ctest(1)

Synopsis

ctest [<options>]

Description

The “ctest” executable is the CMake test driver program. CMake-generated build trees created for projects that use the ENABLE_TESTING and ADD_TEST commands have testing support. This program will run the tests and report results.

Options

-C <cfg>, --build-config <cfg>

Choose configuration to test.

Some CMake-generated build trees can have multiple build configurations in the same tree. This option can be used to specify which one should be tested. Example configurations are “Debug” and “Release”.

-V,--verbose

Enable verbose output from tests.

Test output is normally suppressed and only summary information is displayed. This option will show all test output.

-VV,--extra-verbose

Enable more verbose output from tests.

Test output is normally suppressed and only summary information is displayed. This option will show even more test output.

--debug

Displaying more verbose internals of CTest.

This feature will result in a large number of output that is mostly useful for debugging dashboard problems.

--output-on-failure

Output anything outputted by the test program if the test should fail. This option can also be enabled by setting the environment variable CTEST_OUTPUT_ON_FAILURE.

-F

Enable failover.

This option allows ctest to resume a test set execution that was previously interrupted. If no interruption occurred, the -F option will have no effect.

-j <jobs>, --parallel <jobs>

Run the tests in parallel using the given number of jobs.

This option tells ctest to run the tests in parallel using given number of jobs. This option can also be set by setting the environment variable CTEST_PARALLEL_LEVEL.

--test-load <level>

While running tests in parallel (e.g. with -j), try not to start tests when they may cause the CPU load to pass above a given threshold.

When ctest is run as a Dashboard Client this sets the TestLoad option of the CTest Test Step.

-Q,--quiet

Make ctest quiet.

This option will suppress all the output. The output log file will still be generated if the --output-log is specified. Options such as --verbose, --extra-verbose, and --debug are ignored if --quiet is specified.

-O <file>, --output-log <file>

Output to log file.

This option tells ctest to write all its output to a log file.

-N,--show-only

Disable actual execution of tests.

This option tells ctest to list the tests that would be run but not actually run them. Useful in conjunction with the -R and -E options.

-L <regex>, --label-regex <regex>

Run tests with labels matching regular expression.

This option tells ctest to run only the tests whose labels match the given regular expression.

-R <regex>, --tests-regex <regex>

Run tests matching regular expression.

This option tells ctest to run only the tests whose names match the given regular expression.

-E <regex>, --exclude-regex <regex>

Exclude tests matching regular expression.

This option tells ctest to NOT run the tests whose names match the given regular expression.

-LE <regex>, --label-exclude <regex>

Exclude tests with labels matching regular expression.

This option tells ctest to NOT run the tests whose labels match the given regular expression.

-FA <regex>, --fixture-exclude-any <regex>

Exclude fixtures matching <regex> from automatically adding any tests to the test set.

If a test in the set of tests to be executed requires a particular fixture, that fixture’s setup and cleanup tests would normally be added to the test set automatically. This option prevents adding setup or cleanup tests for fixtures matching the <regex>. Note that all other fixture behavior is retained, including test dependencies and skipping tests that have fixture setup tests that fail.

-FS <regex>, --fixture-exclude-setup <regex>

Same as -FA except only matching setup tests are excluded.

-FC <regex>, --fixture-exclude-cleanup <regex>

Same as -FA except only matching cleanup tests are excluded.

-D <dashboard>, --dashboard <dashboard>

Execute dashboard test.

This option tells ctest to act as a CDash client and perform a dashboard test. All tests are <Mode><Test>, where Mode can be Experimental, Nightly, and Continuous, and Test can be Start, Update, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit.

-D <var>:<type>=<value>

Define a variable for script mode.

Pass in variable values on the command line. Use in conjunction with -S to pass variable values to a dashboard script. Parsing -D arguments as variable values is only attempted if the value following -D does not match any of the known dashboard types.

-M <model>, --test-model <model>

Sets the model for a dashboard.

This option tells ctest to act as a CDash client where the <model> can be Experimental, Nightly, and Continuous. Combining -M and -T is similar to -D.

-T <action>, --test-action <action>

Sets the dashboard action to perform.

This option tells ctest to act as a CDash client and perform some action such as start, build, test etc. See Dashboard Client Steps for the full list of actions. Combining -M and -T is similar to -D.

--track <track>

Specify the track to submit dashboard to

Submit dashboard to specified track instead of default one. By default, the dashboard is submitted to Nightly, Experimental, or Continuous track, but by specifying this option, the track can be arbitrary.

-S <script>, --script <script>

Execute a dashboard for a configuration.

