Account
Sign in to you account
Sign In Sign Up

How to Set A Search Library Path In Cmake?

5 minutes read

In CMake, you can set a search library path using the "link_directories" command. This command allows you to specify additional directories where CMake should search for libraries when linking your project. By using this command, you can ensure that CMake is able to find and link against the necessary libraries for your project. To set a search library path in CMake, simply use the "link_directories" command followed by the path to the directory where the libraries are located. This will instruct CMake to search that directory when linking your project.


How to set custom library search paths in a CMake project?

You can set custom library search paths in a CMake project by using the LINK_DIRECTORIES command or by specifying the library search paths directly in the target_link_libraries command.


Here is an example of how you can use the LINK_DIRECTORIES command to specify custom library search paths in your CMakeLists.txt file:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

# Set custom library search paths
LINK_DIRECTORIES(/path/to/custom/library/directory)

# Add your executable or library target
add_executable(my_executable my_source.cpp)

# Link your executable or library with the custom libraries
target_link_libraries(my_executable my_custom_library)


Alternatively, you can specify the custom library search paths directly in the target_link_libraries command like this:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

# Add your executable or library target
add_executable(my_executable my_source.cpp)

# Link your executable or library with the custom libraries and specify the library search paths
target_link_libraries(my_executable 
    my_custom_library
    -L/path/to/custom/library/directory
)


By specifying the custom library search paths in either of these ways, CMake will be able to find and link your custom libraries correctly during the build process.


How to set search paths for shared libraries in CMake?

To set search paths for shared libraries in CMake, you can use the LINK_DIRECTORIES command. Here's an example of how to use it in your CMakeLists.txt file:

  1. Add the following line to your CMakeLists.txt file to specify the path to the directory containing the shared libraries:
1

LINK_DIRECTORIES(/path/to/shared/libraries)


  1. Make sure to replace /path/to/shared/libraries with the actual path to the directory containing your shared libraries.
  2. After setting the search path for shared libraries, you can link them to your target using the target_link_libraries command. For example: 
1

target_link_libraries(your_target_name library_name)


Replace your_target_name with the name of your target executable or library, and library_name with the name of the shared library you want to link.

  1. Make sure to run cmake . and make after making these changes to your CMakeLists.txt file to regenerate the build system and build your project with the updated search paths for shared libraries.


How to set search paths for libraries using environment variables in CMake?

To set search paths for libraries using environment variables in CMake, you can use the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH variable. This variable tells CMake to search for libraries and headers in the directories specified in the environment variable.


Here is an example of how to set search paths for libraries using environment variables in CMake:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10

# Set the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH variable to include the directory specified in the environment variable
if(DEFINED ENV{CUSTOM_LIBRARY_PATH})
    list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH $ENV{CUSTOM_LIBRARY_PATH})
endif()

# Find the library using the find_package command
find_package(MyLibrary REQUIRED)

# Add the library to the target
target_link_libraries(MyTarget PUBLIC MyLibrary)


In this example, we first check if the CUSTOM_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable is defined. If it is, we append its value to the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH variable. This tells CMake to search for libraries in the directory specified in the environment variable.


Next, we use the find_package command to locate the library we want to use. Finally, we link the library to our target using the target_link_libraries command.


By setting search paths for libraries using environment variables in CMake, you can easily manage library dependencies and ensure that your project can find the necessary libraries at build time.


How to define library search paths in a CMakeLists file?

To define library search paths in a CMakeLists file, you can use the link_directories command.


Here is an example:

1
2
3
4
5

# Specify the directory where the library files are located
link_directories(/path/to/library)

# Specify the libraries you want to link to
target_link_libraries(your_target_name library_name)


Replace /path/to/library with the actual path to the directory containing the library files, your_target_name with the name of your target, and library_name with the name of the library you want to link to.


You can also use the link_directories command multiple times if you have multiple library search paths that you want to specify.


How to set a search library path in CMake for Windows?

To set a search library path in CMake for Windows, you can use the link_directories() CMake command.


Here's an example of how you can set a search library path in CMake for Windows:

1
2
3
4
5

# Add the directory containing the library files to the library search path
link_directories(path/to/library)

# Add the necessary libraries to your project 
target_link_libraries(your_project_name library_name)


Replace path/to/library with the path to the directory containing your library files and library_name with the name of the library you want to link to your project.


Make sure to add these lines to your CMakeLists.txt file before the add_executable() or add_library() command in order to link the libraries correctly to your project.


How to set search paths for both static and shared libraries in CMake?

To set search paths for both static and shared libraries in CMake, you can use the link_directories() command to specify additional directories to search for libraries.


Here is an example of how to set search paths for both static and shared libraries in CMake:

1
2
3
4
5

# Set search path for static libraries
link_directories(/path/to/static/libraries)

# Set search path for shared libraries
link_directories(/path/to/shared/libraries)


After setting the search paths, you can use the target_link_libraries() command to link your target with the static and shared libraries:

1
2
3
4
5

# Link with static library
target_link_libraries(mytarget my_static_lib)

# Link with shared library
target_link_libraries(mytarget my_shared_lib)


Make sure to replace /path/to/static/libraries, /path/to/shared/libraries, my_static_lib, my_shared_lib, and mytarget with the actual paths and names in your project.


By setting the search paths for both static and shared libraries in CMake, you ensure that the linker can find and link the necessary libraries during the build process.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Whatsapp

Related Posts:

Where Is the Cmake Executable on Ubuntu?
The cmake executable is typically located in the /usr/bin directory on Ubuntu systems. You can check for its specific location by running the command which cmake in your terminal. This will provide you with the full path to the cmake executable on your Ubuntu ...
How Does Cmake Find Files?
CMake uses a series of search paths to find files within a project. By default, CMake will search for files in the current source directory, the CMake module path, the CMake system module path, and any directories specified by the find_package() command. Addit...
How to Use Cmake on Mac?
To use CMake on Mac, you first need to install CMake on your system. You can do this by downloading the CMake installer from the official CMake website and running the installer.Once CMake is installed, you can use it to generate makefiles for your project by ...
How to Add A Library Path In Cmake?
To add a library path in CMake, you can use the link_directories() command. This command allows you to specify additional directories where CMake should search for libraries when linking your project. Simply provide the path to the directory containing the lib...
How to Set A Cmake Path From Command Line?
To set a cmake path from the command line, you can use the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH environment variable. This variable allows you to specify one or more paths where CMake should look for packages and dependencies.To set the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH from the command line, y...