cmake_path — CMake 4.3.2 Documentation

# cmake_path

Added in version 3.20.

This command is for the manipulation of paths. Only syntactic aspects of paths are handled, there is no interaction of any kind with any underlying file system. The path may represent a non-existing path or even one that is not allowed to exist on the current file system or platform. For operations that do interact with the filesystem, see the `file()` command.

Note

The `cmake_path` command handles paths in the format of the build system (i.e. the host platform), not the target system. When cross-compiling, if the path contains elements that are not representable on the host platform (e.g. a drive letter when the host is not Windows), the results will be unpredictable.

## Synopsis

    Conventions

    Path Structure And Terminology

    Normalization

    Decomposition
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> ROOT_NAME <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> ROOT_DIRECTORY <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> ROOT_PATH <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> FILENAME <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> EXTENSION [LAST_ONLY] <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> STEM [LAST_ONLY] <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> RELATIVE_PART <out-var>)
      cmake_path(GET <path-var> PARENT_PATH <out-var>)

    Query
      cmake_path(HAS_ROOT_NAME <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_ROOT_DIRECTORY <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_ROOT_PATH <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_FILENAME <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_EXTENSION <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_STEM <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_RELATIVE_PART <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(HAS_PARENT_PATH <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(IS_ABSOLUTE <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(IS_RELATIVE <path-var> <out-var>)
      cmake_path(IS_PREFIX <path-var> <input> [NORMALIZE] <out-var>)

    Comparison
      cmake_path(COMPARE <input1> <op> <input2> <out-var>)

    Modification
      cmake_path(SET <path-var> [NORMALIZE] <input>)
      cmake_path(APPEND <path-var> [<input>...] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(APPEND_STRING <path-var> [<input>...] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(REMOVE_FILENAME <path-var> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(REPLACE_FILENAME <path-var> <input> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(REMOVE_EXTENSION <path-var> [LAST_ONLY] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(REPLACE_EXTENSION <path-var> [LAST_ONLY] <input> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

    Generation
      cmake_path(NORMAL_PATH <path-var> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(RELATIVE_PATH <path-var> [BASE_DIRECTORY <input>] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])
      cmake_path(ABSOLUTE_PATH <path-var> [BASE_DIRECTORY <input>] [NORMALIZE] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

    Native Conversion
      cmake_path(NATIVE_PATH <path-var> [NORMALIZE] <out-var>)
      cmake_path(CONVERT <input> TO_CMAKE_PATH_LIST <out-var> [NORMALIZE])
      cmake_path(CONVERT <input> TO_NATIVE_PATH_LIST <out-var> [NORMALIZE])

    Hashing
      cmake_path(HASH <path-var> <out-var>)

## Conventions

The following conventions are used in this command's documentation:

`<path-var>`

  Always the name of a variable. For commands that expect a `<path-var>` as input, the variable must exist and it is expected to hold a single path.

`<input>`

  A string literal which may contain a path, path fragment, or multiple paths with a special separator depending on the command. See the description of each command to see how this is interpreted.

`<input>...`

  Zero or more string literal arguments.

`<out-var>`

  The name of a variable into which the result of a command will be written.

## Path Structure And Terminology

A path has the following structure (all components are optional, with some constraints):

    root-name root-directory-separator (item-name directory-separator)* filename

`root-name`

  Identifies the root on a filesystem with multiple roots (such as `"C:"` or `"//myserver"`). It is optional.

`root-directory-separator`

  A directory separator that, if present, indicates that this path is absolute. If it is missing and the first element other than the `root-name` is an `item-name`, then the path is relative.

`item-name`

  A sequence of characters that aren't directory separators. This name may identify a file, a hard link, a symbolic link, or a directory. Two special cases are recognized:

  - The item name consisting of a single dot character `.` is a directory name that refers to the current directory.

  - The item name consisting of two dot characters `..` is a directory name that refers to the parent directory.

  The `(...)*` pattern shown above is to indicate that there can be zero or more item names, with multiple items separated by a `directory-separator`. The `()*` characters are not part of the path.

`directory-separator`

  The only recognized directory separator is a forward slash character `/`. If this character is repeated, it is treated as a single directory separator. In other words, `/usr///////lib` is the same as `/usr/lib`.

`filename`

  A path has a `filename` if it does not end with a `directory-separator`. The `filename` is effectively the last `item-name` of the path, so it can also be a hard link, symbolic link or a directory.

  A `filename` can have an extension. By default, the extension is defined as the sub-string beginning at the left-most period (including the period) and until the end of the `filename`. In commands that accept a `LAST_ONLY` keyword, `LAST_ONLY` changes the interpretation to the sub-string beginning at the right-most period.

