Minimal CMake Example

This project is a minimal, self-contained CMake example. It demonstrates how to structure sources, resources, optional dependencies, unit tests, and packaging — all from a single CMakeLists.txt file.

It was created because the official CMake documentation tends to focus on peripheral concerns — such as generating configuration headers — rather than the practical essentials of setting up a real project. This example takes the opposite approach: compile the source cleanly, with no generated magic, and keep all build logic visible in one place.

A configuration header is something this project deliberately avoids. In my opinion, generating one makes the build unnecessarily complicated and harder for tools that work on source code. Similarly, one CMakeLists.txt at the root should be sufficient for most projects. Scattering build instructions across multiple subdirectories adds friction without adding clarity.

Boost Filesystem/System are used as an optional example of an external dependency. If CMake cannot find Boost on your system, the project falls back to std::filesystem automatically. The build will succeed either way. You can also point CMake to a custom Boost installation using ccmake or cmake-gui.

• CMake (3.16 or newer)
• A C++ compiler with C++17 support (AppleClang, Clang, GCC, or MSVC)

• Boost filesystem/system (optional)

  • If not found, this project falls back to std::filesystem.

• GoogleTest (optional, only needed to build and run unit tests)

  macOS (Homebrew)

  brew install googletest

  Ubuntu / Debian

  sudo apt install libgtest-dev

  Windows (vcpkg)

  vcpkg install gtest
  cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=<path\to\vcpkg>\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake

  Alternatively, with vcpkg integrated:

  vcpkg integrate install

Configure and build from the repository root:

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j

Run the sample executable:

./build/example

If GoogleTest is installed and found by CMake, the unit_tests target is built and tests are registered with CTest.

Run tests with:

ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

If GoogleTest is not installed, the project still configures and builds, but no tests are discovered.

Create distributable packages with CPack:

cpack --config build/CPackConfig.cmake