cmake-generator-expressions(7)

Introduction

Generator expressions are evaluated during build system generation to produce information specific to each build configuration. They have the form $<...>. For example:

target_include_directories(tgt PRIVATE /opt/include/$<CXX_COMPILER_ID>)

This would expand to /opt/include/GNU, /opt/include/Clang, etc. depending on the C++ compiler used.

Generator expressions are allowed in the context of many target properties, such as LINK_LIBRARIES, INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES, COMPILE_DEFINITIONS and others. They may also be used when using commands to populate those properties, such as target_link_libraries(), target_include_directories(), target_compile_definitions() and others. They enable conditional linking, conditional definitions used when compiling, conditional include directories, and more. The conditions may be based on the build configuration, target properties, platform information, or any other queryable information.

Generator expressions can be nested:

target_compile_definitions(tgt PRIVATE
  $<$<VERSION_LESS:$<CXX_COMPILER_VERSION>,4.2.0>:OLD_COMPILER>
)

The above would expand to OLD_COMPILER if the CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION is less than 4.2.0.

Whitespace And Quoting

Generator expressions are typically parsed after command arguments. If a generator expression contains spaces, new lines, semicolons or other characters that may be interpreted as command argument separators, the whole expression should be surrounded by quotes when passed to a command. Failure to do so may result in the expression being split and it may no longer be recognized as a generator expression.

When using add_custom_command() or add_custom_target(), use the VERBATIM and COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS options to obtain robust argument splitting and quoting.

# WRONG: Embedded space will be treated as an argument separator.
# This ends up not being seen as a generator expression at all.
add_custom_target(run_some_tool
  COMMAND some_tool -I$<JOIN:$<TARGET_PROPERTY:tgt,INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>, -I>
  VERBATIM
)
# Better, but still not robust. Quotes prevent the space from splitting the
# expression. However, the tool will receive the expanded value as a single
# argument.
add_custom_target(run_some_tool
  COMMAND some_tool "-I$<JOIN:$<TARGET_PROPERTY:tgt,INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>, -I>"
  VERBATIM
)
# Nearly correct. Using a semicolon to separate arguments and adding the
# COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS option means that paths with spaces will be handled
# correctly. Quoting the whole expression ensures it is seen as a generator
# expression. But if the target property is empty, we will get a bare -I
# with nothing after it.
add_custom_target(run_some_tool
  COMMAND some_tool "-I$<JOIN:$<TARGET_PROPERTY:tgt,INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>,;-I>"
  COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS
  VERBATIM
)

Using variables to build up a more complex generator expression is also a good way to reduce errors and improve readability. The above example can be improved further like so:

# The $<BOOL:...> check prevents adding anything if the property is empty,
# assuming the property value cannot be one of CMake's false constants.
set(prop "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:tgt,INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>")
add_custom_target(run_some_tool
  COMMAND some_tool "$<$<BOOL:${prop}>:-I$<JOIN:${prop},;-I>>"
  COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS
  VERBATIM
)

A common mistake is to try to split a generator expression across multiple lines with indenting:

# WRONG: New lines and spaces all treated as argument separators, so the
# generator expression is split and not recognized correctly.
target_compile_definitions(tgt PRIVATE
  $<$<AND:
      $<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>,
      $<VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL:$<CXX_COMPILER_VERSION>,5>
    >:HAVE_5_OR_LATER>
)

Again, use helper variables with well-chosen names to build up a readable expression instead:

set(is_gnu "$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>")
set(v5_or_later "$<VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL:$<CXX_COMPILER_VERSION>,5>")
set(meet_requirements "$<AND:${is_gnu},${v5_or_later}>")
target_compile_definitions(tgt PRIVATE
  "$<${meet_requirements}:HAVE_5_OR_LATER>"
)

Debugging

Since generator expressions are evaluated during generation of the buildsystem, and not during processing of CMakeLists.txt files, it is not possible to inspect their result with the message() command. One possible way to generate debug messages is to add a custom target:

add_custom_target(genexdebug COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo "$<...>")

After running cmake, you can then build the genexdebug target to print the result of the $<...> expression (i.e. run the command cmake --build ... --target genexdebug).

