1</span>
<span class="p">}</span>
<span class="p">}</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The members are:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">version</span></code></dt><dd><p>Indicates the version of the JSON format. The version has a
major and minor components following semantic version conventions.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>
</div></blockquote>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--trace-source=&lt;file&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake in trace mode, but output only lines of a specified file.</p>
<p>Multiple options are allowed.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--trace-redirect=&lt;file&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Put cmake in trace mode and redirect trace output to a file instead of stderr.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--warn-uninitialized</span></code></dt><dd><p>Warn about uninitialized values.</p>
<p>Print a warning when an uninitialized variable is used.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--warn-unused-vars</span></code></dt><dd><p>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.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--no-warn-unused-cli</span></code></dt><dd><p>Don't warn about command line options.</p>
<p>Don't find variables that are declared on the command line, but not
used.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--check-system-vars</span></code></dt><dd><p>Find problems with variable usage in system files.</p>
<p>Normally, unused and uninitialized variables are searched for only
in <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR.html#variable:CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR" title="CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR</span></code></a> and <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CMAKE_BINARY_DIR"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_BINARY_DIR.html#variable:CMAKE_BINARY_DIR" title="CMAKE_BINARY_DIR"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_BINARY_DIR</span></code></a>.
This flag tells CMake to warn about other files as well.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--profiling-output=&lt;path&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Used in conjunction with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--profiling-format</span></code> to output to a given path.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--profiling-format=&lt;file&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Enable the output of profiling data of CMake script in the given format.</p>
<p>This can aid performance analysis of CMake scripts executed. Third party
applications should be used to process the output into human readable format.</p>
<p>Currently supported values are:
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">google-trace</span></code> Outputs in Google Trace Format, which can be parsed by the
<a class="reference external" href="about:tracing">about:tracing</a> tab of Google Chrome or using a plugin for a tool like Trace
Compass.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--preset</span> <span class="pre">&lt;preset&gt;</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--preset=&lt;preset&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Reads a <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-presets(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-presets.7.html#manual:cmake-presets(7)" title="cmake-presets(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">preset</span></code></a> from
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;/CMakePresets.json</span></code> and
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;path-to-source&gt;/CMakeUserPresets.json</span></code>. The preset may specify the
generator and the build directory, and a list of variables and other
arguments to pass to CMake. The current working directory must contain
CMake preset files. The <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-gui(1)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-gui.1.html#manual:cmake-gui(1)" title="cmake-gui(1)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMake</span> <span class="pre">GUI</span></code></a> can
also recognize <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakePresets.json</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMakeUserPresets.json</span></code> files. For
full details on these files, see <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-presets(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-presets.7.html#manual:cmake-presets(7)" title="cmake-presets(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-presets(7)</span></code></a>.</p>
<p>The presets are read before all other command line options. The options
specified by the 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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">MYVAR</span></code> to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">1</span></code>, but the user sets it to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">2</span></code> with a
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-D</span></code> argument, the value <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">2</span></code> is preferred.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--list-presets,</span> <span class="pre">--list-presets=&lt;[configure</span> <span class="pre">|</span> <span class="pre">build</span> <span class="pre">|</span> <span class="pre">test</span> <span class="pre">|</span> <span class="pre">all]&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Lists the available presets. If no option is specified only configure presets
will be listed. The current working directory must contain CMake preset files.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="build-a-project">
<span id="build-tool-mode"></span><h2>Build a Project<a class="headerlink" href="#build-a-project" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>CMake provides a command-line signature to build an already-generated
project binary tree:</p>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake --build &lt;dir&gt; <span class="o">[</span>&lt;options&gt;<span class="o">]</span> <span class="o">[</span>-- &lt;build-tool-options&gt;<span class="o">]</span>
cmake --build --preset &lt;preset&gt; <span class="o">[</span>&lt;options&gt;<span class="o">]</span> <span class="o">[</span>-- &lt;build-tool-options&gt;<span class="o">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>This abstracts a native build tool's command-line interface with the
following options:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--build</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Project binary directory to be built. This is required (unless a preset
is specified) and must be first.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--preset</span> <span class="pre">&lt;preset&gt;</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--preset=&lt;preset&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Use a build preset to specify build options. The project binary directory
is inferred from the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">configurePreset</span></code> key. The current working directory
must contain CMake preset files.
