cmake-developer(7) CMake cmake-developer(7)
NAME
cmake-developer - CMake Developer Reference
INTRODUCTION
This manual is intended for reference by developers working with
cmake-language(7) code, whether writing their own modules, authoring
their own build systems, or working on CMake itself.
See https://cmake.org/get-involved/ to get involved in development of
CMake upstream. It includes links to contribution instructions, which
in turn link to developer guides for CMake itself.
ACCESSING WINDOWS REGISTRY
CMake offers some facilities to access the registry on Windows
platforms.
Query Windows Registry
Added in version 3.24.
The cmake_host_system_information() command offers the possibility to
query the registry on the local computer. See
cmake_host_system(QUERY_WINDOWS_REGISTRY) for more information.
Find Using Windows Registry
Changed in version 3.24.
Options HINTS and PATHS of find_file(), find_library(), find_path(),
find_program(), and find_package() commands offer the possibility, on
Windows platform, to query the registry.
The formal syntax, as specified using BNF notation with the regular
extensions, for registry query is the following:
registry_query ::= '[' sep_definition? root_key
((key_separator sub_key)? (value_separator value_name_)?)? ']'
sep_definition ::= '{' value_separator '}'
root_key ::= 'HKLM' | 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE' | 'HKCU' | 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER' |
'HKCR' | 'HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT' | 'HKCC' | 'HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG' |
'HKU' | 'HKEY_USERS'
sub_key ::= element (key_separator element)*
key_separator ::= '/' | '\\'
value_separator ::= element | ';'
value_name ::= element | '(default)'
element ::= character\+
character ::= <any character except key_separator and value_separator>
The sep_definition optional item offers the possibility to specify the
string used to separate the sub_key from the value_name item. If not
specified, the character ; is used. Multiple registry_query items can
be specified as part of a path.
# example using default separator
find_file(... PATHS "/root/[HKLM/Stuff;InstallDir]/lib[HKLM\\\\Stuff;Architecture]")
# example using different specified separators
find_library(... HINTS "/root/[{|}HKCU/Stuff|InstallDir]/lib[{@@}HKCU\\\\Stuff@@Architecture]")
If the value_name item is not specified or has the special name
(default), the content of the default value, if any, will be returned.
The supported types for the value_name are:
o REG_SZ.
o REG_EXPAND_SZ. The returned data is expanded.
o REG_DWORD.
o REG_QWORD.
When the registry query failed, typically because the key does not
exist or the data type is not supported, the string /REGISTRY-NOTFOUND
is substituted to the [] query expression.
FIND MODULES
A "find module" is a Find<PackageName>.cmake file to be loaded by the
find_package() command when invoked for <PackageName>.
The primary task of a find module is to determine whether a package is
available, set the <PackageName>_FOUND variable to reflect this and
provide any variables, macros and imported targets required to use the
package. A find module is useful in cases where an upstream library
does not provide a config file package.
The traditional approach is to use variables for everything, including
libraries and executables: see the Standard Variable Names section
below. This is what most of the existing find modules provided by
CMake do.
The more modern approach is to behave as much like config file packages
files as possible, by providing imported target. This has the
advantage of propagating usage requirements to consumers.
In either case (or even when providing both variables and imported
targets), find modules should provide backwards compatibility with old
versions that had the same name.
A FindFoo.cmake module will typically be loaded by the command:
find_package(Foo [major[.minor[.patch[.tweak]]]]
[EXACT] [QUIET] [REQUIRED]
[[COMPONENTS] [components...]]
[OPTIONAL_COMPONENTS components...]
[NO_POLICY_SCOPE])
See the find_package() documentation for details on what variables are
set for the find module. Most of these are dealt with by using
FindPackageHandleStandardArgs.
Briefly, the module should only locate versions of the package
compatible with the requested version, as described by the
Foo_FIND_VERSION family of variables. If Foo_FIND_QUIETLY is set to
true, it should avoid printing messages, including anything complaining
about the package not being found. If Foo_FIND_REQUIRED is set to
true, the module should issue a FATAL_ERROR if the package cannot be
found. If neither are set to true, it should print a non-fatal message
if it cannot find the package.
Packages that find multiple semi-independent parts (like bundles of
libraries) should search for the components listed in
Foo_FIND_COMPONENTS if it is set , and only set Foo_FOUND to true if
for each searched-for component <c> that was not found,
Foo_FIND_REQUIRED_<c> is not set to true. The HANDLE_COMPONENTS
argument of find_package_handle_standard_args() can be used to
implement this.
