CPACK(1)

NAME
cpack - CPack Command-Line Reference

SYNOPSIS

    cpack [<options>]

DESCRIPTION

The cpack executable is the CMake packaging program. It generates installers and source packages in a variety of formats.

For each installer or package format, cpack has a specific backend, called "generator". A generator is responsible for generating the required inputs and invoking the specific package creation tools. These installer or package generators are not to be confused with the makefile generators of the cmake <#manual:cmake(1)> command.

All supported generators are specified in the cpack-generators <#manual:cpack-generators(7)> manual. The command cpack --help prints a list of generators supported for the target platform. Which of them are to be used can be selected through the CPACK_GENERATOR <#variable:CPACK_GENERATOR> variable or through the command-line option -G.

The cpack program is steered by a configuration file written in the CMake language <#manual:cmake-language(7)>. Unless chosen differently through the command-line option --config, the file CPackConfig.cmake in the current directory is used.

In the standard CMake workflow, the file CPackConfig.cmake is generated by the cmake <#manual:cmake(1)> executable, provided the CPack <#module:CPack> module is included by the project's CMakeLists.txt file.

OPTIONS

-G <generators>
    <generators> is a semicolon-separated list <#cmake-language-lists> of generator names. cpack will iterate through this list and produce package(s) in that generator's format according to the details provided in the CPackConfig.cmake configuration file. If this option is not given, the CPACK_GENERATOR <#variable:CPACK_GENERATOR> variable determines the default set of generators that will be used.

-C <configurations>
    Specify the project configuration(s) to be packaged (e.g. Debug, Release, etc.), where <configurations> is a semicolon-separated list <#cmake-language-lists>. When the CMake project uses a multi-configuration generator such as Xcode <#generator:Xcode> or Visual Studio <#visual-studio-generators>, this option is needed to tell cpack which built executables to include in the package. The user is responsible for ensuring that the configuration(s) listed have already been built before invoking cpack.

-D <var>=<value>
    Set a CPack variable. This will override any value set for <var> in the input file read by cpack.

--config <configFile>
    Specify the configuration file read by cpack to provide the packaging details. By default, CPackConfig.cmake in the current directory will be used.

-V, --verbose
    Run cpack with verbose output. This can be used to show more details from the package generation tools and is suitable for project developers.

--debug
    Run cpack with debug output. This option is intended mainly for the developers of cpack itself and is not normally needed by project developers.

--trace
    Put the underlying cmake scripts in trace mode.

--trace-expand
    Put the underlying cmake scripts in expanded trace mode.

-P <packageName>
    Override/define the value of the CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME> variable used for packaging. Any value set for this variable in the CPackConfig.cmake file will then be ignored.

-R <packageVersion>
    Override/define the value of the CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION> variable used for packaging. It will override a value set in the CPackConfig.cmake file or one automatically computed from CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR>, CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR> and CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH>.

-B <packageDirectory>
    Override/define CPACK_PACKAGE_DIRECTORY <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_DIRECTORY>, which controls the directory where CPack will perform its packaging work. The resultant package(s) will be created at this location by default and a _CPack_Packages subdirectory will also be created below this directory to use as a working area during package creation.

--vendor <vendorName>
    Override/define CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR <#variable:CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR>.

--preset <preset>, --preset=<preset>
    Use a package preset <#manual:cmake-presets(7)> to specify package options. The project binary directory is inferred from the configurePreset <#cmakepresets-packagepresets-configurepreset> key.

    Changed in version 4.4: If --presets-file is specified, neither of CMakePresets.json nor CMakeUserPresets.json are required to be present. Otherwise, they are required to be present in the top level source directory. In prior versions, this was strictly required.

--presets-file <file>, --presets-file=<file>
    Added in version 4.4.

    Reads presets <#manual:cmake-presets(7)> from the given <file>. The specified path may be absolute or relative to the current working directory. If --presets-file is given, presets defined in CMakePresets.json and CMakeUserPresets.json will be ignored.