See <span class="target" id="index-2-manual:cmake-presets(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-presets.7.html#manual:cmake-presets(7)" title="cmake-presets(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">preset</span></code></a> for more details.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--list-presets</span></code></dt><dd><p>Lists the available build presets. The current working directory must
contain CMake preset files.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--parallel</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;jobs&gt;],</span> <span class="pre">-j</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;jobs&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>The maximum number of concurrent processes to use when building.
If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;jobs&gt;</span></code> is omitted the native build tool's default number is used.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-envvar:CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../envvar/CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL.html#envvar:CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL" title="CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL"><code class="xref cmake cmake-envvar docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL</span></code></a> environment variable, if set,
specifies a default parallel level when this option is not given.</p>
<p>Some native build tools always build in parallel. The use of <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;jobs&gt;</span></code>
value of <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">1</span></code> can be used to limit to a single job.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--target</span> <span class="pre">&lt;tgt&gt;...,</span> <span class="pre">-t</span> <span class="pre">&lt;tgt&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><p>Build <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;tgt&gt;</span></code> instead of the default target. Multiple targets may be
given, separated by spaces.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--config</span> <span class="pre">&lt;cfg&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>For multi-configuration tools, choose configuration <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;cfg&gt;</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--clean-first</span></code></dt><dd><p>Build target <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">clean</span></code> first, then build.
(To clean only, use <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--target</span> <span class="pre">clean</span></code>.)</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--resolve-package-references=&lt;on|off|only&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.23.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Resolve remote package references from external package managers (e.g. NuGet)
before build. When set to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">on</span></code> (default), packages will be restored before
building a target. When set to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">only</span></code>, the packages will be restored, but no
build will be performed. When set to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">off</span></code>, no packages will be restored.</p>
<p>If the target does not define any package references, this option does nothing.</p>
<p>This setting can be specified in a build preset (using
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">resolvePackageReferences</span></code>). The preset setting will be ignored, if this
command line option is specified.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>When using the Visual Studio generator, package references are defined
using the <span class="target" id="index-0-prop_tgt:VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../prop_tgt/VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES.html#prop_tgt:VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES" title="VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES"><code class="xref cmake cmake-prop_tgt docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">VS_PACKAGE_REFERENCES</span></code></a> property. Package references
are restored using NuGet. It can be disabled by setting the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_VS_NUGET_PACKAGE_RESTORE</span></code> variable to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">OFF</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--use-stderr</span></code></dt><dd><p>Ignored. Behavior is default in CMake &gt;= 3.0.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--verbose,</span> <span class="pre">-v</span></code></dt><dd><p>Enable verbose output - if supported - including the build commands to be
executed.</p>
<p>This option can be omitted if <span class="target" id="index-0-envvar:VERBOSE"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../envvar/VERBOSE.html#envvar:VERBOSE" title="VERBOSE"><code class="xref cmake cmake-envvar docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">VERBOSE</span></code></a> environment variable or
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE.html#variable:CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE" title="CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_VERBOSE_MAKEFILE</span></code></a> cached variable is set.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--</span></code></dt><dd><p>Pass remaining options to the native tool.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>Run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">--build</span></code> with no options for quick help.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="install-a-project">
<h2>Install a Project<a class="headerlink" href="#install-a-project" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>CMake provides a command-line signature to install an already-generated
project binary tree:</p>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake --install &lt;dir&gt; <span class="o">[</span>&lt;options&gt;<span class="o">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>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:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--install</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Project binary directory to install. This is required and must be first.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--config</span> <span class="pre">&lt;cfg&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>For multi-configuration generators, choose configuration <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;cfg&gt;</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--component</span> <span class="pre">&lt;comp&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Component-based install. Only install component <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;comp&gt;</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--default-directory-permissions</span> <span class="pre">&lt;permissions&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Default directory install permissions. Permissions in format <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;u=rwx,g=rx,o=rx&gt;</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--prefix</span> <span class="pre">&lt;prefix&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Override the installation prefix, <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX.html#variable:CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX" title="CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX</span></code></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--strip</span></code></dt><dd><p>Strip before installing.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-v,</span> <span class="pre">--verbose</span></code></dt><dd><p>Enable verbose output.</p>
<p>This option can be omitted if <span class="target" id="index-1-envvar:VERBOSE"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../envvar/VERBOSE.html#envvar:VERBOSE" title="VERBOSE"><code class="xref cmake cmake-envvar docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">VERBOSE</span></code></a> environment variable is set.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>Run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">--install</span></code> with no options for quick help.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="open-a-project">
