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SKILL.md
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill cmake
CMake build system skill for C/C++ projects. Use when writing or refactoring CMakeLists.txt, configuring out-of-source builds, selecting generators (Ninja, Make, VS), managing targets and dependencies with target_link_libraries, integrating external packages via find_package or FetchContent, enabling sanitizers, setting up toolchain files for cross-compilation, or exporting CMake packages. Activates on queries about CMakeLists.txt, cmake configure errors, target properties, install rules, CPack, or CMake presets.
npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill cmake
Guide agents through modern (target-first) CMake for C/C++ projects: out-of-source builds, dependency management, generator selection, and integration with CI and IDEs.
target_* commands.PUBLIC/PRIVATE/INTERFACE to control property propagation.include_directories() or link_libraries() (legacy).cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20) for most features.Build types: Debug, Release, RelWithDebInfo, MinSizeRel.
Generator expressions: $<condition:value> evaluated at build time.
Build: cmake -DENABLE_ASAN=ON -S . -B build-asan && cmake --build build-asan
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Could not find package Foo | Package not installed or wrong prefix | Install dev package; set CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH |
No CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER | No C++ compiler found | Install g++/clang++; check PATH |
target_link_libraries called with wrong number of arguments | Missing PUBLIC/PRIVATE/INTERFACE | Add the keyword |
Cannot find source file | Typo or wrong relative path | Check path relative to CMakeLists.txt |
generator expression error | Wrong $<> syntax | Check CMake docs for expression name |
For a complete CMakeLists.txt template, see references/templates.md.
skills/build-systems/ninja for Ninja generator detailsskills/build-systems/make for Make generatorskills/compilers/cross-gcc for cross-compilation toolchain setupskills/runtimes/sanitizers for sanitizer integration details# Static library
add_library(mylib STATIC lib/foo.c lib/bar.c)
target_include_directories(mylib
PUBLIC include # consumers get this include path
PRIVATE src # only mylib itself sees this
)
# Shared library
add_library(myshared SHARED lib/foo.c)
set_target_properties(myshared PROPERTIES
VERSION 1.0.0
SOVERSION 1
)
# Link executable against library
add_executable(myapp src/main.c)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE mylib)# Out-of-source build (always do this)
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build
# With generator
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja
cmake --build build -- -j$(nproc)
# Debug build
cmake -S . -B build-debug -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake --build build-debug
# Release
cmake -S . -B build-release -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build-release
# Install
cmake --install build --prefix /usr/localfind_package(OpenSSL REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE OpenSSL::SSL OpenSSL::Crypto)
find_package(Threads REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE Threads::Threads)
find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE ZLIB::ZLIB)include(FetchContent)
FetchContent_Declare(
googletest
GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/google/googletest.git
GIT_TAG v1.14.0
)
FetchContent_MakeAvailable(googletest)
add_executable(mytest test/test_foo.cpp)
target_link_libraries(mytest PRIVATE GTest::gtest_main mylib)find_package(PkgConfig REQUIRED)
pkg_check_modules(LIBFOO REQUIRED libfoo>=1.2)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE ${LIBFOO_LIBRARIES})
target_include_directories(myapp PRIVATE ${LIBFOO_INCLUDE_DIRS})target_compile_options(myapp PRIVATE
$<$<CONFIG:Debug>:-g -Og -fsanitize=address>
$<$<CONFIG:Release>:-O2 -DNDEBUG>
$<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>:-fanalyzer>
$<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:Clang>:-Weverything>
)
target_link_options(myapp PRIVATE
$<$<CONFIG:Debug>:-fsanitize=address>
)option(ENABLE_ASAN "Enable AddressSanitizer" OFF)
if(ENABLE_ASAN)
target_compile_options(myapp PRIVATE -fsanitize=address -fno-omit-frame-pointer -g -O1)
target_link_options(myapp PRIVATE -fsanitize=address)
endif()# toolchain-aarch64.cmake
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME Linux)
set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR aarch64)
set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc)
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER aarch64-linux-gnu-g++)
set(CMAKE_SYSROOT /opt/aarch64-sysroot)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_PROGRAM NEVER)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_LIBRARY ONLY)
set(CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_PATH_MODE_INCLUDE ONLY)cmake -S . -B build-arm -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=toolchain-aarch64.cmake{
"version": 6,
"configurePresets": [
{
"name": "release",
"displayName": "Release",
"generator": "Ninja",
"binaryDir": "${sourceDir}/build/release",
"cacheVariables": {
"CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Release",
"CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS": "ON"
}
},
{
"name": "debug",
"displayName": "Debug",
"generator": "Ninja",
"binaryDir": "${sourceDir}/build/debug",
"cacheVariables": {
"CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE": "Debug",
"ENABLE_ASAN": "ON"
}
}
],
"buildPresets": [
{ "name": "release", "configurePreset": "release" },
{ "name": "debug", "configurePreset": "debug" }
]
}cmake --preset release
cmake --build --preset release