--list-presets
    Lists the available package presets.

    Changed in version 4.4: If --presets-file is specified, neither of CMakePresets.json nor CMakeUserPresets.json are required to be present, and only presets defined in the given <file> will be listed. Otherwise, they are required to be present in the top level source directory. In prior versions, this was strictly required.

-version[=json-v1] [<file>], --version[=json-v1] [<file>], /V[=json-v1] [<file>], /version[=json-v1] [<file>]
    Show program name/version banner and exit. If json-v1 is specified, print extended version information in JSON format. The JSON output contains the versions for the CMake and its dependencies. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

    The JSON output format is described in machine-readable form by this JSON schema.

-h, -H, --help, -help, -usage, /?
    Print usage information and exit.

    Usage describes the basic command line interface and its options.

--help <keyword> [<file>]
    Print help for one CMake keyword.

    <keyword> can be a property, variable, command, policy, generator or module.

    The relevant manual entry for <keyword> is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

    Changed in version 3.28: Prior to CMake 3.28, this option supported command names only.

--help-full [<file>]
    Print all help manuals and exit.

    All manuals are printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-manual <man> [<file>]
    Print one help manual and exit.

    The specified manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-manual-list [<file>]
    List help manuals available and exit.

    The list contains all manuals for which help may be obtained by using the --help-manual option followed by a manual name. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-command <cmd> [<file>]
    Print help for one command and exit.

    The cmake-commands(7) <#manual:cmake-commands(7)> manual entry for <cmd> is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-command-list [<file>]
    List commands with help available and exit.

    The list contains all commands for which help may be obtained by using the --help-command option followed by a command name. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-commands [<file>]
    Print cmake-commands manual and exit.

    The cmake-commands(7) <#manual:cmake-commands(7)> manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-module <mod> [<file>]
    Print help for one module and exit.

    The cmake-modules(7) <#manual:cmake-modules(7)> manual entry for <mod> is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-module-list [<file>]
    List modules with help available and exit.

    The list contains all modules for which help may be obtained by using the --help-module option followed by a module name. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-modules [<file>]
    Print cmake-modules manual and exit.

    The cmake-modules(7) <#manual:cmake-modules(7)> manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-policy <cmp> [<file>]
    Print help for one policy and exit.

    The cmake-policies(7) <#manual:cmake-policies(7)> manual entry for <cmp> is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-policy-list [<file>]
    List policies with help available and exit.

    The list contains all policies for which help may be obtained by using the --help-policy option followed by a policy name. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-policies [<file>]
    Print cmake-policies manual and exit.

    The cmake-policies(7) <#manual:cmake-policies(7)> manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-property <prop> [<file>]
    Print help for one property and exit.

    The cmake-properties(7) <#manual:cmake-properties(7)> manual entries for <prop> are printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-property-list [<file>]
    List properties with help available and exit.

    The list contains all properties for which help may be obtained by using the --help-property option followed by a property name. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-properties [<file>]
    Print cmake-properties manual and exit.

    The cmake-properties(7) <#manual:cmake-properties(7)> manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-variable <var> [<file>]
    Print help for one variable and exit.

    The cmake-variables(7) <#manual:cmake-variables(7)> manual entry for <var> is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-variable-list [<file>]
    List variables with help available and exit.

    The list contains all variables for which help may be obtained by using the --help-variable option followed by a variable name. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

--help-variables [<file>]
    Print cmake-variables manual and exit.

    The cmake-variables(7) <#manual:cmake-variables(7)> manual is printed in a human-readable text format. The output is printed to a named <file> if given.

SEE ALSO

The following resources are available to get help using CMake:

Home Page
    <https://cmake.org>

    The primary starting point for learning about CMake.

Online Documentation and Community Resources
    <https://cmake.org/documentation>

    Links to available documentation and community resources may be found on this web page.

Discourse Forum
    <https://discourse.cmake.org>

    The Discourse Forum hosts discussion and questions about CMake.

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