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How to Build Single Executable Binary With Cmake In Linux?

5 minutes read

To build a single executable binary with CMake in Linux, you can create a CMakeLists.txt file in your project directory that specifies the source files, dependencies, and build instructions. Then, use the cmake command to generate a build system (e.g., Makefile) in a separate build directory. Next, run the make command to compile the code and create the executable binary. Finally, you can find the executable binary in the build directory, ready to be executed on any Linux system without additional dependencies.


How to set up a CMake project in Linux?

To set up a CMake project in Linux, follow these steps:

  1. Install CMake: Make sure you have CMake installed on your Linux system. You can install it using your package manager (e.g., apt, yum, etc.) For example, on Ubuntu, you can install CMake by running:
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sudo apt-get install cmake


  1. Create a CMakeLists.txt file: Create a file named "CMakeLists.txt" in the root directory of your project. This file will contain the instructions for the CMake build system. Here is a basic example of a CMakeLists.txt file:
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cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(MyProject)

# Add all your source files here
add_executable(MyExecutable main.cpp)


  1. Create your source files: Add your source code files (e.g., .cpp, .h) to your project directory. In the example above, we have a single source file named "main.cpp".
  2. Run CMake: Open a terminal window, navigate to the root directory of your project, and run the following commands: 
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mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..


This will create a build directory and generate the necessary build files based on the instructions in your CMakeLists.txt file.

  1. Build your project: Once CMake has successfully generated the build files, you can build your project by running:
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make


This will compile your source code and create the executable specified in your CMakeLists.txt file.

  1. Run your executable: Once the build process is complete, you can run your executable by typing:
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./MyExecutable


That's it! Your CMake project is now set up and you can start developing your application using the CMake build system on Linux.


How to create a standalone executable with CMake in Linux?

To create a standalone executable with CMake in Linux, you can follow these steps:

  1. Create a CMakeLists.txt file in your project directory. This file will contain the configuration settings for your project.
  2. Add the following lines to your CMakeLists.txt file: 
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cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(MyProject)

add_executable(my_executable main.cpp)


Replace MyProject with the name of your project and main.cpp with the name of your main source file.

  1. Create a build directory and navigate to it in the terminal:
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mkdir build
cd build


  1. Run CMake from the build directory to generate the makefiles:
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cmake ..


  1. Build your project using make:
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make


This will create the standalone executable in the build directory.

  1. You can now run your executable from the build directory:
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./my_executable


That's it! You have successfully created a standalone executable with CMake in Linux.


What are compiler flags in CMake in Linux?

Compiler flags in CMake in Linux are options that can be specified to customize the behavior of the compiler during the compilation process. These flags can be used to enable or disable certain features, optimize the code, or specify additional options for compilation.


Some common compiler flags in CMake for Linux include:

  • -O: This flag is used to specify the optimization level for the compiler. Options include -O0 for no optimization, -O1 for optimization for faster code, -O2 for more aggressive optimization, and -O3 for the highest level of optimization.
  • -Wall: This flag enables a large set of warning messages to help catch potential issues in the code.
  • -std: This flag is used to specify the C++ standard to be used during compilation, such as -std=c++11 or -std=c++14.
  • -I: This flag is used to specify additional include directories for the compiler to search for header files.
  • -L and -l: These flags are used to specify additional library directories and libraries to link against during compilation.


These flags can be set in the CMakeLists.txt file using the add_compile_options command or passed as arguments to the add_executable or target_compile_options commands in the CMake build script.


How to create a CMakeLists.txt file in Linux?

To create a CMakeLists.txt file in Linux, follow these steps:

  1. Open a text editor such as Vim, Nano, or Gedit.
  2. Create a new file and save it as CMakeLists.txt in the root directory of your project.
  3. Add the necessary commands to the CMakeLists.txt file to configure your project. This typically includes specifying the project name, minimum CMake version required, and any dependencies or libraries that your project uses.
  4. Save the file and exit the text editor.


Here is an example of a simple CMakeLists.txt file that you can use as a template:

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cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(MyProject)

# Add source files
add_executable(MyProject main.cpp)

# Link libraries
target_link_libraries(MyProject ${DEPENDENCIES})


Remember to replace "MyProject" with the actual name of your project and "main.cpp" with the source files of your project. You can also add additional commands to configure your project as needed.


What is a CMakeLists.txt file in Linux?

A CMakeLists.txt file is a configuration file used by the CMake build system to generate the necessary makefiles for building a project on Linux. This file contains instructions for building the project, including information about the source files, libraries, and dependencies needed. CMake is a popular cross-platform tool used to manage the build process of software projects, making it easier to build and maintain complex projects on Linux and other operating systems.


How to install CMake targets in Linux?

  1. First, ensure CMake is installed on your system. You can check this by running the following command in the terminal:
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cmake --version


  1. Next, navigate to the directory containing your CMake project. Create a build directory to separate the source code from the build files:
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mkdir build
cd build


  1. Run CMake from the build directory and point it to the location of your CMakeLists.txt file:
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cmake ..


  1. Once CMake has generated the necessary build files, you can build the project using the following command:
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make


  1. If your project has multiple targets, you can specify which target(s) to build by running the following command:
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make <target_name>


  1. To install the built targets to a specific directory, use the following command:
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make install


By default, the installed targets will go to the CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX directory specified in your CMakeLists.txt file.

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