This option tells ctest to load in a configuration script which sets a number of parameters such as the binary and source directories. Then ctest will do what is required to create and run a dashboard. This option basically sets up a dashboard and then runs ctest -D with the appropriate options.

-SP <script>, --script-new-process <script>

Execute a dashboard for a configuration.

This option does the same operations as -S but it will do them in a separate process. This is primarily useful in cases where the script may modify the environment and you do not want the modified environment to impact other -S scripts.

-A <file>, --add-notes <file>

Add a notes file with submission.

This option tells ctest to include a notes file when submitting dashboard.

-I [Start,End,Stride,test#,test#|Test file], --tests-information

Run a specific number of tests by number.

This option causes ctest to run tests starting at number Start, ending at number End, and incrementing by Stride. Any additional numbers after Stride are considered individual test numbers. Start, End,or stride can be empty. Optionally a file can be given that contains the same syntax as the command line.

-U, --union

Take the Union of -I and -R.

When both -R and -I are specified by default the intersection of tests are run. By specifying -U the union of tests is run instead.

--rerun-failed

Run only the tests that failed previously.

This option tells ctest to perform only the tests that failed during its previous run. When this option is specified, ctest ignores all other options intended to modify the list of tests to run (-L, -R, -E, -LE, -I, etc). In the event that CTest runs and no tests fail, subsequent calls to ctest with the --rerun-failed option will run the set of tests that most recently failed (if any).

--repeat-until-fail <n>

Require each test to run <n> times without failing in order to pass.

This is useful in finding sporadic failures in test cases.

--max-width <width>

Set the max width for a test name to output.

Set the maximum width for each test name to show in the output. This allows the user to widen the output to avoid clipping the test name which can be very annoying.

--interactive-debug-mode [0|1]

Set the interactive mode to 0 or 1.

This option causes ctest to run tests in either an interactive mode or a non-interactive mode. On Windows this means that in non-interactive mode, all system debug pop up windows are blocked. In dashboard mode (Experimental, Nightly, Continuous), the default is non-interactive. When just running tests not for a dashboard the default is to allow popups and interactive debugging.

--no-label-summary

Disable timing summary information for labels.

This option tells ctest not to print summary information for each label associated with the tests run. If there are no labels on the tests, nothing extra is printed.

--build-and-test <path-to-source> <path-to-build>

Configure, build and run a test.

This option tells ctest to configure (i.e. run cmake on), build, and or execute a test. The configure and test steps are optional. The arguments to this command line are the source and binary directories. The --build-generator option must be provided to use --build-and-test. If --test-command is specified then that will be run after the build is complete. Other options that affect this mode are --build-target, --build-nocmake, --build-run-dir, --build-two-config, --build-exe-dir, --build-project, --build-noclean and --build-options.

--build-target

Specify a specific target to build.

This option goes with the --build-and-test option, if left out the all target is built.

--build-nocmake

Run the build without running cmake first.

Skip the cmake step.

--build-run-dir

Specify directory to run programs from.

Directory where programs will be after it has been compiled.

--build-two-config

Run CMake twice.

--build-exe-dir

Specify the directory for the executable.

--build-generator

Specify the generator to use. See the cmake-generators(7) manual.

--build-generator-platform

Specify the generator-specific platform.

--build-generator-toolset

Specify the generator-specific toolset.

--build-project

Specify the name of the project to build.

--build-makeprogram

Override the make program chosen by CTest with a given one.

--build-noclean

Skip the make clean step.

--build-config-sample

A sample executable to use to determine the configuration that should be used. e.g. Debug/Release/etc.

--build-options

Add extra options to the build step.

This option must be the last option with the exception of --test-command

--test-command

The test to run with the --build-and-test option.

--test-output-size-passed <size>

Limit the output for passed tests to <size> bytes.

--test-output-size-failed <size>

Limit the output for failed tests to <size> bytes.

--test-timeout

The time limit in seconds, internal use only.

--tomorrow-tag

Nightly or experimental starts with next day tag.

This is useful if the build will not finish in one day.

--ctest-config

The configuration file used to initialize CTest state when submitting dashboards.

This option tells CTest to use different initialization file instead of CTestConfiguration.tcl. This way multiple initialization files can be used for example to submit to multiple dashboards.

--overwrite

Overwrite CTest configuration option.

By default ctest uses configuration options from configuration file. This option will overwrite the configuration option.

--extra-submit <file>[;<file>]

Submit extra files to the dashboard.

This option will submit extra files to the dashboard.

--force-new-ctest-process

Run child CTest instances as new processes.

By default CTest will run child CTest instances within the same process. If this behavior is not desired, this argument will enforce new processes for child CTest processes.