  The following exceptions apply to the above interpretation:

  - If the first character in the `filename` is a period, that period is ignored (i.e. a `filename` like `".profile"` is treated as having no extension).

  - If the `filename` is either `.` or `..`, it has no extension.

  The stem is the part of the `filename` before the extension.

Some commands refer to a `root-path`. This is the concatenation of `root-name` and `root-directory-separator`, either or both of which can be empty. A `relative-part` refers to the full path with any `root-path` removed.

## Creating A Path Variable

While a path can be created with care using an ordinary `set()` command, it is recommended to use `cmake_path(SET)` instead, as it automatically converts the path to the required form where required. The `cmake_path(APPEND)` subcommand may be another suitable alternative where a path needs to be constructed by joining fragments. The following example compares the three methods for constructing the same path:

    set(path1 "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/data")

    cmake_path(SET path2 "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/data")

    cmake_path(APPEND path3 "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}" "data")

Modification and Generation sub-commands can either store the result in-place, or in a separate variable named after an `OUTPUT_VARIABLE` keyword. All other sub-commands store the result in a mandatory `<out-var>` variable.

Note

The `cmake_path` command can be used directly with variables provided by CMake representing paths (e.g., `CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR`). However, since the command can modify these variables, and many of them have undefined behavior when modified, they should never be specified as an `<out-var>`, and only as the `<path-var>` when a separate `<out-var>` is specified. See `cmake-variables(7)` for the list of CMake variables and identifiers reserved by CMake.

## Normalization

Some sub-commands support normalizing a path. The algorithm used to normalize a path is as follows:

1. If the path is empty, stop (the normalized form of an empty path is also an empty path).

2. Replace each `directory-separator`, which may consist of multiple separators, with a single `/` (`/a///b --> /a/b`).

3. Remove each solitary period (`.`) and any immediately following `directory-separator` (`/a/./b/. --> /a/b`).

4. Remove each `item-name` (other than `..`) that is immediately followed by a `directory-separator` and a `..`, along with any immediately following `directory-separator` (`/a/b/../c --> a/c`).

5. If there is a `root-directory`, remove any `..` and any `directory-separators` immediately following them. The parent of the root directory is treated as still the root directory (`/../a --> /a`).

6. If the last `item-name` is `..`, remove any trailing `directory-separator` (`../ --> ..`).

7. If the path is empty by this stage, add a `dot` (normal form of `./` is `.`).

## Decomposition

The following forms of the `GET` subcommand each retrieve a different component or group of components from a path. See Path Structure And Terminology for the meaning of each path component.

cmake_path(GET <path-var> ROOT_NAME <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> ROOT_DIRECTORY <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> ROOT_PATH <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> FILENAME <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> EXTENSION [LAST_ONLY] <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> STEM [LAST_ONLY] <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> RELATIVE_PART <out-var>)
cmake_path(GET <path-var> PARENT_PATH <out-var>)

  If a requested component is not present in the path, an empty string will be stored in `<out-var>`. For example, only Windows systems have the concept of a `root-name`, so when the host machine is non-Windows, the `ROOT_NAME` subcommand will always return an empty string.

  For `PARENT_PATH`, if the `HAS_RELATIVE_PART` sub-command returns false, the result is a copy of `<path-var>`. Note that this implies that a root directory is considered to have a parent, with that parent being itself. Where `HAS_RELATIVE_PART` returns true, the result will essentially be `<path-var>` with one less element.

### Root examples

    set(path "c:/a")

    cmake_path(GET path ROOT_NAME rootName)
    cmake_path(GET path ROOT_DIRECTORY rootDir)
    cmake_path(GET path ROOT_PATH rootPath)

    message("Root name is \"${rootName}\"")
    message("Root directory is \"${rootDir}\"")
    message("Root path is \"${rootPath}\"")

    Root name is "c:"
    Root directory is "/"
    Root path is "c:/"

### Filename examples

    set(path "/a/b")
    cmake_path(GET path FILENAME filename)
    message("First filename is \"${filename}\"")

    # Trailing slash means filename is empty
    set(path "/a/b/")
    cmake_path(GET path FILENAME filename)
    message("Second filename is \"${filename}\"")

    First filename is "b"
    Second filename is ""

### Extension and stem examples

    set(path "name.ext1.ext2")

    cmake_path(GET path EXTENSION fullExt)
    cmake_path(GET path STEM fullStem)
    message("Full extension is \"${fullExt}\"")
    message("Full stem is \"${fullStem}\"")