<h2>Open a Project<a class="headerlink" href="#open-a-project" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake --open &lt;dir&gt;
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Open the generated project in the associated application. This is only
supported by some generators.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="run-a-script">
<span id="script-processing-mode"></span><h2>Run a Script<a class="headerlink" href="#run-a-script" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake <span class="o">[{</span>-D &lt;var&gt;<span class="o">=</span>&lt;value&gt;<span class="o">}</span>...<span class="o">]</span> -P &lt;cmake-script-file&gt; <span class="o">[</span>-- &lt;unparsed-options&gt;...<span class="o">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-D</span></code>, this must be
done before the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-P</span></code> argument.</p>
<p>Any options after <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--</span></code> are not parsed by CMake, but they are still included
in the set of <span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_ARGV0"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_ARGV0.html#variable:CMAKE_ARGV0" title="CMAKE_ARGV0"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_ARGV&lt;n&gt;</span></code></a> variables passed to the
script (including the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--</span></code> itself).</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="run-a-command-line-tool">
<h2>Run a Command-Line Tool<a class="headerlink" href="#run-a-command-line-tool" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>CMake provides builtin command-line tools through the signature</p>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake -E &lt;command&gt; <span class="o">[</span>&lt;options&gt;<span class="o">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Run <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-E</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-E</span> <span class="pre">help</span></code> for a summary of commands.
Available commands are:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">capabilities</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.7.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Report cmake capabilities in JSON format. The output is a JSON object
with the following keys:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">version</span></code></dt><dd><p>A JSON object with version information. Keys are:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">string</span></code></dt><dd><p>The full version string as displayed by cmake <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--version</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">major</span></code></dt><dd><p>The major version number in integer form.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">minor</span></code></dt><dd><p>The minor version number in integer form.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">patch</span></code></dt><dd><p>The patch level in integer form.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">suffix</span></code></dt><dd><p>The cmake version suffix string.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">isDirty</span></code></dt><dd><p>A bool that is set if the cmake build is from a dirty tree.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">generators</span></code></dt><dd><p>A list available generators. Each generator is a JSON object with the
following keys:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">name</span></code></dt><dd><p>A string containing the name of the generator.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">toolsetSupport</span></code></dt><dd><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">true</span></code> if the generator supports toolsets and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">false</span></code> otherwise.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">platformSupport</span></code></dt><dd><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">true</span></code> if the generator supports platforms and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">false</span></code> otherwise.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">supportedPlatforms</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.21.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Optional member that may be present when the generator supports
platform specification via <span class="target" id="index-1-variable:CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM.html#variable:CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM" title="CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM</span></code></a>
(<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-A</span> <span class="pre">...</span></code>). The value is a list of platforms known to be supported.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">extraGenerators</span></code></dt><dd><p>A list of strings with all the extra generators compatible with
the generator.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">fileApi</span></code></dt><dd><p>Optional member that is present when the <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-file-api(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-file-api.7.html#manual:cmake-file-api(7)" title="cmake-file-api(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-file-api(7)</span></code></a>
is available. The value is a JSON object with one member:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">requests</span></code></dt><dd><p>A JSON array containing zero or more supported file-api requests.
Each request is a JSON object with members:</p>
<dl class="simple">
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">kind</span></code></dt><dd><p>Specifies one of the supported <a class="reference internal" href="cmake-file-api.7.html#file-api-object-kinds"><span class="std std-ref">Object Kinds</span></a>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">version</span></code></dt><dd><p>A JSON array whose elements are each a JSON object containing
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">major</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">minor</span></code> members specifying non-negative integer
version components.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">serverMode</span></code></dt><dd><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">true</span></code> if cmake supports server-mode and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">false</span></code> otherwise.
Always false since CMake 3.20.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cat</span> <span class="pre">&lt;files&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.18.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Concatenate files and print on the standard output.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">chdir</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;cmd&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;arg&gt;...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Change the current working directory and run a command.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">compare_files</span> <span class="pre">[--ignore-eol]</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file1&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file2&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Check if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;file1&gt;</span></code> is same as <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;file2&gt;</span></code>. If files are the same,
then returns <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">0</span></code>, if not it returns <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">1</span></code>. In case of invalid
arguments, it returns 2.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.14: </span>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--ignore-eol</span></code> option implies line-wise comparison and ignores
LF/CRLF differences.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">copy</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span> <span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Copy files to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code> (either file or directory).