--schedule-random

Use a random order for scheduling tests.

This option will run the tests in a random order. It is commonly used to detect implicit dependencies in a test suite.

--submit-index

Legacy option for old Dart2 dashboard server feature. Do not use.

--timeout <seconds>

Set a global timeout on all tests.

This option will set a global timeout on all tests that do not already have a timeout set on them.

--stop-time <time>

Set a time at which all tests should stop running.

Set a real time of day at which all tests should timeout. Example: 7:00:00 -0400. Any time format understood by the curl date parser is accepted. Local time is assumed if no timezone is specified.

--http1.0

Submit using HTTP 1.0.

This option will force CTest to use HTTP 1.0 to submit files to the dashboard, instead of HTTP 1.1.

--no-compress-output

Do not compress test output when submitting.

This flag will turn off automatic compression of test output. Use this to maintain compatibility with an older version of CDash which doesn’t support compressed test output.

--print-labels

Print all available test labels.

This option will not run any tests, it will simply print the list of all labels associated with the test set.

--help,-help,-usage,-h,-H,/?

Print usage information and exit.

Usage describes the basic command line interface and its options.

--version,-version,/V [<f>]

Show program name/version banner and exit.

If a file is specified, the version is written into it. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-full [<f>]

Print all help manuals and exit.

All manuals are printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-manual <man> [<f>]

Print one help manual and exit.

The specified manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-manual-list [<f>]

List help manuals available and exit.

The list contains all manuals for which help may be obtained by using the --help-manual option followed by a manual name. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-command <cmd> [<f>]

Print help for one command and exit.

The cmake-commands(7) manual entry for <cmd> is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-command-list [<f>]

List commands with help available and exit.

The list contains all commands for which help may be obtained by using the --help-command option followed by a command name. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-commands [<f>]

Print cmake-commands manual and exit.

The cmake-commands(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-module <mod> [<f>]

Print help for one module and exit.

The cmake-modules(7) manual entry for <mod> is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-module-list [<f>]

List modules with help available and exit.

The list contains all modules for which help may be obtained by using the --help-module option followed by a module name. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-modules [<f>]

Print cmake-modules manual and exit.

The cmake-modules(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-policy <cmp> [<f>]

Print help for one policy and exit.

The cmake-policies(7) manual entry for <cmp> is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-policy-list [<f>]

List policies with help available and exit.

The list contains all policies for which help may be obtained by using the --help-policy option followed by a policy name. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-policies [<f>]

Print cmake-policies manual and exit.

The cmake-policies(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-property <prop> [<f>]

Print help for one property and exit.

The cmake-properties(7) manual entries for <prop> are printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-property-list [<f>]

List properties with help available and exit.

The list contains all properties for which help may be obtained by using the --help-property option followed by a property name. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-properties [<f>]

Print cmake-properties manual and exit.

The cmake-properties(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-variable <var> [<f>]

Print help for one variable and exit.

The cmake-variables(7) manual entry for <var> is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-variable-list [<f>]

List variables with help available and exit.

The list contains all variables for which help may be obtained by using the --help-variable option followed by a variable name. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

--help-variables [<f>]

Print cmake-variables manual and exit.

The cmake-variables(7) manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The help is printed to a named <f>ile if given.

Dashboard Client

CTest can operate as a client for the CDash software quality dashboard application. As a dashboard client, CTest performs a sequence of steps to configure, build, and test software, and then submits the results to a CDash server.

Dashboard Client Steps

CTest defines an ordered list of testing steps of which some or all may be run as a dashboard client:

Start

Start a new dashboard submission to be composed of results recorded by the following steps. See the CTest Start Step section below.

Update

Update the source tree from its version control repository. Record the old and new versions and the list of updated source files. See the CTest Update Step section below.

Configure

Configure the software by running a command in the build tree. Record the configuration output log. See the CTest Configure Step section below.

Build

Build the software by running a command in the build tree. Record the build output log and detect warnings and errors. See the CTest Build Step section below.

Test

Test the software by loading a CTestTestfile.cmake from the build tree and executing the defined tests. Record the output and result of each test. See the CTest Test Step section below.

Coverage

Compute coverage of the source code by running a coverage analysis tool and recording its output. See the CTest Coverage Step section below.

MemCheck

Run the software test suite through a memory check tool. Record the test output, results, and issues reported by the tool. See the CTest MemCheck Step section below.

Submit

Submit results recorded from other testing steps to the software quality dashboard server. See the CTest Submit Step section below.

Dashboard Client Modes

CTest defines three modes of operation as a dashboard client:

Nightly

This mode is intended to be invoked once per day, typically at night. It enables the Start, Update, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit steps by default. Selected steps run even if the Update step reports no changes to the source tree.