    # Effect of LAST_ONLY
    cmake_path(GET path EXTENSION LAST_ONLY lastExt)
    cmake_path(GET path STEM LAST_ONLY lastStem)
    message("Last extension is \"${lastExt}\"")
    message("Last stem is \"${lastStem}\"")

    # Special cases
    set(dotPath "/a/.")
    set(dotDotPath "/a/..")
    set(someMorePath "/a/.some.more")
    cmake_path(GET dotPath EXTENSION dotExt)
    cmake_path(GET dotPath STEM dotStem)
    cmake_path(GET dotDotPath EXTENSION dotDotExt)
    cmake_path(GET dotDotPath STEM dotDotStem)
    cmake_path(GET someMorePath EXTENSION someMoreExt)
    cmake_path(GET someMorePath STEM someMoreStem)
    message("Dot extension is \"${dotExt}\"")
    message("Dot stem is \"${dotStem}\"")
    message("Dot-dot extension is \"${dotDotExt}\"")
    message("Dot-dot stem is \"${dotDotStem}\"")
    message(".some.more extension is \"${someMoreExt}\"")
    message(".some.more stem is \"${someMoreStem}\"")

    Full extension is ".ext1.ext2"
    Full stem is "name"
    Last extension is ".ext2"
    Last stem is "name.ext1"
    Dot extension is ""
    Dot stem is "."
    Dot-dot extension is ""
    Dot-dot stem is ".."
    .some.more extension is ".more"
    .some.more stem is ".some"

### Relative part examples

    set(path "c:/a/b")
    cmake_path(GET path RELATIVE_PART result)
    message("Relative part is \"${result}\"")

    set(path "c/d")
    cmake_path(GET path RELATIVE_PART result)
    message("Relative part is \"${result}\"")

    set(path "/")
    cmake_path(GET path RELATIVE_PART result)
    message("Relative part is \"${result}\"")

    Relative part is "a/b"
    Relative part is "c/d"
    Relative part is ""

### Path traversal examples

    set(path "c:/a/b")
    cmake_path(GET path PARENT_PATH result)
    message("Parent path is \"${result}\"")

    set(path "c:/")
    cmake_path(GET path PARENT_PATH result)
    message("Parent path is \"${result}\"")

    Parent path is "c:/a"
    Parent path is "c:/"

## Query

Each of the `GET` subcommands has a corresponding `HAS_...` subcommand which can be used to discover whether a particular path component is present. See Path Structure And Terminology for the meaning of each path component.

cmake_path(HAS_ROOT_NAME <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_ROOT_DIRECTORY <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_ROOT_PATH <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_FILENAME <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_EXTENSION <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_STEM <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_RELATIVE_PART <path-var> <out-var>)
cmake_path(HAS_PARENT_PATH <path-var> <out-var>)

  Each of the above follows the predictable pattern of setting `<out-var>` to true if the path has the associated component, or false otherwise. Note the following special cases:

  - For `HAS_ROOT_PATH`, a true result will only be returned if at least one of `root-name` or `root-directory` is non-empty.

  - For `HAS_PARENT_PATH`, the root directory is also considered to have a parent, which will be itself. The result is true except if the path consists of just a filename.

cmake_path(IS_ABSOLUTE <path-var> <out-var>)

  Sets `<out-var>` to true if `<path-var>` is absolute. An absolute path is a path that unambiguously identifies the location of a file without reference to an additional starting location. On Windows, this means the path must have both a `root-name` and a `root-directory-separator` to be considered absolute. On other platforms, just a `root-directory-separator` is sufficient. Note that this means on Windows, `IS_ABSOLUTE` can be false while `HAS_ROOT_DIRECTORY` can be true.

cmake_path(IS_RELATIVE <path-var> <out-var>)

  This will store the opposite of `IS_ABSOLUTE` in `<out-var>`.

cmake_path(IS_PREFIX <path-var> <input> [NORMALIZE] <out-var>)

  Checks if `<path-var>` is the prefix of `<input>`.