Another way is to write debug messages to a file with file(GENERATE):

file(GENERATE OUTPUT filename CONTENT "$<...>")

Generator Expression Reference

Note

This reference deviates from most of the CMake documentation in that it omits angular brackets <...> around placeholders like condition, string, target, etc. This is to prevent an opportunity for those placeholders to be misinterpreted as generator expressions.

Conditional Expressions

A fundamental category of generator expressions relates to conditional logic. Two forms of conditional generator expressions are supported:

$<condition:true_string>

Evaluates to true_string if condition is 1, or an empty string if condition evaluates to 0. Any other value for condition results in an error.

$<IF:condition,true_string,false_string>

New in version 3.8.

Evaluates to true_string if condition is 1, or false_string if condition is 0. Any other value for condition results in an error.

Typically, the condition is itself a generator expression. For instance, the following expression expands to DEBUG_MODE when the Debug configuration is used, and the empty string for all other configurations:

$<$<CONFIG:Debug>:DEBUG_MODE>

Boolean-like condition values other than 1 or 0 can be handled by wrapping them with the $<BOOL:...> generator expression:

$<BOOL:string>

Converts string to 0 or 1. Evaluates to 0 if any of the following is true:

  • string is empty,

  • string is a case-insensitive equal of 0, FALSE, OFF, N, NO, IGNORE, or NOTFOUND, or

  • string ends in the suffix -NOTFOUND (case-sensitive).

Otherwise evaluates to 1.

The $<BOOL:...> generator expression is often used when a condition is provided by a CMake variable:

$<$<BOOL:${HAVE_SOME_FEATURE}>:-DENABLE_SOME_FEATURE>

Logical Operators

The common boolean logic operators are supported:

$<AND:conditions>

where conditions is a comma-separated list of boolean expressions, all of which must evaluate to either 1 or 0. The whole expression evaluates to 1 if all conditions are 1. If any condition is 0, the whole expression evaluates to 0.

$<OR:conditions>

where conditions is a comma-separated list of boolean expressions. all of which must evaluate to either 1 or 0. The whole expression evaluates to 1 if at least one of the conditions is 1. If all conditions evaluate to 0, the whole expression evaluates to 0.

$<NOT:condition>

condition must be 0 or 1. The result of the expression is 0 if condition is 1, else 1.

Primary Comparison Expressions

CMake supports a variety of generator expressions that compare things. This section covers the primary and most widely used comparison types. Other more specific comparison types are documented in their own separate sections further below.

String Comparisons

$<STREQUAL:string1,string2>

1 if string1 and string2 are equal, else 0. The comparison is case-sensitive. For a case-insensitive comparison, combine with a string transforming generator expression. For example, the following evaluates to 1 if ${foo} is any of BAR, Bar, bar, etc.

$<STREQUAL:$<UPPER_CASE:${foo}>,BAR>
$<EQUAL:value1,value2>

1 if value1 and value2 are numerically equal, else 0.

Version Comparisons

$<VERSION_LESS:v1,v2>

1 if v1 is a version less than v2, else 0.

$<VERSION_GREATER:v1,v2>

1 if v1 is a version greater than v2, else 0.

$<VERSION_EQUAL:v1,v2>

1 if v1 is the same version as v2, else 0.

$<VERSION_LESS_EQUAL:v1,v2>

New in version 3.7.

1 if v1 is a version less than or equal to v2, else 0.

$<VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL:v1,v2>

New in version 3.7.

1 if v1 is a version greater than or equal to v2, else 0.

String Transformations

$<LOWER_CASE:string>

Content of string converted to lower case.

$<UPPER_CASE:string>

Content of string converted to upper case.

$<MAKE_C_IDENTIFIER:...>

Content of ... converted to a C identifier. The conversion follows the same behavior as string(MAKE_C_IDENTIFIER).

List Expressions

$<IN_LIST:string,list>

New in version 3.12.

1 if string is an item in the semicolon-separated list, else 0. It uses case-sensitive comparisons.

$<JOIN:list,string>

Joins the list with the content of string inserted between each item.

$<REMOVE_DUPLICATES:list>

New in version 3.15.

Removes duplicated items in the given list. The relative order of items is preserved, but if duplicates are encountered, only the first instance is preserved.

$<FILTER:list,INCLUDE|EXCLUDE,regex>

New in version 3.15.

Includes or removes items from list that match the regular expression regex.