Continuous

This mode is intended to be invoked repeatedly throughout the day. It enables the Start, Update, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit steps by default, but exits after the Update step if it reports no changes to the source tree.

Experimental

This mode is intended to be invoked by a developer to test local changes. It enables the Start, Configure, Build, Test, Coverage, and Submit steps by default.

Dashboard Client via CTest Command-Line

CTest can perform testing on an already-generated build tree. Run the ctest command with the current working directory set to the build tree and use one of these signatures:

ctest -D <mode>[<step>]
ctest -M <mode> [ -T <step> ]...

The <mode> must be one of the above Dashboard Client Modes, and each <step> must be one of the above Dashboard Client Steps.

CTest reads the Dashboard Client Configuration settings from a file in the build tree called either CTestConfiguration.ini or DartConfiguration.tcl (the names are historical). The format of the file is:

# Lines starting in '#' are comments.
# Other non-blank lines are key-value pairs.
<setting>: <value>

where <setting> is the setting name and <value> is the setting value.

In build trees generated by CMake, this configuration file is generated by the CTest module if included by the project. The module uses variables to obtain a value for each setting as documented with the settings below.

Dashboard Client via CTest Script

CTest can perform testing driven by a cmake-language(7) script that creates and maintains the source and build tree as well as performing the testing steps. Run the ctest command with the current working directory set outside of any build tree and use one of these signatures:

ctest -S <script>
ctest -SP <script>

The <script> file must call CTest Commands commands to run testing steps explicitly as documented below. The commands obtain Dashboard Client Configuration settings from their arguments or from variables set in the script.

Dashboard Client Configuration

The Dashboard Client Steps may be configured by named settings as documented in the following sections.

CTest Start Step

Start a new dashboard submission to be composed of results recorded by the following steps.

In a CTest Script, the ctest_start() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings. The command first runs the command-line specified by the CTEST_CHECKOUT_COMMAND variable, if set, to initialize the source directory.

Configuration settings include:

BuildDirectory

The full path to the project build tree.

SourceDirectory

The full path to the project source tree.

CTest Update Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_update() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings to specify the version control tool include:

BZRCommand

bzr command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Bazaar.

BZRUpdateOptions

Command-line options to the BZRCommand when updating the source.

CVSCommand

cvs command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by CVS.

CVSUpdateOptions

Command-line options to the CVSCommand when updating the source.

GITCommand

git command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Git.

The source tree is updated by git fetch followed by git reset --hard to the FETCH_HEAD. The result is the same as git pull except that any local moficiations are overwritten. Use GITUpdateCustom to specify a different approach.

GITInitSubmodules

If set, CTest will update the repository’s submodules before updating.

GITUpdateCustom

Specify a custom command line (as a semicolon-separated list) to run in the source tree (Git work tree) to update it instead of running the GITCommand.

GITUpdateOptions

Command-line options to the GITCommand when updating the source.

HGCommand

hg command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Mercurial.

HGUpdateOptions

Command-line options to the HGCommand when updating the source.

P4Client

Value of the -c option to the P4Command.

P4Command

p4 command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Perforce.

P4Options

Command-line options to the P4Command for all invocations.

P4UpdateCustom

Specify a custom command line (as a semicolon-separated list) to run in the source tree (Perforce tree) to update it instead of running the P4Command.

P4UpdateOptions

Command-line options to the P4Command when updating the source.

SVNCommand

svn command-line tool to use if source tree is managed by Subversion.

SVNOptions

Command-line options to the SVNCommand for all invocations.

SVNUpdateOptions

Command-line options to the SVNCommand when updating the source.

UpdateCommand

Specify the version-control command-line tool to use without detecting the VCS that manages the source tree.

UpdateOptions

Command-line options to the UpdateCommand.

UpdateType

Specify the version-control system that manages the source tree if it cannot be detected automatically. The value may be bzr, cvs, git, hg, p4, or svn.

  • CTest Script variable: none, detected from source tree

  • CTest module variable: UPDATE_TYPE if set, else CTEST_UPDATE_TYPE

UpdateVersionOnly

Specify that you want the version control update command to only discover the current version that is checked out, and not to update to a different version.

Additional configuration settings include:

NightlyStartTime

In the Nightly dashboard mode, specify the “nightly start time”. With centralized version control systems (cvs and svn), the Update step checks out the version of the software as of this time so that multiple clients choose a common version to test. This is not well-defined in distributed version-control systems so the setting is ignored.

CTest Configure Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_configure() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings include:

ConfigureCommand

Command-line to launch the software configuration process. It will be executed in the location specified by the BuildDirectory setting.

