add_custom_targetΒΆ
Add a target with no output so it will always be built.
add_custom_target(Name [ALL] [command1 [args1...]]
[COMMAND command2 [args2...] ...]
[DEPENDS depend depend depend ... ]
[BYPRODUCTS [files...]]
[WORKING_DIRECTORY dir]
[COMMENT comment]
[JOB_POOL job_pool]
[VERBATIM] [USES_TERMINAL]
[COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS]
[SOURCES src1 [src2...]])
Adds a target with the given name that executes the given commands.
The target has no output file and is always considered out of date
even if the commands try to create a file with the name of the target.
Use the add_custom_command()
command to generate a file with
dependencies. By default nothing depends on the custom target. Use
the add_dependencies()
command to add dependencies to or
from other targets.
The options are:
ALL
Indicate that this target should be added to the default build target so that it will be run every time (the command cannot be called
ALL
).BYPRODUCTS
Specify the files the command is expected to produce but whose modification time may or may not be updated on subsequent builds. If a byproduct name is a relative path it will be interpreted relative to the build tree directory corresponding to the current source directory. Each byproduct file will be marked with the
GENERATED
source file property automatically.Explicit specification of byproducts is supported by the
Ninja
generator to tell theninja
build tool how to regenerate byproducts when they are missing. It is also useful when other build rules (e.g. custom commands) depend on the byproducts. Ninja requires a build rule for any generated file on which another rule depends even if there are order-only dependencies to ensure the byproducts will be available before their dependents build.The Makefile Generators will remove
BYPRODUCTS
and otherGENERATED
files duringmake clean
.COMMAND
Specify the command-line(s) to execute at build time. If more than one
COMMAND
is specified they will be executed in order, but not necessarily composed into a stateful shell or batch script. (To run a full script, use theconfigure_file()
command or thefile(GENERATE)
command to create it, and then specify aCOMMAND
to launch it.)If
COMMAND
specifies an executable target name (created by theadd_executable()
command), it will automatically be replaced by the location of the executable created at build time if either of the following is true:The target is not being cross-compiled (i.e. the
CMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING
variable is not set to true).The target is being cross-compiled and an emulator is provided (i.e. its
CROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR
target property is set). In this case, the contents ofCROSSCOMPILING_EMULATOR
will be prepended to the command before the location of the target executable.
If neither of the above conditions are met, it is assumed that the command name is a program to be found on the
PATH
at build time.Arguments to
COMMAND
may usegenerator expressions
. Use theTARGET_FILE
generator expression to refer to the location of a target later in the command line (i.e. as a command argument rather than as the command to execute).Whenever a target is used as a command to execute or is mentioned in a generator expression as a command argument, a target-level dependency will be added automatically so that the mentioned target will be built before this custom target.
The command and arguments are optional and if not specified an empty target will be created.
COMMENT
Display the given message before the commands are executed at build time.
DEPENDS
Reference files and outputs of custom commands created with
add_custom_command()
command calls in the same directory (CMakeLists.txt
file). They will be brought up to date when the target is built. A target-level dependency is added if any dependency is a byproduct of a target or any of its build events in the same directory to ensure the byproducts will be available before this target is built.Use the
add_dependencies()
command to add dependencies on other targets.COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS
Lists in
COMMAND
arguments will be expanded, including those created withgenerator expressions
, allowingCOMMAND
arguments such as${CC} "-I$<JOIN:$<TARGET_PROPERTY:foo,INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>,;-I>" foo.cc
to be properly expanded.JOB_POOL
Specify a
pool
for theNinja
generator. Incompatible withUSES_TERMINAL
, which implies theconsole
pool. Using a pool that is not defined byJOB_POOLS
causes an error by ninja at build time.SOURCES
Specify additional source files to be included in the custom target. Specified source files will be added to IDE project files for convenience in editing even if they have no build rules.
VERBATIM
All arguments to the commands will be escaped properly for the build tool so that the invoked command receives each argument unchanged. Note that one level of escapes is still used by the CMake language processor before
add_custom_target
even sees the arguments. Use ofVERBATIM
is recommended as it enables correct behavior. WhenVERBATIM
is not given the behavior is platform specific because there is no protection of tool-specific special characters.USES_TERMINAL
The command will be given direct access to the terminal if possible. With the
Ninja
generator, this places the command in theconsole
pool
.WORKING_DIRECTORY
Execute the command with the given current working directory. If it is a relative path it will be interpreted relative to the build tree directory corresponding to the current source directory.
Arguments to
WORKING_DIRECTORY
may usegenerator expressions
.