Path Expressions

Most of the expressions in this section are closely associated with the cmake_path() command, providing the same capabilities, but in the form of a generator expression.

For all generator expressions in this section, paths are expected to be in cmake-style format. The $<PATH:CMAKE_PATH> generator expression can be used to convert a native path to a cmake-style one.

Path Comparisons

$<PATH_EQUAL:path1,path2>

New in version 3.24.

Compares the lexical representations of two paths. No normalization is performed on either path. Returns 1 if the paths are equal, 0 otherwise.

See cmake_path(COMPARE) for more details.

Path Queries

These expressions provide the generation-time capabilities equivalent to the Query options of the cmake_path() command. All paths are expected to be in cmake-style format.

$<PATH:HAS_*,path>

New in version 3.24.

The following operations return 1 if the particular path component is present, 0 otherwise. See Path Structure And Terminology for the meaning of each path component.

$<PATH:HAS_ROOT_NAME,path>
$<PATH:HAS_ROOT_DIRECTORY,path>
$<PATH:HAS_ROOT_PATH,path>
$<PATH:HAS_FILENAME,path>
$<PATH:HAS_EXTENSION,path>
$<PATH:HAS_STEM,path>
$<PATH:HAS_RELATIVE_PART,path>
$<PATH:HAS_PARENT_PATH,path>

Note the following special cases:

  • For HAS_ROOT_PATH, a true result will only be returned if at least one of root-name or root-directory is non-empty.

  • For HAS_PARENT_PATH, the root directory is also considered to have a parent, which will be itself. The result is true except if the path consists of just a filename.

$<PATH:IS_ABSOLUTE,path>

New in version 3.24.

Returns 1 if the path is absolute, 0 otherwise.

$<PATH:IS_RELATIVE,path>

New in version 3.24.

This will return the opposite of IS_ABSOLUTE.

$<PATH:IS_PREFIX[,NORMALIZE],path,input>

New in version 3.24.

Returns 1 if path is the prefix of input, 0 otherwise.

When the NORMALIZE option is specified, path and input are normalized before the check.

Path Decomposition

These expressions provide the generation-time capabilities equivalent to the Decomposition options of the cmake_path() command. All paths are expected to be in cmake-style format.

$<PATH:GET_*,...>

New in version 3.24.

The following operations retrieve a different component or group of components from a path. See Path Structure And Terminology for the meaning of each path component.

$<PATH:GET_ROOT_NAME,path>
$<PATH:GET_ROOT_DIRECTORY,path>
$<PATH:GET_ROOT_PATH,path>
$<PATH:GET_FILENAME,path>
$<PATH:GET_EXTENSION[,LAST_ONLY],path>
$<PATH:GET_STEM[,LAST_ONLY],path>
$<PATH:GET_RELATIVE_PART,path>
$<PATH:GET_PARENT_PATH,path>

If a requested component is not present in the path, an empty string is returned.

Path Transformations

These expressions provide the generation-time capabilities equivalent to the Modification and Generation options of the cmake_path() command. All paths are expected to be in cmake-style format.

$<PATH:CMAKE_PATH[,NORMALIZE],path>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path. If path is a native path, it is converted into a cmake-style path with forward-slashes (/). On Windows, the long filename marker is taken into account.

When the NORMALIZE option is specified, the path is normalized after the conversion.

$<PATH:APPEND,path,input,...>

New in version 3.24.

Returns all the input arguments appended to path using / as the directory-separator. Depending on the input, the value of path may be discarded.

See cmake_path(APPEND) for more details.

$<PATH:REMOVE_FILENAME,path>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path with filename component (as returned by $<PATH:GET_FILENAME>) removed. After removal, any trailing directory-separator is left alone, if present.

See cmake_path(REMOVE_FILENAME) for more details.

$<PATH:REPLACE_FILENAME,path,input>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path with the filename component replaced by input. If path has no filename component (i.e. $<PATH:HAS_FILENAME> returns 0), path is unchanged.

See cmake_path(REPLACE_FILENAME) for more details.

$<PATH:REMOVE_EXTENSION[,LAST_ONLY],path>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path with the extension removed, if any.

See cmake_path(REMOVE_EXTENSION) for more details.

$<PATH:REPLACE_EXTENSION[,LAST_ONLY],path,input>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path with the extension replaced by input, if any.