If Foo_FIND_COMPONENTS is not set, which modules are searched for and
required is up to the find module, but should be documented.
For internal implementation, it is a generally accepted convention that
variables starting with underscore are for temporary use only.
Standard Variable Names
For a FindXxx.cmake module that takes the approach of setting variables
(either instead of or in addition to creating imported targets), the
following variable names should be used to keep things consistent
between Find modules. Note that all variables start with Xxx_, which
(unless otherwise noted) must match exactly the name of the
FindXxx.cmake file, including upper/lowercase. This prefix on the
variable names ensures that they do not conflict with variables of
other Find modules. The same pattern should also be followed for any
macros, functions and imported targets defined by the Find module.
Xxx_INCLUDE_DIRS
The final set of include directories listed in one variable for
use by client code. This should not be a cache entry (note that
this also means this variable should not be used as the result
variable of a find_path() command - see Xxx_INCLUDE_DIR below
for that).
Xxx_LIBRARIES
The libraries to use with the module. These may be CMake
targets, full absolute paths to a library binary or the name of
a library that the linker must find in its search path. This
should not be a cache entry (note that this also means this
variable should not be used as the result variable of a
find_library() command - see Xxx_LIBRARY below for that).
Xxx_DEFINITIONS
The compile definitions to use when compiling code that uses the
module. This really shouldn't include options such as
-DHAS_JPEG that a client source-code file uses to decide whether
to #include <jpeg.h>
Xxx_EXECUTABLE
The full absolute path to an executable. In this case, Xxx
might not be the name of the module, it might be the name of the
tool (usually converted to all uppercase), assuming that tool
has such a well-known name that it is unlikely that another tool
with the same name exists. It would be appropriate to use this
as the result variable of a find_program() command.
Xxx_YYY_EXECUTABLE
Similar to Xxx_EXECUTABLE except here the Xxx is always the
module name and YYY is the tool name (again, usually fully
uppercase). Prefer this form if the tool name is not very
widely known or has the potential to clash with another tool.
For greater consistency, also prefer this form if the module
provides more than one executable.
Xxx_LIBRARY_DIRS
Optionally, the final set of library directories listed in one
variable for use by client code. This should not be a cache
entry.
Xxx_ROOT_DIR
Where to find the base directory of the module.
Xxx_VERSION_VV
Variables of this form specify whether the Xxx module being
provided is version VV of the module. There should not be more
than one variable of this form set to true for a given module.
For example, a module Barry might have evolved over many years
and gone through a number of different major versions. Version
3 of the Barry module might set the variable Barry_VERSION_3 to
true, whereas an older version of the module might set
Barry_VERSION_2 to true instead. It would be an error for both
Barry_VERSION_3 and Barry_VERSION_2 to both be set to true.
Xxx_WRAP_YY
When a variable of this form is set to false, it indicates that
the relevant wrapping command should not be used. The wrapping
command depends on the module, it may be implied by the module
name or it might be specified by the YY part of the variable.
Xxx_Yy_FOUND
For variables of this form, Yy is the name of a component for
the module. It should match exactly one of the valid component
names that may be passed to the find_package() command for the
module. If a variable of this form is set to false, it means
that the Yy component of module Xxx was not found or is not
available. Variables of this form would typically be used for
optional components so that the caller can check whether an
optional component is available.
Xxx_FOUND
When the find_package() command returns to the caller, this
variable will be set to true if the module was deemed to have
been found successfully.
Xxx_NOT_FOUND_MESSAGE
Should be set by config-files in the case that it has set
Xxx_FOUND to FALSE. The contained message will be printed by
the find_package() command and by
find_package_handle_standard_args() to inform the user about the
problem. Use this instead of calling message() directly to
report a reason for failing to find the module or package.
Xxx_RUNTIME_LIBRARY_DIRS
Optionally, the runtime library search path for use when running
an executable linked to shared libraries. The list should be
used by user code to create the PATH on windows or
LD_LIBRARY_PATH on UNIX. This should not be a cache entry.
Xxx_VERSION
The full version string of the package found, if any. Note that
many existing modules provide Xxx_VERSION_STRING instead.
Xxx_VERSION_MAJOR
The major version of the package found, if any.
Xxx_VERSION_MINOR
The minor version of the package found, if any.
Xxx_VERSION_PATCH
The patch version of the package found, if any.
The following names should not usually be used in CMakeLists.txt files.
They are intended for use by Find modules to specify and cache the
locations of specific files or directories. Users are typically able
to set and edit these variables to control the behavior of Find modules
(like entering the path to a library manually):
Xxx_LIBRARY
The path of the library. Use this form only when the module
provides a single library. It is appropriate to use this as the
result variable in a find_library() command.