If multiple files are specified, the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code> must be
directory and it must exist. Wildcards are not supported.
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">copy</span></code> does follow symlinks. That means it does not copy symlinks,
but the files or directories it point to.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.5: </span>Support for multiple input files.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">copy_directory</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;...</span> <span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Copy content of <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;...</span></code> directories to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code> directory.
If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code> directory does not exist it will be created.
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">copy_directory</span></code> does follow symlinks.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.5: </span>Support for multiple input directories.</p>
</div>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.15: </span>The command now fails when the source directory does not exist.
Previously it succeeded by creating an empty destination directory.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">copy_if_different</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span> <span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Copy files to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code> (either file or directory) if
they have changed.
If multiple files are specified, the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;destination&gt;</span></code> must be
directory and it must exist.
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">copy_if_different</span></code> does follow symlinks.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.5: </span>Support for multiple input files.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">create_symlink</span> <span class="pre">&lt;old&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;new&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Create a symbolic link <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;new&gt;</span></code> naming <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;old&gt;</span></code>.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.13: </span>Support for creating symlinks on Windows.</p>
</div>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Path to where <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;new&gt;</span></code> symbolic link will be created has to exist beforehand.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">create_hardlink</span> <span class="pre">&lt;old&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;new&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.19.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Create a hard link <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;new&gt;</span></code> naming <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;old&gt;</span></code>.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Path to where <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;new&gt;</span></code> hard link will be created has to exist beforehand.
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;old&gt;</span></code> has to exist beforehand.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">echo</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;string&gt;...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Displays arguments as text.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">echo_append</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;string&gt;...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Displays arguments as text but no new line.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">env</span> <span class="pre">[--unset=NAME]...</span> <span class="pre">[NAME=VALUE]...</span> <span class="pre">COMMAND</span> <span class="pre">[ARG]...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.1.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Run command in a modified environment.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">environment</span></code></dt><dd><p>Display the current environment variables.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">false</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.16.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Do nothing, with an exit code of 1.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">make_directory</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><p>Create <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span></code> directories. If necessary, create parent
directories too. If a directory already exists it will be
silently ignored.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.5: </span>Support for multiple input directories.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">md5sum</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><p>Create MD5 checksum of files in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">md5sum</span></code> compatible format:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>351abe79cd3800b38cdfb25d45015a15 file1.txt
052f86c15bbde68af55c7f7b340ab639 file2.txt
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha1sum</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.10.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Create SHA1 checksum of files in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha1sum</span></code> compatible format:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>4bb7932a29e6f73c97bb9272f2bdc393122f86e0 file1.txt
1df4c8f318665f9a5f2ed38f55adadb7ef9f559c file2.txt
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha224sum</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.10.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Create SHA224 checksum of files in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha224sum</span></code> compatible format:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>b9b9346bc8437bbda630b0b7ddfc5ea9ca157546dbbf4c613192f930 file1.txt
6dfbe55f4d2edc5fe5c9197bca51ceaaf824e48eba0cc453088aee24 file2.txt
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha256sum</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.10.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Create SHA256 checksum of files in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha256sum</span></code> compatible format:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>76713b23615d31680afeb0e9efe94d47d3d4229191198bb46d7485f9cb191acc file1.txt
15b682ead6c12dedb1baf91231e1e89cfc7974b3787c1e2e01b986bffadae0ea file2.txt
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha384sum</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.10.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Create SHA384 checksum of files in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha384sum</span></code> compatible format:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>acc049fedc091a22f5f2ce39a43b9057fd93c910e9afd76a6411a28a8f2b8a12c73d7129e292f94fc0329c309df49434 file1.txt
668ddeb108710d271ee21c0f3acbd6a7517e2b78f9181c6a2ff3b8943af92b0195dcb7cce48aa3e17893173c0a39e23d file2.txt
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha512sum</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.10.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Create SHA512 checksum of files in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sha512sum</span></code> compatible format:</p>
<div class="highlight-none notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>2a78d7a6c5328cfb1467c63beac8ff21794213901eaadafd48e7800289afbc08e5fb3e86aa31116c945ee3d7bf2a6194489ec6101051083d1108defc8e1dba89 file1.txt
7a0b54896fe5e70cca6dd643ad6f672614b189bf26f8153061c4d219474b05dad08c4e729af9f4b009f1a1a280cb625454bf587c690f4617c27e3aebdf3b7a2d file2.txt
</pre></div>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">remove</span> <span class="pre">[-f]</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="deprecated">
<p><span class="versionmodified deprecated">Deprecated since version 3.17.</span></p>
</div>
<p>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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-f</span></code> option changes the behavior to return a
zero exit code (i.e. success) in such situations instead.
