A simple example

This is a simple yet complete example of a proper CMakeLists. For this program, we have one library (MyLibExample) with a header file and a source file, and one application, MyExample, with one source file.

# Almost all CMake files should start with this# You should always specify a range with the newest# and oldest tested versions of CMake. This will ensure# you pick up the best policies.cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.15...3.31)# This is your project statement. You should always list languages;# Listing the version is nice here since it sets lots of useful variablesproject(  ModernCMakeExample  VERSION 1.0  LANGUAGES CXX)# If you set any CMAKE_ variables, that can go here.# (But usually don't do this, except maybe for C++ standard)# Find packages go here.# You should usually split this into folders, but this is a simple example# This is a "default" library, and will match the *** variable setting.# Other common choices are STATIC, SHARED, and MODULE# Including header files here helps IDEs but is not required.# Output libname matches target name, with the usual extensions on your systemadd_library(MyLibExample simple_lib.cpp simple_lib.hpp)# Link each target with other targets or add options, etc.# Adding something we can run - Output name matches target nameadd_executable(MyExample simple_example.cpp)# Make sure you link your targets with this command. It can also link libraries and# even flags, so linking a target that does not exist will not give a configure-time error.target_link_libraries(MyExample PRIVATE MyLibExample)

The complete example is available in examples folder.

A larger, multi-file example is also available.