Xxx_Yy_LIBRARY
The path of library Yy provided by the module Xxx. Use this
form when the module provides more than one library or where
other modules may also provide a library of the same name. It is
also appropriate to use this form as the result variable in a
find_library() command.
Xxx_INCLUDE_DIR
When the module provides only a single library, this variable
can be used to specify where to find headers for using the
library (or more accurately, the path that consumers of the
library should add to their header search path). It would be
appropriate to use this as the result variable in a find_path()
command.
Xxx_Yy_INCLUDE_DIR
If the module provides more than one library or where other
modules may also provide a library of the same name, this form
is recommended for specifying where to find headers for using
library Yy provided by the module. Again, it would be
appropriate to use this as the result variable in a find_path()
command.
To prevent users being overwhelmed with settings to configure, try to
keep as many options as possible out of the cache, leaving at least one
option which can be used to disable use of the module, or locate a
not-found library (e.g. Xxx_ROOT_DIR). For the same reason, mark most
cache options as advanced. For packages which provide both debug and
release binaries, it is common to create cache variables with a
_LIBRARY_<CONFIG> suffix, such as Foo_LIBRARY_RELEASE and
Foo_LIBRARY_DEBUG. The SelectLibraryConfigurations module can be
helpful for such cases.
While these are the standard variable names, you should provide
backwards compatibility for any old names that were actually in use.
Make sure you comment them as deprecated, so that no-one starts using
them.
A Sample Find Module
We will describe how to create a simple find module for a library Foo.
The top of the module should begin with a license notice, followed by a
blank line, and then followed by a Bracket Comment. The comment should
begin with .rst: to indicate that the rest of its content is
reStructuredText-format documentation. For example:
# Distributed under the OSI-approved BSD 3-Clause License. See accompanying
# file Copyright.txt or https://cmake.org/licensing for details.
#[=======================================================================[.rst:
FindFoo
-------
Finds the Foo library.
Imported Targets
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This module provides the following imported targets, if found:
``Foo::Foo``
The Foo library
Result Variables
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This will define the following variables:
``Foo_FOUND``
True if the system has the Foo library.
``Foo_VERSION``
The version of the Foo library which was found.
``Foo_INCLUDE_DIRS``
Include directories needed to use Foo.
``Foo_LIBRARIES``
Libraries needed to link to Foo.
Cache Variables
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The following cache variables may also be set:
``Foo_INCLUDE_DIR``
The directory containing ``foo.h``.
``Foo_LIBRARY``
The path to the Foo library.
#]=======================================================================]
The module documentation consists of:
o An underlined heading specifying the module name.
o A simple description of what the module finds. More description may
be required for some packages. If there are caveats or other details
users of the module should be aware of, specify them here.
o A section listing imported targets provided by the module, if any.
o A section listing result variables provided by the module.
o Optionally a section listing cache variables used by the module, if
any.
If the package provides any macros or functions, they should be listed
in an additional section, but can be documented by additional .rst:
comment blocks immediately above where those macros or functions are
defined.
The find module implementation may begin below the documentation block.
Now the actual libraries and so on have to be found. The code here
will obviously vary from module to module (dealing with that, after
all, is the point of find modules), but there tends to be a common
pattern for libraries.
First, we try to use pkg-config to find the library. Note that we
cannot rely on this, as it may not be available, but it provides a good
starting point.
find_package(PkgConfig)
if(PKG_CONFIG_FOUND)
pkg_check_modules(PC_Foo QUIET Foo)
endif()
This should define some variables starting PC_Foo_ that contain the
information from the Foo.pc file.
Now we need to find the libraries and include files; we use the
information from pkg-config to provide hints to CMake about where to
look.