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">remove</span></code> does not follow symlinks. That means it remove only symlinks
and not files it point to.</p>
<p>The implementation was buggy and always returned 0. It cannot be fixed without
breaking backwards compatibility. Use <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">rm</span></code> instead.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">remove_directory</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="deprecated">
<p><span class="versionmodified deprecated">Deprecated since version 3.17.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Remove <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span></code> directories and their contents. If a directory does
not exist it will be silently ignored.
Use <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">rm</span></code> instead.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.15: </span>Support for multiple directories.</p>
</div>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.16: </span>If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span></code> is a symlink to a directory, just the symlink will be removed.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">rename</span> <span class="pre">&lt;oldname&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;newname&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Rename a file or directory (on one volume). If file with the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;newname&gt;</span></code> name
already exists, then it will be silently replaced.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">rm</span> <span class="pre">[-rRf]</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.17.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Remove the files <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;</span></code> or directories <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;dir&gt;</span></code>.</p>
<p>Use <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-r</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-R</span></code> 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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-f</span></code> option changes
the behavior to return a zero exit code (i.e. success) in such
situations instead.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">server</span></code></dt><dd><p>Launch <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-server(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-server.7.html#manual:cmake-server(7)" title="cmake-server(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-server(7)</span></code></a> mode.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">sleep</span> <span class="pre">&lt;number&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.0.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Sleep for given number of seconds.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">tar</span> <span class="pre">[cxt][vf][zjJ]</span> <span class="pre">file.tar</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;options&gt;]</span> <span class="pre">[--]</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;pathname&gt;...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Create or extract a tar or zip archive. Options are:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">c</span></code></dt><dd><p>Create a new archive containing the specified files.
If used, the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;pathname&gt;...</span></code> argument is mandatory.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">x</span></code></dt><dd><p>Extract to disk from the archive.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.15: </span>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;pathname&gt;...</span></code> 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 (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-t</span></code>).</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">t</span></code></dt><dd><p>List archive contents.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.15: </span>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;pathname&gt;...</span></code> argument could be used to list only selected files
or directories.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">v</span></code></dt><dd><p>Produce verbose output.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">z</span></code></dt><dd><p>Compress the resulting archive with gzip.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">j</span></code></dt><dd><p>Compress the resulting archive with bzip2.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">J</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.1.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Compress the resulting archive with XZ.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--zstd</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.15.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Compress the resulting archive with Zstandard.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--files-from=&lt;file&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.1.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Read file names from the given file, one per line.
Blank lines are ignored. Lines may not start in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-</span></code>
except for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--add-file=&lt;name&gt;</span></code> to add files whose
names start in <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--format=&lt;format&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.3.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Specify the format of the archive to be created.
Supported formats are: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">7zip</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">gnutar</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pax</span></code>,
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">paxr</span></code> (restricted pax, default), and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">zip</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--mtime=&lt;date&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.1.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Specify modification time recorded in tarball entries.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.1.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Stop interpreting options and treat all remaining arguments
as file names, even if they start with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-</span></code>.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.1: </span>LZMA (7zip) support.</p>
</div>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.15: </span>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
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">tar</span></code> tool. The command now also parses all flags, and if an invalid flag
was provided, a warning is issued.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">time</span> <span class="pre">&lt;command&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;args&gt;...]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Run command and display elapsed time.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.5: </span>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.</p>
</div>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">touch</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><p>Creates <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;</span></code> if file do not exist.
