Cmake

CMake

Modern target-first CMake for C/C++ projects. Grounded against CMake 4.4.3; the examples floor at CMake 3.25 so the preset schema version 6 works.

Contract

Inputs

• Project layout (required): sources, headers, and where the root CMakeLists.txt lives.
• CMake version (required if not inferrable): run cmake --version. Preset schema version 6 needs CMake 3.25 or newer.
• Dependencies (optional): system packages, FetchContent sources, or vendored trees.
• Target platform (optional): a cross-compilation target needs a toolchain file.

Procedure

1. Apply modern CMake rules. Define targets, not variables. Use target_* commands with PUBLIC/PRIVATE/INTERFACE to control propagation. Never use include_directories() or link_libraries(); they are legacy global state. Done when: every property attaches to a target.

2. Write the minimal project. Done when: cmake -S . -B build configures cleanly.

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.25)
project(MyApp VERSION 1.0 LANGUAGES C CXX)

set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 23)
set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 23)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)   # clang-tidy and IDEs read this

add_executable(myapp src/main.c src/utils.c)
target_include_directories(myapp PRIVATE include)
target_compile_options(myapp PRIVATE -Wall -Wextra)

3. Add libraries and link them. Done when: each library target carries its own include paths and the executable links against it.

add_library(mylib STATIC lib/foo.c lib/bar.c)
target_include_directories(mylib
    PUBLIC  include    # consumers inherit this
    PRIVATE src        # only mylib sees this
)

add_library(myshared SHARED lib/foo.c)
set_target_properties(myshared PROPERTIES VERSION 1.0.0 SOVERSION 1)

target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE mylib)

4. Configure and build out of source. Done when: the build completes in a separate directory.

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja
cmake --build build -- -j"$(nproc)"

cmake -S . -B build-debug   -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake -S . -B build-release -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --install build-release --prefix /usr/local

Build types: Debug, Release, RelWithDebInfo, MinSizeRel.

5. Integrate external dependencies. Prefer find_package for system libraries, FetchContent for source builds, pkg_check_modules as a fallback. Done when: the dependency resolves and links.

find_package(OpenSSL REQUIRED)
find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE OpenSSL::SSL OpenSSL::Crypto Threads::Threads ZLIB::ZLIB)

include(FetchContent)
FetchContent_Declare(
    googletest
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/google/googletest.git
    GIT_TAG        v1.17.0
    GIT_SHALLOW    TRUE
)
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(googletest)

find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
pkg_check_modules(LIBFOO REQUIRED libfoo>=1.2)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE ${LIBFOO_LIBRARIES})
target_include_directories(myapp PRIVATE ${LIBFOO_INCLUDE_DIRS})

6. Set per-configuration flags with generator expressions. Done when: each flag applies only to its intended configuration or compiler.

target_compile_options(myapp PRIVATE
    $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:-g -Og -fsanitize=address>
    $<$<CONFIG:Release>:-O2 -DNDEBUG>
    $<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>:-fanalyzer>
)
target_link_options(myapp PRIVATE
    $<$<CONFIG:Debug>:-fsanitize=address>
)

7. Gate sanitizers behind an option. Done when: cmake -DENABLE_ASAN=ON produces an instrumented build.

option(ENABLE_ASAN "Enable AddressSanitizer" OFF)
if(ENABLE_ASAN)
    target_compile_options(myapp PRIVATE -fsanitize=address -fno-omit-frame-pointer -g -O1)
    target_link_options(myapp PRIVATE -fsanitize=address)
endif()

8. Write a toolchain file for cross-compilation. Done when: cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=... configures for the target.

# toolchain-aarch64.cmake
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR aarch64)
set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER   aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc)
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER aarch64-linux-gnu-g++)
set(CMAKE_SYSROOT /opt/aarch64-sysroot)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM NEVER)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_LIBRARY ONLY)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_INCLUDE ONLY)

9. Capture common configurations in CMakePresets.json. Schema version 6 requires CMake 3.25 or newer. Done when: cmake --preset <name> configures and cmake --build --preset <name> builds.

{
  "version": 6,
  "configurePresets": [
    {
      "name": "release",
      "generator": "Ninja",
      "binaryDir": "${sourceDir}/build/release",
      "cacheVariables": {
        "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Release",
        "CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS": "ON"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "debug",
      "generator": "Ninja",
      "binaryDir": "${sourceDir}/build/debug",
      "cacheVariables": { "CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Debug", "ENABLE_ASAN": "ON" }
    }
  ],
  "buildPresets": [
    { "name": "release", "configurePreset": "release" },
    { "name": "debug",   "configurePreset": "debug" }
  ]
}

10. Diagnose configure errors against this table. Done when: the error maps to a cause and a fix.

For complete project templates see references/templates.md.

Failure and recovery

• find_package fails: install the -dev package or set CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH; fall back to FetchContent when no system package exists.
• FetchContent fails offline: pre-seed FETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_<NAME> with a local copy.
• Generator expression error: check the expression name against cmake --help-manual cmake-generator-expressions.
• Preset rejected: confirm cmake --version meets the schema version's floor.
• Stale cache after option changes: delete the build directory or pass -U to clear a cache entry; do not edit CMakeCache.txt by hand.

Output

A working CMakeLists.txt or build configuration, verified by a successful cmake -S . -B build and cmake --build build. For debugging tasks, the diagnosed error with its cause and applied fix.