See cmake_path(REPLACE_EXTENSION) for more details.

$<PATH:NORMAL_PATH,path>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path normalized according to the steps described in Normalization.

$<PATH:RELATIVE_PATH,path,base_directory>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path, modified to make it relative to the base_directory argument.

See cmake_path(RELATIVE_PATH) for more details.

$<PATH:ABSOLUTE_PATH[,NORMALIZE],path,base_directory>

New in version 3.24.

Returns path as absolute. If path is a relative path ($<PATH:IS_RELATIVE> returns 1), it is evaluated relative to the given base directory specified by base_directory argument.

When the NORMALIZE option is specified, the path is normalized after the path computation.

See cmake_path(ABSOLUTE_PATH) for more details.

Shell Paths

$<SHELL_PATH:...>

New in version 3.4.

Content of ... converted to shell path style. For example, slashes are converted to backslashes in Windows shells and drive letters are converted to posix paths in MSYS shells. The ... must be an absolute path.

New in version 3.14: The ... may be a semicolon-separated list of paths, in which case each path is converted individually and a result list is generated using the shell path separator (: on POSIX and ; on Windows). Be sure to enclose the argument containing this genex in double quotes in CMake source code so that ; does not split arguments.

Configuration Expressions

$<CONFIG>

Configuration name. Use this instead of the deprecated CONFIGURATION generator expression.

$<CONFIG:cfgs>

1 if config is any one of the entries in comma-separated list cfgs, else 0. This is a case-insensitive comparison. The mapping in MAP_IMPORTED_CONFIG_<CONFIG> is also considered by this expression when it is evaluated on a property of an IMPORTED target.

$<OUTPUT_CONFIG:...>

New in version 3.20.

Only valid in add_custom_command() and add_custom_target() as the outer-most generator expression in an argument. With the Ninja Multi-Config generator, generator expressions in ... are evaluated using the custom command's "output config". With other generators, the content of ... is evaluated normally.

$<COMMAND_CONFIG:...>

New in version 3.20.

Only valid in add_custom_command() and add_custom_target() as the outer-most generator expression in an argument. With the Ninja Multi-Config generator, generator expressions in ... are evaluated using the custom command's "command config". With other generators, the content of ... is evaluated normally.

Toolchain And Language Expressions

Platform

$<PLATFORM_ID>

The current system's CMake platform id. See also the CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME variable.

$<PLATFORM_ID:platform_ids>

where platform_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's platform id matches any one of the entries in platform_ids, otherwise 0. See also the CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME variable.

Compiler Version

See also the CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_VERSION variable, which is closely related to the expressions in this sub-section.

$<C_COMPILER_VERSION>

The version of the C compiler used.

$<C_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

1 if the version of the C compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<CXX_COMPILER_VERSION>

The version of the CXX compiler used.

$<CXX_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

1 if the version of the CXX compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<CUDA_COMPILER_VERSION>

New in version 3.15.

The version of the CUDA compiler used.

$<CUDA_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

New in version 3.15.

1 if the version of the CXX compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<OBJC_COMPILER_VERSION>

New in version 3.16.

The version of the OBJC compiler used.

$<OBJC_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

New in version 3.16.

1 if the version of the OBJC compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<OBJCXX_COMPILER_VERSION>

New in version 3.16.

The version of the OBJCXX compiler used.

$<OBJCXX_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

New in version 3.16.

1 if the version of the OBJCXX compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<Fortran_COMPILER_VERSION>

The version of the Fortran compiler used.

$<Fortran_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

1 if the version of the Fortran compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<HIP_COMPILER_VERSION>

New in version 3.21.

The version of the HIP compiler used.

$<HIP_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

New in version 3.21.

1 if the version of the HIP compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

$<ISPC_COMPILER_VERSION>

New in version 3.19.

The version of the ISPC compiler used.

$<ISPC_COMPILER_VERSION:version>

New in version 3.19.

1 if the version of the ISPC compiler matches version, otherwise 0.

Compiler Language And ID

See also the CMAKE_<LANG>_COMPILER_ID variable, which is closely related to most of the expressions in this sub-section.

$<C_COMPILER_ID>

CMake's compiler id of the C compiler used.

$<C_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the C compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<CXX_COMPILER_ID>

CMake's compiler id of the CXX compiler used.