If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;</span></code> exists, it is changing <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;</span></code> access and modification times.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">touch_nocreate</span> <span class="pre">&lt;file&gt;...</span></code></dt><dd><p>Touch a file if it exists but do not create it. If a file does
not exist it will be silently ignored.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">true</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.16.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Do nothing, with an exit code of 0.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<div class="section" id="windows-specific-command-line-tools">
<h3>Windows-specific Command-Line Tools<a class="headerlink" href="#windows-specific-command-line-tools" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h3>
<p>The following <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake</span> <span class="pre">-E</span></code> commands are available only on Windows:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delete_regv</span> <span class="pre">&lt;key&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Delete Windows registry value.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">env_vs8_wince</span> <span class="pre">&lt;sdkname&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.2.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Displays a batch file which sets the environment for the provided
Windows CE SDK installed in VS2005.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">env_vs9_wince</span> <span class="pre">&lt;sdkname&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in version 3.2.</span></p>
</div>
<p>Displays a batch file which sets the environment for the provided
Windows CE SDK installed in VS2008.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">write_regv</span> <span class="pre">&lt;key&gt;</span> <span class="pre">&lt;value&gt;</span></code></dt><dd><p>Write Windows registry value.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="run-the-find-package-tool">
<h2>Run the Find-Package Tool<a class="headerlink" href="#run-the-find-package-tool" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>CMake provides a pkg-config like helper for Makefile-based projects:</p>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake --find-package <span class="o">[</span>&lt;options&gt;<span class="o">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>It searches a package using <span class="target" id="index-1-command:find_package"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/find_package.html#command:find_package" title="find_package"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">find_package()</span></code></a> 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 <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">share/aclocal/cmake.m4</span></code>).</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>This mode is not well-supported due to some technical limitations.
It is kept for compatibility but should not be used in new projects.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="view-help">
<h2>View Help<a class="headerlink" href="#view-help" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>To print selected pages from the CMake documentation, use</p>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake --help<span class="o">[</span>-&lt;topic&gt;<span class="o">]</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>with one of the following options:</p>
<dl>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help,-help,-usage,-h,-H,/?</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print usage information and exit.</p>
<p>Usage describes the basic command line interface and its options.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--version,-version,/V</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Show program name/version banner and exit.</p>
<p>If a file is specified, the version is written into it.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-full</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print all help manuals and exit.</p>
<p>All manuals are printed in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-manual</span> <span class="pre">&lt;man&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print one help manual and exit.</p>
<p>The specified manual is printed in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-manual-list</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List help manuals available and exit.</p>
<p>The list contains all manuals for which help may be obtained by
using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-manual</span></code> option followed by a manual name.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-command</span> <span class="pre">&lt;cmd&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print help for one command and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-commands(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-commands.7.html#manual:cmake-commands(7)" title="cmake-commands(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-commands(7)</span></code></a> manual entry for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;cmd&gt;</span></code> is
printed in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-command-list</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List commands with help available and exit.</p>
<p>The list contains all commands for which help may be obtained by
using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-command</span></code> option followed by a command name.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-commands</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print cmake-commands manual and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-commands(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-commands.7.html#manual:cmake-commands(7)" title="cmake-commands(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-commands(7)</span></code></a> manual is printed in a
human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-module</span> <span class="pre">&lt;mod&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print help for one module and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-modules(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-modules.7.html#manual:cmake-modules(7)" title="cmake-modules(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-modules(7)</span></code></a> manual entry for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;mod&gt;</span></code> is printed
in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-module-list</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List modules with help available and exit.</p>
<p>The list contains all modules for which help may be obtained by
using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-module</span></code> option followed by a module name.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-modules</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print cmake-modules manual and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-modules(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-modules.7.html#manual:cmake-modules(7)" title="cmake-modules(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-modules(7)</span></code></a> manual is printed in a human-readable
text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-policy</span> <span class="pre">&lt;cmp&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print help for one policy and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-policies(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-policies.7.html#manual:cmake-policies(7)" title="cmake-policies(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-policies(7)</span></code></a> manual entry for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;cmp&gt;</span></code> is
printed in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-policy-list</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List policies with help available and exit.</p>
<p>The list contains all policies for which help may be obtained by
using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-policy</span></code> option followed by a policy name.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-policies</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print cmake-policies manual and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-policies(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-policies.7.html#manual:cmake-policies(7)" title="cmake-policies(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-policies(7)</span></code></a> manual is printed in a
human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-property</span> <span class="pre">&lt;prop&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print help for one property and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-properties(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-properties.7.html#manual:cmake-properties(7)" title="cmake-properties(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-properties(7)</span></code></a> manual entries for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;prop&gt;</span></code> are
printed in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-property-list</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List properties with help available and exit.</p>
<p>The list contains all properties for which help may be obtained by
using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-property</span></code> option followed by a property name.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-properties</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print cmake-properties manual and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-properties(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-properties.7.html#manual:cmake-properties(7)" title="cmake-properties(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-properties(7)</span></code></a> manual is printed in a
human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-variable</span> <span class="pre">&lt;var&gt;</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print help for one variable and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-0-manual:cmake-variables(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-variables.7.html#manual:cmake-variables(7)" title="cmake-variables(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-variables(7)</span></code></a> manual entry for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">&lt;var&gt;</span></code> is
printed in a human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-variable-list</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>List variables with help available and exit.</p>
<p>The list contains all variables for which help may be obtained by
using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-variable</span></code> option followed by a variable name.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
<dt><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">--help-variables</span> <span class="pre">[&lt;f&gt;]</span></code></dt><dd><p>Print cmake-variables manual and exit.</p>
<p>The <span class="target" id="index-1-manual:cmake-variables(7)"></span><a class="reference internal" href="cmake-variables.7.html#manual:cmake-variables(7)" title="cmake-variables(7)"><code class="xref cmake cmake-manual docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">cmake-variables(7)</span></code></a> manual is printed in a
human-readable text format.
