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cmake-env-variables - CMake Environment Variables Reference

This page lists environment variables that have special meaning to CMake.

For general information on environment variables, see the Environment Variables section in the cmake-language manual.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES THAT CHANGE BEHAVIOR

CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

The CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH environment variable may be set to a list of directories specifying installation prefixes to be searched by the find_package(), find_program(), find_library(), find_file(), and find_path() commands. Each command will add appropriate subdirectories (like bin, lib, or include) as specified in its own documentation.

This variable may hold a single prefix or a list of prefixes separated by : on UNIX or ; on Windows (the same as the PATH environment variable convention on those platforms).

See also the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH CMake variable.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES THAT CONTROL THE BUILD

CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Specifies the maximum number of concurrent processes to use when building using the cmake --build command line Build Tool Mode.

If this variable is defined empty the native build tool’s default number is used.

CMAKE_CONFIG_TYPE
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

The default build configuration for Build Tool Mode and ctest build handler when there is no explicit configuration given.

CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

The default value for CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS when there is no explicit configuration given on the first run while creating a new build tree. On later runs in an existing build tree the value persists in the cache as CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS.

CMAKE_GENERATOR
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Specifies the CMake default generator to use when no generator is supplied with -G. If the provided value doesn’t name a generator known by CMake, the internal default is used. Either way the resulting generator selection is stored in the CMAKE_GENERATOR variable.

Some generators may be additionally configured using the environment variables:

CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default value for CMAKE_GENERATOR_INSTANCE if no Cache entry is present. This value is only applied if CMAKE_GENERATOR is set.

CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default value for CMAKE_GENERATOR_PLATFORM if no Cache entry is present and no value is specified by cmake(1) -A option. This value is only applied if CMAKE_GENERATOR is set.

CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default value for CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET if no Cache entry is present and no value is specified by cmake(1) -T option. This value is only applied if CMAKE_GENERATOR is set.

CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_LAUNCHER
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compiler launcher to use for the specified language. Will only be used by CMake to initialize the variable on the first configuration. Afterwards, it is available through the cache setting of the variable of the same name. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_LAUNCHER variable is defined.

CMAKE_MSVCIDE_RUN_PATH
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Extra PATH locations for custom commands when using Visual Studio 9 2008 (or above) generators.

The CMAKE_MSVCIDE_RUN_PATH environment variable sets the default value for the CMAKE_MSVCIDE_RUN_PATH variable if not already explicitly set.

CMAKE_NO_VERBOSE
Disables verbose output from CMake when VERBOSE environment variable is set.

Only your build tool of choice will still print verbose output when you start to actually build your project.

CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Target specific architectures for macOS.

The CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES environment variable sets the default value for the CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES variable. See OSX_ARCHITECTURES for more information.

DESTDIR
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

On UNIX one can use the DESTDIR mechanism in order to relocate the whole installation. DESTDIR means DESTination DIRectory. It is commonly used by makefile users in order to install software at non-default location. It is usually invoked like this:

make DESTDIR=/home/john install

which will install the concerned software using the installation prefix, e.g. /usr/local prepended with the DESTDIR value which finally gives /home/john/usr/local.

WARNING: DESTDIR may not be used on Windows because installation prefix usually contains a drive letter like in C:/Program Files which cannot be prepended with some other prefix.

LDFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine the default linker flags, after which the value for LDFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT, CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT, and CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the equivalent CMAKE_<TYPE>_LINKER_FLAGS_INIT variable is defined.

MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Specify the minimum version of macOS on which the target binaries are to be deployed.

The MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET environment variable sets the default value for the CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET variable.

<PackageName>_ROOT
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Calls to find_package(<PackageName>) will search in prefixes specified by the <PackageName>_ROOT environment variable, where <PackageName> is the name given to the find_package() call and _ROOT is literal. For example, find_package(Foo) will search prefixes specified in the Foo_ROOT environment variable (if set). See policy CMP0074.

This variable may hold a single prefix or a list of prefixes separated by : on UNIX or ; on Windows (the same as the PATH environment variable convention on those platforms).

See also the <PackageName>_ROOT CMake variable.

VERBOSE
Activates verbose output from CMake and your build tools of choice when you start to actually build your project.

Note that any given value is ignored. It’s just checked for existence.

See also Build Tool Mode and CMAKE_NO_VERBOSE environment variable

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES FOR LANGUAGES

ASM<DIALECT>
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling a specific dialect of assembly language files. ASM<DIALECT> can be ASM, ASM_NASM (Netwide Assembler), ASM_MASM (Microsoft Assembler) or ASM-ATT (Assembler AT&T). Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine ASM<DIALECT> compiler, after which the value for ASM<DIALECT> is stored in the cache as CMAKE_ASM<DIALECT>_COMPILER. For subsequent configuration runs, the environment variable will be ignored in favor of CMAKE_ASM<DIALECT>_COMPILER.

ASM<DIALECT>FLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compilation flags to be used when compiling a specific dialect of an assembly language. ASM<DIALECT>FLAGS can be ASMFLAGS, ASM_NASMFLAGS, ASM_MASMFLAGS or ASM-ATTFLAGS. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine ASM_<DIALECT> default compilation flags, after which the value for ASM<DIALECT>FLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_ASM<DIALECT>_FLAGS <CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS>. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored, if the CMAKE_ASM<DIALECT>_FLAGS <CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS> variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_ASM<DIALECT>_FLAGS_INIT.

