cmake exclude executable during install

Question

How to configure/hack cmake to build particular executable added with add_executable() but do not install it?

The executable is a unit test and will eventually be handled with add_test but for now I just want to strip test binaries off the release touching as little as possible.

Thanks

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:30

Since EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL has undefined behavior if combined with INSTALL (cmake tries to warn you, it doesn't matter if OPTIONAL is set), a solution guaranteed to work is more complicated.

You should:

Remove dependency of "install" target to "all" target (once, in the main CMakeLists.txt):

set(CMAKE_SKIP_INSTALL_ALL_DEPENDENCY true)
Add OPTIONAL to the INSTALL statements in your test libraries. Be aware of the possible bug of CMake I reported here
Collect separately all the targets you want to include in a custom "all_but_tests" CMake add_custom_target depending on whole project being built (most difficult step)
Create a custom all_but_tests target:

add_custom_target(all_but_tests DEPENDS <<list of targets>>)
Add a dependency of the target install to all_but_tests

add_dependency(install all_but_tests)

(Sorry, this I have never tried, feedback is welcome)
Create a custom tests target:

add_custom_target(my_tests DEPENDS <<list of tests>>)

Then (supposing you are using make, but will work also for ninja):

You can call make install, which triggers make all_but_tests, and installs once built is complete.
You can call make my_tests, and then make install, in this case it will install everything. You can concatenate the commands like this

make my_tests && make install

or, since there is not difference in this case:

make [all] && make install

I was attracted by this question because I recently had to face a similar problem: Installing only one target and its dependencies

Edit:

add_dependency(install all_but_tests) will probably not work.

So, either you use an adequate workaround, or you call

make all_but_tests && make install

everytime you want to install "all_but_tests"

sakra · Accepted Answer · 2013-06-21T17:07:30.597

6

CMake will only install an executable target if you apply the install function to it, i.e.:

 install(TARGETS ExecutableTest RUNTIME DESTINATION "bin")

To prevent the installation of the ExecutableTest for a Release build, add a CONFIGURATIONS restriction:

 install(TARGETS ExecutableTest RUNTIME DESTINATION "bin" CONFIGURATIONS Debug)

Alternatively, you can make ExecutableTest an optional target, which is not built by default:

add_executable(ExecutableTest EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL ${ExecutableTestFiles})

and then optionally only install the ExecutableTest if it has been built explicitly:

 install(TARGETS ExecutableTest RUNTIME DESTINATION "bin" OPTIONAL)

All optional test targets can be pooled in a super target to allow for building them in one step:

add_custom_target(MyTests DEPENDS ExecutableTest ExecutableTest2 ExecutableTest3)

edited Jun 21 '13 at 17:07

answered Nov 14 '12 at 15:48

sakra

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I need it for both Debug and Release, so first suggestion, although feasible won't work. the one with optional target seems exactly what I want, am going to give it a try in a sec and will give this answer a chevron soon after. – bobah Nov 14 '12 at 16:30
The #2 did prevent tests from being built, Is there a way to group all these optional targets to be able to say "make mytests"? – bobah Nov 15 '12 at 07:52
1

shouldn't it be `add_custom_target(MyTests DEPENDS ExecutableTest ExecutableTest2 ExecutableTest3)`, so adding **DEPENDS** keyword? – Antonio Jun 21 '13 at 09:24
@Antonio. Thanks for spotting the mistake. I have updated the answer. – sakra Jun 21 '13 at 17:08

cmake exclude executable during install

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