project

Set the name of the project.

Synopsis

project(<PROJECT-NAME> [<language-name>...])
project(<PROJECT-NAME>
        [VERSION <major>[.<minor>[.<patch>[.<tweak>]]]]
        [DESCRIPTION <project-description-string>]
        [HOMEPAGE_URL <url-string>]
        [LANGUAGES <language-name>...])

Sets the name of the project, and stores it in the variable PROJECT_NAME. When called from the top-level CMakeLists.txt also stores the project name in the variable CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME.

Also sets the variables:

PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR, <PROJECT-NAME>_SOURCE_DIR

Absolute path to the source directory for the project.

PROJECT_BINARY_DIR, <PROJECT-NAME>_BINARY_DIR

Absolute path to the binary directory for the project.

PROJECT_IS_TOP_LEVEL, <PROJECT-NAME>_IS_TOP_LEVEL

New in version 3.21.

Boolean value indicating whether the project is top-level.

Further variables are set by the optional arguments described in the following. If any of these arguments is not used, then the corresponding variables are set to the empty string.

Options

The options are:

VERSION <version>

Optional; may not be used unless policy CMP0048 is set to NEW.

Takes a <version> argument composed of non-negative integer components, i.e. <major>[.<minor>[.<patch>[.<tweak>]]], and sets the variables

• PROJECT_VERSION, <PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION

• PROJECT_VERSION_MAJOR, <PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_MAJOR

• PROJECT_VERSION_MINOR, <PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_MINOR

• PROJECT_VERSION_PATCH, <PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_PATCH

• PROJECT_VERSION_TWEAK, <PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_TWEAK.

New in version 3.12: When the project() command is called from the top-level CMakeLists.txt, then the version is also stored in the variable CMAKE_PROJECT_VERSION.

DESCRIPTION <project-description-string>

New in version 3.9.

Optional. Sets the variables

• PROJECT_DESCRIPTION, <PROJECT-NAME>_DESCRIPTION

to <project-description-string>. It is recommended that this description is a relatively short string, usually no more than a few words.

When the project() command is called from the top-level CMakeLists.txt, then the description is also stored in the variable CMAKE_PROJECT_DESCRIPTION.

New in version 3.12: Added the <PROJECT-NAME>_DESCRIPTION variable.

HOMEPAGE_URL <url-string>

New in version 3.12.

Optional. Sets the variables

• PROJECT_HOMEPAGE_URL, <PROJECT-NAME>_HOMEPAGE_URL

to <url-string>, which should be the canonical home URL for the project.

When the project() command is called from the top-level CMakeLists.txt, then the URL also is stored in the variable CMAKE_PROJECT_HOMEPAGE_URL.

LANGUAGES <language-name>...

Optional. Can also be specified without LANGUAGES keyword per the first, short signature.

Selects which programming languages are needed to build the project. Supported languages include C, CXX (i.e. C++), CUDA, OBJC (i.e. Objective-C), OBJCXX, Fortran, HIP, ISPC, and ASM. By default C and CXX are enabled if no language options are given. Specify language NONE, or use the LANGUAGES keyword and list no languages, to skip enabling any languages.

New in version 3.8: Added CUDA support.

New in version 3.16: Added OBJC and OBJCXX support.

New in version 3.18: Added ISPC support.

If enabling ASM, list it last so that CMake can check whether compilers for other languages like C work for assembly too.

The variables set through the VERSION, DESCRIPTION and HOMEPAGE_URL options are intended for use as default values in package metadata and documentation.

Code Injection

A number of variables can be defined by the user to specify files to include at different points during the execution of the project() command. The following outlines the steps performed during a project() call:

• New in version 3.15: For every project() call regardless of the project name, include the file named by CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE, if set.

• New in version 3.17: If the project() command specifies <PROJECT-NAME> as its project name, include the file named by CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE_BEFORE, if set.

• Set the various project-specific variables detailed in the Synopsis and Options sections above.

• For the very first project() call only:

  • If CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE is set, read it at least once. It may be read multiple times and it may also be read again when enabling languages later (see below).

  • Set the variables describing the host and target platforms. Language-specific variables might or might not be set at this point. On the first run, the only language-specific variables that might be defined are those a toolchain file may have set. On subsequent runs, language-specific variables cached from a previous run may be set.

  • New in version 3.24: Include each file listed in CMAKE_PROJECT_TOP_LEVEL_INCLUDES, if set. The variable is ignored by CMake thereafter.

• Enable any languages specified in the call, or the default languages if none were provided. The toolchain file may be re-read when enabling a language for the first time.

• New in version 3.15: For every project() call regardless of the project name, include the file named by CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE, if set.

• If the project() command specifies <PROJECT-NAME> as its project name, include the file named by CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE, if set.

Usage

The top-level CMakeLists.txt file for a project must contain a literal, direct call to the project() command; loading one through the include() command is not sufficient. If no such call exists, CMake will issue a warning and pretend there is a project(Project) at the top to enable the default languages (C and CXX).

Note

Call the project() command near the top of the top-level CMakeLists.txt, but after calling cmake_minimum_required(). It is important to establish version and policy settings before invoking other commands whose behavior they may affect. See also policy CMP0000.