CPack NuGet Generator

Added in version 3.12.

When build a NuGet package there is no direct way to control an output filename due a lack of the corresponding CLI option of NuGet, so there is no CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME variable. To form the output filename NuGet uses the package name and the version according to its built-in rules.

Also, be aware that including a top level directory (CPACK_INCLUDE_TOPLEVEL_DIRECTORY) is ignored by this generator.

Variables specific to CPack NuGet generator

The CPack NuGet generator may be used to create NuGet packages using CPack. The CPack NuGet generator is a CPack generator thus it uses the CPACK_XXX variables used by CPack.

The CPack NuGet generator has specific features which are controlled by the specifics CPACK_NUGET_XXX variables. In the "one per group" mode (see CPACK_COMPONENTS_GROUPING), <compName> placeholder in the variables below would contain a group name (uppercased and turned into a "C" identifier).

List of CPack NuGet generator specific variables:

CPACK_NUGET_COMPONENT_INSTALL

Enable component packaging for CPack NuGet generator

Mandatory:

No

Default:

OFF

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEBUG

Enable debug messages while executing CPack NuGet generator.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

OFF

Required metadata variables

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_NAME
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_NAME

The NUGET package name. CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_NAME is used as the package id on nuget.org

Mandatory:

Yes

Default:

CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_VERSION
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_VERSION

The NuGet package version.

Mandatory:

Yes

Default:

CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION

A long description of the package for UI display.

Mandatory:

Yes

Default:
CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_AUTHORS
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_AUTHORS

A comma-separated list of packages authors, matching the profile names on nuget.org. These are displayed in the NuGet Gallery on nuget.org and are used to cross-reference packages by the same authors.

Mandatory:

Yes

Default:

CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR

Optional metadata variables

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_OWNERS
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_OWNERS

Deprecated since version 3.30: Use authors (CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_AUTHORS) instead.

A comma-separated list of the package creators using profile names on nuget.org. This is often the same list as in authors, and is ignored when uploading the package to nuget.org.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_HOMEPAGE_URL
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_HOMEPAGE_URL

An URL for the package's home page, often shown in UI displays as well as nuget.org.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

CPACK_PACKAGE_HOMEPAGE_URL

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSEURL
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_LICENSEURL

Deprecated since version 3.20: Use a local license file (CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_FILE_NAME) or a SPDX license identifier (CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_EXPRESSION) instead.

An URL for the package's license, often shown in UI displays as well as on nuget.org.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 4.9.0 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_FILE_NAME
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_LICENSE_FILE_NAME

Added in version 3.20.

The package's license file in .txt or .md format.

If CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_FILE_NAME is specified, CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_EXPRESSION is ignored.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 4.9.0 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_EXPRESSION
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_LICENSE_EXPRESSION

Added in version 3.20.

A Software Package Data Exchange SPDX license identifier such as MIT, BSD-3-Clause, or LGPL-3.0-or-later. In the case of a choice of licenses or more complex restrictions, compound license expressions may be formed using boolean operators, for example MIT OR BSD-3-Clause. See the SPDX specification for guidance on forming complex license expressions.

If CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_FILE_NAME is specified, CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_EXPRESSION is ignored.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_ICONURL
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_ICONURL

Deprecated since version 3.20: Use a local icon file (CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_ICON) instead.

An URL for a 64x64 image with transparency background to use as the icon for the package in UI display.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_ICON
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_ICON

Added in version 3.20.

The filename of a 64x64 image with transparency background to use as the icon for the package in UI display.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 5.3.0 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_README
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_README

Added in version 3.30.

The package path relative to the root of the package to a readme file. Supported file formats include only Markdown (*.md).

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 5.10.0 preview 2 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REQUIRE_LICENSE_ACCEPTANCE

When set to a true value, the user will be prompted to accept the license before installing the package.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY

Deprecated since version 3.30: Summary is being deprecated. Use description (CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION) instead.

A short description of the package for UI display. If omitted, a truncated version of description is used.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_RELEASE_NOTES
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_RELEASE_NOTES

A description of the changes made in this release of the package, often used in UI like the Updates tab of the Visual Studio Package Manager in place of the package description.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Copyright details for the package.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LANGUAGE
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_LANGUAGE

Added in version 3.20.

Locale specifier for the package, for example en_CA.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_TAGS
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_TAGS

A space-delimited list of tags and keywords that describe the package and aid discoverability of packages through search and filtering.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REPOSITORY_URL
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_REPOSITORY_URL

Added in version 3.30.

Repository metadata allows you to map the *.nupkg to the repository that built it. This should be a publicly available URL that can be invoked directly by a version control software. It should not be an HTML page as this is meant for the computer.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 4.0 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REPOSITORY_TYPE
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_REPOSITORY_TYPE

Added in version 3.30.

A type of the VCS repository. When uploading a package to nuget.org, the type is limited to 100 characters.

Mandatory:

Yes, if repository URL has been specified

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 4.0 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REPOSITORY_BRANCH
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_REPOSITORY_BRANCH

Added in version 3.30.

A VSC branch name to build the package.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 4.6 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REPOSITORY_COMMIT
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_REPOSITORY_COMMIT

Added in version 3.30.

A SHA-1 hash of the commit to build the package.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Supported:

NuGet 4.6 and above

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_TITLE
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_TITLE

A human-friendly title of the package, typically used in UI displays as on nuget.org and the Package Manager in Visual Studio. If not specified, the package ID is used.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

Dependencies specification

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES

A list of default (not framework-specific) package dependencies.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_<dependency>_VERSION
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_<dependency>_VERSION

A version specification for the particular dependency, where <dependency> is an item of the dependency list (see above).

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_TFMS
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_TFMS

Added in version 3.30.

A list of Target Framework Monikers (TFMs) for the package, e.g., "net47;netcoreapp21". For each of these TFMs a dependency group will be generated in the dependencies block of the NuGet package. Framework-specific dependencies can be added to these groups with the TFM dependency lists (see below).

This variable is particularly useful for fixing warnings NU5128.

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_<tfm>
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_<tfm>

Added in version 3.30.

A list of package dependencies that apply specifically to the <tfm> framework, where <tfm> is an item from the TFMs list (see above).

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_<tfm>_<dependency>_VERSION
CPACK_NUGET_<compName>_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_<tfm>_<dependency>_VERSION

Added in version 3.30.

A version specification for the particular framework-specific dependency, where <dependency> is an item of the <tfm>-specific dependency list (see above).

Mandatory:

No

Default:

None

Example usage

set(CPACK_GENERATOR NuGet)
# Set up package metadata
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME SamplePackage)
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION "1.0.0")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR "Example Inc")
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_AUTHORS "ExampleInc")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION "A .NET wrapper around the foobar library for frobbling bratchens")
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_HOMEPAGE_URL "https://www.example.com")
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REPOSITORY_URL "https://github.com/example/libfoobar.git")
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_REPOSITORY_TYPE git)
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_LICENSE_EXPRESSION "MIT")
# Set up dependencies
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_TFMS "net4;net6.0")
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_net4 "Foo;Bar")
# NB: If a version number is omitted, the dependency will not be created
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_net4_Foo_VERSION "1.23")
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_net4_Bar_VERSION "4.3.2")
# NB: General dependencies (not framework-specific) go in this variable
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES "Baz")
set(CPACK_NUGET_PACKAGE_DEPENDENCIES_Baz_VERSION "9.8.6")
# NB: Since "net6.0" was listed but no dependencies have been specified, an empty group
# will be added to the nuspec file for this framework. This can be used to address warning NU5128.

include(CPack)