CMake is a tool to manage building of source code. Originally, CMake was
designed as a generator for various dialects of Makefile
, today
CMake generates modern buildsystems such as Ninja
as well as project
files for IDEs such as Visual Studio and Xcode.
CMake is widely used for the C and C++ languages, but it may be used to build source code of other languages too.
People encountering CMake for the first time may have different initial goals. To learn how to build a source code package downloaded from the internet, start with the :guide:`User Interaction Guide`. This will detail the steps needed to run the :manual:`cmake(1)` or :manual:`cmake-gui(1)` executable and how to choose a generator, and how to complete the build.
The :guide:`Using Dependencies Guide` is aimed at developers wishing to get started using a third-party library.
For developers starting a project using CMake, the :guide:`CMake Tutorial` is a suitable starting point. The :manual:`cmake-buildsystem(7)` manual is aimed at developers expanding their knowledge of maintaining a buildsystem and becoming familiar with the build targets that can be represented in CMake. The :manual:`cmake-packages(7)` manual explains how to create packages which can easily be consumed by third-party CMake-based buildsystems.
.. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 /manual/cmake.1 /manual/ctest.1 /manual/cpack.1
.. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 /manual/cmake-gui.1 /manual/ccmake.1
.. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 /manual/cmake-buildsystem.7 /manual/cmake-commands.7 /manual/cmake-compile-features.7 /manual/cmake-developer.7 /manual/cmake-env-variables.7 /manual/cmake-file-api.7 /manual/cmake-generator-expressions.7 /manual/cmake-generators.7 /manual/cmake-language.7 /manual/cmake-modules.7 /manual/cmake-packages.7 /manual/cmake-policies.7 /manual/cmake-presets.7 /manual/cmake-properties.7 /manual/cmake-qt.7 /manual/cmake-server.7 /manual/cmake-toolchains.7 /manual/cmake-variables.7 /manual/cpack-generators.7
.. only:: not man Guides ###### .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 /guide/tutorial/index /guide/user-interaction/index /guide/using-dependencies/index /guide/importing-exporting/index /guide/ide-integration/index
.. only:: html or text Release Notes ############# .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 /release/index
.. only:: html Index and Search ################ * :ref:`genindex` * :ref:`search`