$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the CXX compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<CUDA_COMPILER_ID>

New in version 3.15.

CMake's compiler id of the CUDA compiler used.

$<CUDA_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

New in version 3.15.

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the CUDA compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<OBJC_COMPILER_ID>

New in version 3.16.

CMake's compiler id of the OBJC compiler used.

$<OBJC_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

New in version 3.16.

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the Objective-C compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<OBJCXX_COMPILER_ID>

New in version 3.16.

CMake's compiler id of the OBJCXX compiler used.

$<OBJCXX_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

New in version 3.16.

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the Objective-C++ compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<Fortran_COMPILER_ID>

CMake's compiler id of the Fortran compiler used.

$<Fortran_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the Fortran compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<HIP_COMPILER_ID>

New in version 3.21.

CMake's compiler id of the HIP compiler used.

$<HIP_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

New in version 3.21.

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the HIP compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<ISPC_COMPILER_ID>

New in version 3.19.

CMake's compiler id of the ISPC compiler used.

$<ISPC_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>

New in version 3.19.

where compiler_ids is a comma-separated list. 1 if CMake's compiler id of the ISPC compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0.

$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE>

New in version 3.3.

The compile language of source files when evaluating compile options. See the related boolean expression $<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:language> for notes about the portability of this generator expression.

$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:languages>

New in version 3.3.

1 when the language used for compilation unit matches any of the entries in languages, otherwise 0. This expression may be used to specify compile options, compile definitions, and include directories for source files of a particular language in a target. For example:

add_executable(myapp main.cpp foo.c bar.cpp zot.cu)
target_compile_options(myapp
  PRIVATE $<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>:-fno-exceptions>
)
target_compile_definitions(myapp
  PRIVATE $<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>:COMPILING_CXX>
          $<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CUDA>:COMPILING_CUDA>
)
target_include_directories(myapp
  PRIVATE $<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX,CUDA>:/opt/foo/headers>
)

This specifies the use of the -fno-exceptions compile option, COMPILING_CXX compile definition, and cxx_headers include directory for C++ only (compiler id checks elided). It also specifies a COMPILING_CUDA compile definition for CUDA.

Note that with Visual Studio Generators and Xcode there is no way to represent target-wide compile definitions or include directories separately for C and CXX languages. Also, with Visual Studio Generators there is no way to represent target-wide flags separately for C and CXX languages. Under these generators, expressions for both C and C++ sources will be evaluated using CXX if there are any C++ sources and otherwise using C. A workaround is to create separate libraries for each source file language instead:

add_library(myapp_c foo.c)
add_library(myapp_cxx bar.cpp)
target_compile_options(myapp_cxx PUBLIC -fno-exceptions)
add_executable(myapp main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(myapp myapp_c myapp_cxx)
$<COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID:language,compiler_ids>

New in version 3.15.

1 when the language used for compilation unit matches language and CMake's compiler id of the language compiler matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0. This expression is a short form for the combination of $<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:language> and $<LANG_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>. This expression may be used to specify compile options, compile definitions, and include directories for source files of a particular language and compiler combination in a target. For example:

add_executable(myapp main.cpp foo.c bar.cpp zot.cu)
target_compile_definitions(myapp
  PRIVATE $<$<COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID:CXX,AppleClang,Clang>:COMPILING_CXX_WITH_CLANG>
          $<$<COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID:CXX,Intel>:COMPILING_CXX_WITH_INTEL>
          $<$<COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID:C,Clang>:COMPILING_C_WITH_CLANG>
)

This specifies the use of different compile definitions based on both the compiler id and compilation language. This example will have a COMPILING_CXX_WITH_CLANG compile definition when Clang is the CXX compiler, and COMPILING_CXX_WITH_INTEL when Intel is the CXX compiler. Likewise, when the C compiler is Clang, it will only see the COMPILING_C_WITH_CLANG definition.

