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How to Clean A Build Folder In Cmake?

5 minutes read

To clean a build folder in CMake, you simply need to remove the contents of the build directory. This can be done manually by navigating to the build folder in your file system and deleting all files and subdirectories within it.


Alternatively, you can use tools such as the rm command in the terminal to delete the contents of the build folder.


Another option is to use the make clean command if you are using a Makefile generated by CMake. This command will remove all the compiled object files and executables in the build folder.


Once you have cleaned the build folder, you can recompile your project by running CMake again and rebuilding the project from scratch.


How to delete files in a CMake build directory?

To delete files in a CMake build directory, you can use standard shell commands or write a custom script to remove specific files or all files in the directory. Here are a few options:

  1. Use the rm command in the terminal to delete specific files or directories in the build directory. For example, to delete a specific file named "example.txt", you can run: rm build/example.txt
  2. To delete all files in the build directory, you can run: rm -r build/* This will recursively delete all files and directories in the build directory. Please use this command with caution as it will permanently remove all files from the directory.
  3. You can also write a custom clean-up script in CMake to delete specific files or directories during the build process. Here is an example of how you can define a custom target to clean-up the build directory: add_custom_target(clean-build COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove_directory ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR} ) Once you have defined this custom target in your CMakeLists.txt file, you can run make clean-build to delete all files in the build directory.


Remember to be cautious when deleting files in a build directory as it may affect the build process and potentially cause unexpected behavior in your project.


How to clean CMake target files?

To clean CMake target files, you can use the make clean command in the CMake build directory. This command will remove all the generated target files and intermediate build artifacts.


Here's how you can clean CMake target files:

  1. Open a terminal and navigate to the CMake build directory where the target files are located.
  2. Run the make clean command in the terminal. This will trigger CMake to clean up the build directory by removing all the generated target files.
  3. If you have multiple target files and want to clean a specific target, you can run make clean target_name instead. Replace target_name with the name of the target you want to clean.
  4. Once the cleaning process is complete, you can re-build the project by running cmake .. followed by make to generate new target files.


By following these steps, you can clean CMake target files and ensure that your build directory is free of unnecessary files.


How to clean a CMake build folder before recompiling?

  1. Open a terminal or command prompt.
  2. Navigate to the root directory of your project where the CMakeLists.txt file is located.
  3. Run the following command to remove the existing build folder:
1

rm -rf build


or

1

rmdir /s build


  1. Create a new build folder:
1

mkdir build


  1. Navigate to the build folder:
1

cd build


  1. Run CMake to generate the makefiles or project files:
1

cmake ..


This will reconfigure the build system with the updated source files and dependencies. 7. Recompile your project:

1

make


or

1

cmake --build .


Your project should now be recompiled with the cleaned build folder.


How to delete CMake build outputs?

To delete CMake build outputs, you can follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the build directory where CMake generated its build files. This could be the build directory within your project directory.
  2. Delete all files and folders within the build directory. This can be done using the rm -rf command in the terminal on Unix-based systems or using the del command on Windows.
  3. If you want to clean the build completely, you can also delete the build directory itself.
  4. Additionally, you can also remove any CMake cache files (e.g., CMakeCache.txt, CMakeFiles, CMakeScripts) that may have been generated in your project directory.


After following these steps, all CMake build outputs should be deleted from your project directory, and you can regenerate them by running CMake again and rebuilding your project.


How to delete old CMake build logs?

To delete old CMake build logs, you can follow these steps:

  1. Locate the directory where your CMake build logs are stored. This is usually the build directory where you run the CMake command to generate the build files.
  2. Use a file manager or command line interface to navigate to the build directory.
  3. Look for any files or directories related to CMake build logs. This can include files with names like "CMakeOutput.log", "CMakeError.log", or "CMakeFiles/" directory.
  4. Delete the CMake build log files or directories. You can either delete them directly from the file manager or use the "rm" command in the command line interface.
  5. You can also use the CMake command "make clean" to clean up the build directory and remove any generated files, including build logs.


By following these steps, you can effectively delete old CMake build logs and clean up your build directory.


How to clean up CMake compiled binaries?

To clean up CMake compiled binaries, you can follow these steps:

  1. Use the make clean command if you are building CMake projects using Makefiles. This command will remove all compiled binaries and object files from the build directory.
  2. Use the cmake --build . --target clean command if you are using the CMake build system directly. This will clean up all compiled binaries and object files from the build directory.
  3. Manually delete the build directory if you want to completely remove all compiled binaries and object files. This can be done by navigating to the build directory in your terminal and using the rm -rf command.
  4. Use the cmake --build . --target install command if you have already installed the binaries and want to uninstall them. This will remove the installed binaries from the system.


By following these steps, you can effectively clean up CMake compiled binaries and keep your build directory clean and organized.

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