find_path(Foo_INCLUDE_DIR
NAMES foo.h
PATHS ${PC_Foo_INCLUDE_DIRS}
PATH_SUFFIXES Foo
)
find_library(Foo_LIBRARY
NAMES foo
PATHS ${PC_Foo_LIBRARY_DIRS}
)
Alternatively, if the library is available with multiple
configurations, you can use SelectLibraryConfigurations to
automatically set the Foo_LIBRARY variable instead:
find_library(Foo_LIBRARY_RELEASE
NAMES foo
PATHS ${PC_Foo_LIBRARY_DIRS}/Release
)
find_library(Foo_LIBRARY_DEBUG
NAMES foo
PATHS ${PC_Foo_LIBRARY_DIRS}/Debug
)
include(SelectLibraryConfigurations)
select_library_configurations(Foo)
If you have a good way of getting the version (from a header file, for
example), you can use that information to set Foo_VERSION (although
note that find modules have traditionally used Foo_VERSION_STRING, so
you may want to set both). Otherwise, attempt to use the information
from pkg-config
set(Foo_VERSION ${PC_Foo_VERSION})
Now we can use FindPackageHandleStandardArgs to do most of the rest of
the work for us
include(FindPackageHandleStandardArgs)
find_package_handle_standard_args(Foo
FOUND_VAR Foo_FOUND
REQUIRED_VARS
Foo_LIBRARY
Foo_INCLUDE_DIR
VERSION_VAR Foo_VERSION
)
This will check that the REQUIRED_VARS contain values (that do not end
in -NOTFOUND) and set Foo_FOUND appropriately. It will also cache
those values. If Foo_VERSION is set, and a required version was passed
to find_package(), it will check the requested version against the one
in Foo_VERSION. It will also print messages as appropriate; note that
if the package was found, it will print the contents of the first
required variable to indicate where it was found.
At this point, we have to provide a way for users of the find module to
link to the library or libraries that were found. There are two
approaches, as discussed in the Find Modules section above. The
traditional variable approach looks like
if(Foo_FOUND)
set(Foo_LIBRARIES ${Foo_LIBRARY})
set(Foo_INCLUDE_DIRS ${Foo_INCLUDE_DIR})
set(Foo_DEFINITIONS ${PC_Foo_CFLAGS_OTHER})
endif()
If more than one library was found, all of them should be included in
these variables (see the Standard Variable Names section for more
information).
When providing imported targets, these should be namespaced (hence the
Foo:: prefix); CMake will recognize that values passed to
target_link_libraries() that contain :: in their name are supposed to
be imported targets (rather than just library names), and will produce
appropriate diagnostic messages if that target does not exist (see
policy CMP0028).
if(Foo_FOUND AND NOT TARGET Foo::Foo)
add_library(Foo::Foo UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
set_target_properties(Foo::Foo PROPERTIES
IMPORTED_LOCATION "${Foo_LIBRARY}"
INTERFACE_COMPILE_OPTIONS "${PC_Foo_CFLAGS_OTHER}"
INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${Foo_INCLUDE_DIR}"
)
endif()
One thing to note about this is that the INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES
and similar properties should only contain information about the target
itself, and not any of its dependencies. Instead, those dependencies
should also be targets, and CMake should be told that they are
dependencies of this target. CMake will then combine all the necessary
information automatically.
The type of the IMPORTED target created in the add_library() command
can always be specified as UNKNOWN type. This simplifies the code in
cases where static or shared variants may be found, and CMake will
determine the type by inspecting the files.
If the library is available with multiple configurations, the
IMPORTED_CONFIGURATIONS target property should also be populated:
if(Foo_FOUND)
if (NOT TARGET Foo::Foo)
add_library(Foo::Foo UNKNOWN IMPORTED)
endif()
if (Foo_LIBRARY_RELEASE)
set_property(TARGET Foo::Foo APPEND PROPERTY
IMPORTED_CONFIGURATIONS RELEASE
)
set_target_properties(Foo::Foo PROPERTIES
IMPORTED_LOCATION_RELEASE "${Foo_LIBRARY_RELEASE}"
)
endif()
if (Foo_LIBRARY_DEBUG)
set_property(TARGET Foo::Foo APPEND PROPERTY
IMPORTED_CONFIGURATIONS DEBUG
)
set_target_properties(Foo::Foo PROPERTIES
IMPORTED_LOCATION_DEBUG "${Foo_LIBRARY_DEBUG}"
)
endif()
set_target_properties(Foo::Foo PROPERTIES
INTERFACE_COMPILE_OPTIONS "${PC_Foo_CFLAGS_OTHER}"
INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${Foo_INCLUDE_DIR}"
)
endif()
The RELEASE variant should be listed first in the property so that the
variant is chosen if the user uses a configuration which is not an
exact match for any listed IMPORTED_CONFIGURATIONS.
Most of the cache variables should be hidden in the ccmake interface
unless the user explicitly asks to edit them.
mark_as_advanced(
Foo_INCLUDE_DIR
Foo_LIBRARY
)
If this module replaces an older version, you should set compatibility
variables to cause the least disruption possible.
# compatibility variables
set(Foo_VERSION_STRING ${Foo_VERSION})
COPYRIGHT
2000-2024 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
3.31.7 April 24, 2025 cmake-developer(7)
cmake 3.31.7 - Generated Thu May 8 10:38:38 CDT 2025