CC
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling C language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine C compiler, after which the value for CC is stored in the cache as CMAKE_C_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_C_COMPILER variable is defined.

CFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compilation flags to be used when compiling C files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CC default compilation flags, after which the value for CFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_C_FLAGS. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_C_FLAGS variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_C_FLAGS_INIT.

CSFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling CSharp language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CSharp default compilation flags, after which the value for CSFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_CSharp_FLAGS. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_CSharp_FLAGS variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_CSharp_FLAGS_INIT.

CUDACXX
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling CUDA language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CUDA compiler, after which the value for CUDA is stored in the cache as CMAKE_CUDA_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_CUDA_COMPILER variable is defined.

CUDAFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compilation flags to be used when compiling CUDA files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CUDA default compilation flags, after which the value for CUDAFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_CUDA_FLAGS. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_CUDA_FLAGS variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_CUDA_FLAGS_INIT.

CUDAHOSTCXX
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling host code when compiling CUDA language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CUDA host compiler, after which the value for CUDAHOSTCXX is stored in the cache as CMAKE_CUDA_HOST_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_CUDA_HOST_COMPILER variable is defined.

This environment variable is primarily meant for use with projects that enable CUDA as a first-class language. The FindCUDA module will also use it to initialize its CUDA_HOST_COMPILER setting.

CXX
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling CXX language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CXX compiler, after which the value for CXX is stored in the cache as CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER variable is defined.

CXXFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compilation flags to be used when compiling CXX (C++) files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine CXX default compilation flags, after which the value for CXXFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS. For any configuration run ( including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_INIT.

FC
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling Fortran language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine Fortran compiler, after which the value for Fortran is stored in the cache as CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER variable is defined.

FFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compilation flags to be used when compiling Fortran files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine Fortran default compilation flags, after which the value for FFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_Fortran_FLAGS_INIT.

OBJC
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling OBJC language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine OBJC compiler, after which the value for OBJC is stored in the cache as CMAKE_OBJC_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_OBJC_COMPILER variable is defined.

If OBJC is not defined, the CC environment variable will be checked instead.

OBJCXX
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling OBJCXX language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine OBJCXX compiler, after which the value for OBJCXX is stored in the cache as CMAKE_OBJCXX_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_OBJCXX_COMPILER variable is defined.

If OBJCXX is not defined, the CXX environment variable will be checked instead.

RC
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling resource files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine resource compiler, after which the value for RC is stored in the cache as CMAKE_RC_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_RC_COMPILER variable is defined.

RCFLAGS
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Default compilation flags to be used when compiling resource files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine resource default compilation flags, after which the value for RCFLAGS is stored in the cache as CMAKE_RC_FLAGS. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_RC_FLAGS variable is defined.

See also CMAKE_RC_FLAGS_INIT.

SWIFTC
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Preferred executable for compiling Swift language files. Will only be used by CMake on the first configuration to determine Swift compiler, after which the value for SWIFTC is stored in the cache as CMAKE_Swift_COMPILER. For any configuration run (including the first), the environment variable will be ignored if the CMAKE_Swift_COMPILER variable is defined.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES FOR CTEST

CTEST_INTERACTIVE_DEBUG_MODE
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Environment variable that will exist and be set to 1 when a test executed by ctest(1) is run in interactive mode.

CTEST_OUTPUT_ON_FAILURE
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Boolean environment variable that controls if the output should be logged for failed tests. Set the value to 1, True, or ON to enable output on failure. See ctest(1) for more information on controlling output of failed tests.

CTEST_PARALLEL_LEVEL
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Specify the number of tests for CTest to run in parallel. See ctest(1) for more information on parallel test execution.

CTEST_PROGRESS_OUTPUT
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Boolean environment variable that affects how ctest command output reports overall progress. When set to 1, TRUE, ON or anything else that evaluates to boolean true, progress is reported by repeatedly updating the same line. This greatly reduces the overall verbosity, but is only supported when output is sent directly to a terminal. If the environment variable is not set or has a value that evaluates to false, output is reported normally with each test having its own start and end lines logged to the output.

The --progress option to ctest overrides this environment variable if both are given.

CTEST_USE_LAUNCHERS_DEFAULT
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Initializes the CTEST_USE_LAUNCHERS variable if not already defined.

DASHBOARD_TEST_FROM_CTEST
This is a CMake Environment Variable. Its initial value is taken from the calling process environment.

Environment variable that will exist when a test executed by ctest(1) is run in non-interactive mode. The value will be equal to CMAKE_VERSION.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES FOR THE CMAKE CURSES INTERFACE

CCMAKE_COLORS
Determines what colors are used by the CMake curses interface, when run on a terminal that supports colors. The syntax follows the same conventions as LS_COLORS; that is, a list of key/value pairs separated by :.

Keys are a single letter corresponding to a CMake cache variable type:

Values are an integer number that specifies what color to use. 0 is black (you probably don’t want to use that). Others are determined by your terminal’s color support. Most (color) terminals will support at least 8 or 16 colors. Some will support up to 256 colors. The colors will likely match this chart, although the first 16 colors may match the original CGA color palette. (Many modern terminal emulators also allow their color palette, at least for the first 16 colors, to be configured by the user.)

Note that fairly minimal checking is done for bad colors (although a value higher than what curses believes your terminal supports will be silently ignored) or bad syntax.

For example:

CCMAKE_COLORS='s=39:p=220:c=207:n=196:y=46'

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