Without the COMPILE_LANG_AND_ID generator expression, the same logic would be expressed as:

target_compile_definitions(myapp
  PRIVATE $<$<AND:$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>,$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:AppleClang,Clang>>:COMPILING_CXX_WITH_CLANG>
          $<$<AND:$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>,$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:Intel>>:COMPILING_CXX_WITH_INTEL>
          $<$<AND:$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:C>,$<C_COMPILER_ID:Clang>>:COMPILING_C_WITH_CLANG>
)

Compile Features

$<COMPILE_FEATURES:features>

New in version 3.1.

where features is a comma-separated list. Evaluates to 1 if all of the features are available for the 'head' target, and 0 otherwise. If this expression is used while evaluating the link implementation of a target and if any dependency transitively increases the required C_STANDARD or CXX_STANDARD for the 'head' target, an error is reported. See the cmake-compile-features(7) manual for information on compile features and a list of supported compilers.

Linker Language And ID

New in version 3.18.

The link language of the target when evaluating link options. See the related boolean expression $<LINK_LANGUAGE:languages> for notes about the portability of this generator expression.

Note

This generator expression is not supported by the link libraries properties to avoid side-effects due to the double evaluation of these properties.

$<LINK_LANGUAGE:languages>

New in version 3.18.

1 when the language used for link step matches any of the entries in languages, otherwise 0. This expression may be used to specify link libraries, link options, link directories and link dependencies of a particular language in a target. For example:

add_library(api_C ...)
add_library(api_CXX ...)
add_library(api INTERFACE)
target_link_options(api   INTERFACE $<$<LINK_LANGUAGE:C>:-opt_c>
                                    $<$<LINK_LANGUAGE:CXX>:-opt_cxx>)
target_link_libraries(api INTERFACE $<$<LINK_LANGUAGE:C>:api_C>
                                    $<$<LINK_LANGUAGE:CXX>:api_CXX>)

add_executable(myapp1 main.c)
target_link_options(myapp1 PRIVATE api)

add_executable(myapp2 main.cpp)
target_link_options(myapp2 PRIVATE api)

This specifies to use the api target for linking targets myapp1 and myapp2. In practice, myapp1 will link with target api_C and option -opt_c because it will use C as link language. And myapp2 will link with api_CXX and option -opt_cxx because CXX will be the link language.

New in version 3.18.

1 when the language used for link step matches language and the CMake's compiler id of the language linker matches any one of the entries in compiler_ids, otherwise 0. This expression is a short form for the combination of $<LINK_LANGUAGE:language> and $<LANG_COMPILER_ID:compiler_ids>. This expression may be used to specify link libraries, link options, link directories and link dependencies of a particular language and linker combination in a target. For example:

add_library(libC_Clang ...)
add_library(libCXX_Clang ...)
add_library(libC_Intel ...)
add_library(libCXX_Intel ...)

add_executable(myapp main.c)
if (CXX_CONFIG)
  target_sources(myapp PRIVATE file.cxx)
endif()
target_link_libraries(myapp
  PRIVATE $<$<LINK_LANG_AND_ID:CXX,Clang,AppleClang>:libCXX_Clang>
          $<$<LINK_LANG_AND_ID:C,Clang,AppleClang>:libC_Clang>
          $<$<LINK_LANG_AND_ID:CXX,Intel>:libCXX_Intel>
          $<$<LINK_LANG_AND_ID:C,Intel>:libC_Intel>)

This specifies the use of different link libraries based on both the compiler id and link language. This example will have target libCXX_Clang as link dependency when Clang or AppleClang is the CXX linker, and libCXX_Intel when Intel is the CXX linker. Likewise when the C linker is Clang or AppleClang, target libC_Clang will be added as link dependency and libC_Intel when Intel is the C linker.

See the note related to $<LINK_LANGUAGE:language> for constraints about the usage of this generator expression.

Target-Dependent Expressions

These queries refer to a target tgt. Unless otherwise stated, this can be any runtime artifact, namely:

In the following, the phrase "the tgt filename" means the name of the tgt binary file. This has to be distinguished from the phrase "the target name", which is just the string tgt.

$<TARGET_EXISTS:tgt>

New in version 3.12.

1 if tgt exists as a CMake target, else 0.

$<TARGET_NAME_IF_EXISTS:tgt>

New in version 3.12.

The target name tgt if the target exists, an empty string otherwise.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_NAME:...>

Marks ... as being the name of a target. This is required if exporting targets to multiple dependent export sets. The ... must be a literal name of a target, it may not contain generator expressions.