The help is printed to a named &lt;f&gt;ile if given.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>To view the presets available for a project, use</p>
<div class="highlight-shell notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>cmake &lt;source-dir&gt; --list-presets
</pre></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" id="see-also">
<h2>See Also<a class="headerlink" href="#see-also" title="Permalink to this headline"></a></h2>
<p>The following resources are available to get help using CMake:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Home Page</dt><dd><p><a class="reference external" href="https://cmake.org">https://cmake.org</a></p>
<p>The primary starting point for learning about CMake.</p>
</dd>
<dt>Online Documentation and Community Resources</dt><dd><p><a class="reference external" href="https://cmake.org/documentation">https://cmake.org/documentation</a></p>
<p>Links to available documentation and community resources may be
found on this web page.</p>
</dd>
<dt>Discourse Forum</dt><dd><p><a class="reference external" href="https://discourse.cmake.org">https://discourse.cmake.org</a></p>
<p>The Discourse Forum hosts discussion and questions about CMake.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sphinxsidebar" role="navigation" aria-label="main navigation">
<div class="sphinxsidebarwrapper">
<h3><a href="../index.html">Table of Contents</a></h3>
<ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">cmake(1)</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#synopsis">Synopsis</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#description">Description</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#introduction-to-cmake-buildsystems">Introduction to CMake Buildsystems</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#generate-a-project-buildsystem">Generate a Project Buildsystem</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#options">Options</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#build-a-project">Build a Project</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#install-a-project">Install a Project</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#open-a-project">Open a Project</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#run-a-script">Run a Script</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#run-a-command-line-tool">Run a Command-Line Tool</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#windows-specific-command-line-tools">Windows-specific Command-Line Tools</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#run-the-find-package-tool">Run the Find-Package Tool</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#view-help">View Help</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#see-also">See Also</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Previous topic</h4>
<p class="topless"><a href="../index.html"
title="previous chapter">Introduction</a></p>
<h4>Next topic</h4>
<p class="topless"><a href="ctest.1.html"
title="next chapter">ctest(1)</a></p>
<div role="note" aria-label="source link">
<h3>This Page</h3>
<ul class="this-page-menu">
<li><a href="../_sources/manual/cmake.1.rst.txt"
rel="nofollow">Show Source</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="searchbox" style="display: none" role="search">
<h3 id="searchlabel">Quick search</h3>
<div class="searchformwrapper">
<form class="search" action="../search.html" method="get">
<input type="text" name="q" aria-labelledby="searchlabel" />
<input type="submit" value="Go" />
</form>
</div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">$('#searchbox').show(0);</script>
</div>
</div>
<div class="clearer"></div>
</div>
<div class="related" role="navigation" aria-label="related navigation">
<h3>Navigation</h3>
<ul>
<li class="right" style="margin-right: 10px">
<a href="../genindex.html" title="General Index"
>index</a></li>
<li class="right" >
<a href="ctest.1.html" title="ctest(1)"
>next</a> |</li>
<li class="right" >
<a href="../index.html" title="Introduction"
>previous</a> |</li>
<li>
<img src="../_static/cmake-logo-16.png" alt=""
style="vertical-align: middle; margin-top: -2px" />
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://cmake.org/">CMake</a> &#187;
</li>
<li>
<a href="../index.html">3.23.1 Documentation</a> &#187;
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="footer" role="contentinfo">
&#169; Copyright 2000-2022 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors.
Created using <a href="http://sphinx-doc.org/">Sphinx</a> 2.1.2.
</div>
</body>
</html>