CTest Build Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_build() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings include:

DefaultCTestConfigurationType

When the build system to be launched allows build-time selection of the configuration (e.g. Debug, Release), this specifies the default configuration to be built when no -C option is given to the ctest command. The value will be substituted into the value of MakeCommand to replace the literal string ${CTEST_CONFIGURATION_TYPE} if it appears.

MakeCommand

Command-line to launch the software build process. It will be executed in the location specified by the BuildDirectory setting.

UseLaunchers

For build trees generated by CMake using one of the Makefile Generators or the Ninja generator, specify whether the CTEST_USE_LAUNCHERS feature is enabled by the CTestUseLaunchers module (also included by the CTest module). When enabled, the generated build system wraps each invocation of the compiler, linker, or custom command line with a “launcher” that communicates with CTest via environment variables and files to report granular build warning and error information. Otherwise, CTest must “scrape” the build output log for diagnostics.

CTest Test Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_test() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings include:

TestLoad

While running tests in parallel (e.g. with -j), try not to start tests when they may cause the CPU load to pass above a given threshold.

TimeOut

The default timeout for each test if not specified by the TIMEOUT test property.

CTest Coverage Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_coverage() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings include:

CoverageCommand

Command-line tool to perform software coverage analysis. It will be executed in the location specified by the BuildDirectory setting.

CoverageExtraFlags

Specify command-line options to the CoverageCommand tool.

CTest MemCheck Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_memcheck() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings include:

MemoryCheckCommand

Command-line tool to perform dynamic analysis. Test command lines will be launched through this tool.

MemoryCheckCommandOptions

Specify command-line options to the MemoryCheckCommand tool. They will be placed prior to the test command line.

MemoryCheckType

Specify the type of memory checking to perform.

MemoryCheckSanitizerOptions

Specify options to sanitizers when running with a sanitize-enabled build.

MemoryCheckSuppressionFile

Specify a file containing suppression rules for the MemoryCheckCommand tool. It will be passed with options appropriate to the tool.

Additional configuration settings include:

BoundsCheckerCommand

Specify a MemoryCheckCommand that is known to be command-line compatible with Bounds Checker.

PurifyCommand

Specify a MemoryCheckCommand that is known to be command-line compatible with Purify.

ValgrindCommand

Specify a MemoryCheckCommand that is known to be command-line compatible with Valgrind.

ValgrindCommandOptions

Specify command-line options to the ValgrindCommand tool. They will be placed prior to the test command line.

CTest Submit Step

In a CTest Script, the ctest_submit() command runs this step. Arguments to the command may specify some of the step settings.

Configuration settings include:

BuildName

Describe the dashboard client platform with a short string. (Operating system, compiler, etc.)

CDashVersion

Specify the version of CDash on the server.

  • CTest Script variable: none, detected from server

  • CTest module variable: CTEST_CDASH_VERSION

CTestSubmitRetryCount

Specify a number of attempts to retry submission on network failure.

CTestSubmitRetryDelay

Specify a delay before retrying submission on network failure.

CurlOptions

Specify a semicolon-separated list of options to control the Curl library that CTest uses internally to connect to the server. Possible options are CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER_OFF and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST_OFF.

DropLocation

The path on the dashboard server to send the submission.

DropMethod

Specify the method by which results should be submitted to the dashboard server. The value may be cp, ftp, http, https, scp, or xmlrpc (if CMake was built with support for it).

DropSite

The dashboard server name (for ftp, http, and https, scp, and xmlrpc).

DropSitePassword

The dashboard server login password, if any (for ftp, http, and https).

DropSiteUser

The dashboard server login user name, if any (for ftp, http, and https).

IsCDash

Specify whether the dashboard server is CDash or an older dashboard server implementation requiring TriggerSite.

ScpCommand

scp command-line tool to use when DropMethod is scp.

Site

Describe the dashboard client host site with a short string. (Hostname, domain, etc.)

TriggerSite

Legacy option to support older dashboard server implementations. Not used when IsCDash is true.

See Also

The following resources are available to get help using CMake:

Home Page

https://cmake.org

The primary starting point for learning about CMake.

Frequently Asked Questions

https://cmake.org/Wiki/CMake_FAQ

A Wiki is provided containing answers to frequently asked questions.

Online Documentation

https://cmake.org/documentation

Links to available documentation may be found on this web page.

Mailing List

https://cmake.org/mailing-lists

For help and discussion about using cmake, a mailing list is provided at cmake@cmake.org. The list is member-post-only but one may sign up on the CMake web page. Please first read the full documentation at https://cmake.org before posting questions to the list.