$<TARGET_PROPERTY:tgt,prop>

Value of the property prop on the target tgt.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_PROPERTY:prop>

Value of the property prop on the target for which the expression is being evaluated. Note that for generator expressions in Transitive Usage Requirements this is the consuming target rather than the target specifying the requirement.

$<TARGET_OBJECTS:tgt>

New in version 3.1.

List of objects resulting from building tgt. This would typically be used on object library targets.

$<TARGET_POLICY:policy>

1 if the policy was NEW when the 'head' target was created, else 0. If the policy was not set, the warning message for the policy will be emitted. This generator expression only works for a subset of policies.

$<TARGET_FILE:tgt>

Full path to the tgt binary file.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on, unless the expression is being used in add_custom_command() or add_custom_target().

$<TARGET_FILE_BASE_NAME:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Base name of tgt, i.e. $<TARGET_FILE_NAME:tgt> without prefix and suffix. For example, if the tgt filename is libbase.so, the base name is base.

See also the OUTPUT_NAME, ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_NAME, LIBRARY_OUTPUT_NAME and RUNTIME_OUTPUT_NAME target properties and their configuration specific variants OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>, ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>, LIBRARY_OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG> and RUNTIME_OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>.

The <CONFIG>_POSTFIX and DEBUG_POSTFIX target properties can also be considered.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_FILE_PREFIX:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Prefix of the tgt filename (such as lib).

See also the PREFIX target property.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_FILE_SUFFIX:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Suffix of the tgt filename (extension such as .so or .exe).

See also the SUFFIX target property.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_FILE_NAME:tgt>

The tgt filename.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_FILE_DIR:tgt>

Directory of the tgt binary file.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE:tgt>

File used when linking to the tgt target. This will usually be the library that tgt represents (.a, .lib, .so), but for a shared library on DLL platforms, it would be the .lib import library associated with the DLL.

$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_BASE_NAME:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Base name of file used to link the target tgt, i.e. $<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_NAME:tgt> without prefix and suffix. For example, if target file name is libbase.a, the base name is base.

See also the OUTPUT_NAME, ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_NAME, and LIBRARY_OUTPUT_NAME target properties and their configuration specific variants OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>, ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG> and LIBRARY_OUTPUT_NAME_<CONFIG>.

The <CONFIG>_POSTFIX and DEBUG_POSTFIX target properties can also be considered.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_PREFIX:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Prefix of file used to link target tgt.

See also the PREFIX and IMPORT_PREFIX target properties.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_SUFFIX:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Suffix of file used to link where tgt is the name of a target.

The suffix corresponds to the file extension (such as ".so" or ".lib").

See also the SUFFIX and IMPORT_SUFFIX target properties.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_NAME:tgt>

Name of file used to link target tgt.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_LINKER_FILE_DIR:tgt>

Directory of file used to link target tgt.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_SONAME_FILE:tgt>

File with soname (.so.3) where tgt is the name of a target.

$<TARGET_SONAME_FILE_NAME:tgt>

Name of file with soname (.so.3).

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_SONAME_FILE_DIR:tgt>

Directory of with soname (.so.3).

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_PDB_FILE:tgt>

New in version 3.1.

Full path to the linker generated program database file (.pdb) where tgt is the name of a target.

See also the PDB_NAME and PDB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY target properties and their configuration specific variants PDB_NAME_<CONFIG> and PDB_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY_<CONFIG>.

$<TARGET_PDB_FILE_BASE_NAME:tgt>

New in version 3.15.

Base name of the linker generated program database file (.pdb) where tgt is the name of a target.

The base name corresponds to the target PDB file name (see $<TARGET_PDB_FILE_NAME:tgt>) without prefix and suffix. For example, if target file name is base.pdb, the base name is base.

See also the PDB_NAME target property and its configuration specific variant PDB_NAME_<CONFIG>.

The <CONFIG>_POSTFIX and DEBUG_POSTFIX target properties can also be considered.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on.

$<TARGET_PDB_FILE_NAME:tgt>

New in version 3.1.

Name of the linker generated program database file (.pdb).

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_PDB_FILE_DIR:tgt>

New in version 3.1.

Directory of the linker generated program database file (.pdb).

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_BUNDLE_DIR:tgt>

New in version 3.9.

Full path to the bundle directory (/path/to/my.app, /path/to/my.framework, or /path/to/my.bundle), where tgt is the name of a target.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_BUNDLE_DIR_NAME:tgt>

New in version 3.24.

Name of the bundle directory (my.app, my.framework, or my.bundle), where tgt is the name of a target.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_BUNDLE_CONTENT_DIR:tgt>

New in version 3.9.

Full path to the bundle content directory where tgt is the name of a target. For the macOS SDK it leads to /path/to/my.app/Contents, /path/to/my.framework, or /path/to/my.bundle/Contents. For all other SDKs (e.g. iOS) it leads to /path/to/my.app, /path/to/my.framework, or /path/to/my.bundle due to the flat bundle structure.

Note that tgt is not added as a dependency of the target this expression is evaluated on (see policy CMP0112).

$<TARGET_RUNTIME_DLLS:tgt>

New in version 3.21.

List of DLLs that the target depends on at runtime. This is determined by the locations of all the SHARED targets in the target's transitive dependencies. Using this generator expression on targets other than executables, SHARED libraries, and MODULE libraries is an error. On non-DLL platforms, this expression always evaluates to an empty string.

This generator expression can be used to copy all of the DLLs that a target depends on into its output directory in a POST_BUILD custom command. For example:

find_package(foo CONFIG REQUIRED) # package generated by install(EXPORT)

add_executable(exe main.c)
target_link_libraries(exe PRIVATE foo::foo foo::bar)
add_custom_command(TARGET exe POST_BUILD
  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy $<TARGET_RUNTIME_DLLS:exe> $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:exe>
  COMMAND_EXPAND_LISTS
)

Note

Imported Targets are supported only if they know the location of their .dll files. An imported SHARED library must have IMPORTED_LOCATION set to its .dll file. See the add_library imported libraries section for details. Many Find Modules produce imported targets with the UNKNOWN type and therefore will be ignored.

Export And Install Expressions

$<INSTALL_INTERFACE:...>

Content of ... when the property is exported using install(EXPORT), and empty otherwise.

$<BUILD_INTERFACE:...>

Content of ... when the property is exported using export(), or when the target is used by another target in the same buildsystem. Expands to the empty string otherwise.

$<INSTALL_PREFIX>

Content of the install prefix when the target is exported via install(EXPORT), or when evaluated in the INSTALL_NAME_DIR property or the INSTALL_NAME_DIR argument of install(RUNTIME_DEPENDENCY_SET), and empty otherwise.

Multi-level Expression Evaluation

$<GENEX_EVAL:expr>

New in version 3.12.

Content of expr evaluated as a generator expression in the current context. This enables consumption of generator expressions whose evaluation results itself in generator expressions.

$<TARGET_GENEX_EVAL:tgt,expr>

New in version 3.12.

Content of expr evaluated as a generator expression in the context of tgt target. This enables consumption of custom target properties that themselves contain generator expressions.

Having the capability to evaluate generator expressions is very useful when you want to manage custom properties supporting generator expressions. For example:

add_library(foo ...)

set_property(TARGET foo PROPERTY
  CUSTOM_KEYS $<$<CONFIG:DEBUG>:FOO_EXTRA_THINGS>
)

add_custom_target(printFooKeys
  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo $<TARGET_PROPERTY:foo,CUSTOM_KEYS>
)

This naive implementation of the printFooKeys custom command is wrong because CUSTOM_KEYS target property is not evaluated and the content is passed as is (i.e. $<$<CONFIG:DEBUG>:FOO_EXTRA_THINGS>).

To have the expected result (i.e. FOO_EXTRA_THINGS if config is Debug), it is required to evaluate the output of $<TARGET_PROPERTY:foo,CUSTOM_KEYS>:

add_custom_target(printFooKeys
  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E
    echo $<TARGET_GENEX_EVAL:foo,$<TARGET_PROPERTY:foo,CUSTOM_KEYS>>
)

Escaped Characters

These expressions evaluate to specific string literals. Use them in place of the actual string literal where you need to prevent them from having their special meaning.

$<ANGLE-R>

A literal >. Used for example to compare strings that contain a >.

$<COMMA>

A literal ,. Used for example to compare strings which contain a ,.

$<SEMICOLON>

A literal ;. Used to prevent list expansion on an argument with ;.

Deprecated Expressions

$<CONFIGURATION>

Configuration name. Deprecated since CMake 3.0. Use CONFIG instead.