  When the `NORMALIZE` option is specified, `<path-var>` and `<input>` are normalized before the check.

      set(path "/a/b/c")
      cmake_path(IS_PREFIX path "/a/b/c/d" result) # result = true
      cmake_path(IS_PREFIX path "/a/b" result)     # result = false
      cmake_path(IS_PREFIX path "/x/y/z" result)   # result = false

      set(path "/a/b")
      cmake_path(IS_PREFIX path "/a/c/../b" NORMALIZE result)   # result = true

## Comparison

cmake_path(COMPARE <input1> EQUAL <input2> <out-var>)
cmake_path(COMPARE <input1> NOT_EQUAL <input2> <out-var>)

  Compares the lexical representations of two paths provided as string literals. No normalization is performed on either path, except multiple consecutive directory separators are effectively collapsed into a single separator. Equality is determined according to the following pseudo-code logic:

      if(NOT <input1>.root_name() STREQUAL <input2>.root_name())
        return FALSE

      if(<input1>.has_root_directory() XOR <input2>.has_root_directory())
        return FALSE

      Return FALSE if a relative portion of <input1> is not lexicographically
      equal to the relative portion of <input2>. This comparison is performed path
      component-wise. If all of the components compare equal, then return TRUE.

  Note

  Unlike most other `cmake_path()` subcommands, the `COMPARE` subcommand takes literal strings as input, not the names of variables.

## Modification

cmake_path(SET <path-var> [NORMALIZE] <input>)

  Assigns the `<input>` path to `<path-var>`. If `<input>` is a native path, it is converted into a CMake-style path with forward-slashes (`/`). On Windows, the long filename marker is taken into account.

  When the `NORMALIZE` option is specified, the path is normalized after the conversion.

  For example:

      set(native_path "c:\\a\\b/..\\c")
      cmake_path(SET path "${native_path}")
      message("CMake path is \"${path}\"")

      cmake_path(SET path NORMALIZE "${native_path}")
      message("Normalized CMake path is \"${path}\"")

  Output:

      CMake path is "c:/a/b/../c"
      Normalized CMake path is "c:/a/c"

cmake_path(APPEND <path-var> [<input>...] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Appends all the `<input>` arguments to the `<path-var>` using `/` as the `directory-separator`. Depending on the `<input>`, the previous contents of `<path-var>` may be discarded. For each `<input>` argument, the following algorithm (pseudo-code) applies:

      # <path> is the contents of <path-var>

      if(<input>.is_absolute() OR
        (<input>.has_root_name() AND
          NOT <input>.root_name() STREQUAL <path>.root_name()))
        replace <path> with <input>
        return()
      endif()

      if(<input>.has_root_directory())
        remove any root-directory and the entire relative path from <path>
      elseif(<path>.has_filename() OR
            (NOT <path-var>.has_root_directory() OR <path>.is_absolute()))
        append directory-separator to <path>
      endif()

      append <input> omitting any root-name to <path>

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(APPEND_STRING <path-var> [<input>...] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Appends all the `<input>` arguments to the `<path-var>` without adding any `directory-separator`.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(REMOVE_FILENAME <path-var> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Removes the filename component (as returned by `GET ... FILENAME`) from `<path-var>`. After removal, any trailing `directory-separator` is left alone, if present.

  `HAS_FILENAME` will return false for the result, whether stored in `<out-var>` or `<path-var>`.

  For example:

      set(path "/a/b")
      cmake_path(REMOVE_FILENAME path)
      message("First path is \"${path}\"")

      # filename is now already empty, the following removes nothing
      cmake_path(REMOVE_FILENAME path)
      message("Second path is \"${path}\"")

  Output:

      First path is "/a/"
      Second path is "/a/"

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(REPLACE_FILENAME <path-var> <input> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Replaces the filename component from `<path-var>` with `<input>`. If `<path-var>` has no filename component (i.e. `HAS_FILENAME` returns false), the path is unchanged. The operation is equivalent to the following:

      cmake_path(HAS_FILENAME path has_filename)
      if(has_filename)
        cmake_path(REMOVE_FILENAME path)
        cmake_path(APPEND path "${input}")
      endif()

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(REMOVE_EXTENSION <path-var> [LAST_ONLY] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Removes the extension, if any, from `<path-var>`.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(REPLACE_EXTENSION <path-var> [LAST_ONLY] <input> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Replaces the extension with `<input>`. Its effect is equivalent to the following:

      cmake_path(REMOVE_EXTENSION path)
      if(NOT input MATCHES "^\\.")
        cmake_path(APPEND_STRING path ".")
      endif()
      cmake_path(APPEND_STRING path "${input}")

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

## Generation

cmake_path(NORMAL_PATH <path-var> [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Normalizes `<path-var>` according the steps described in Normalization.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(RELATIVE_PATH <path-var> [BASE_DIRECTORY <input>] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  Modifies `<path-var>` to make it relative to the `BASE_DIRECTORY` argument. If `BASE_DIRECTORY` is not specified, the default base directory will be `CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR`.

  For reference, the algorithm used to compute the relative path is the same as that used by C++ std::filesystem::path::lexically_relative.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(ABSOLUTE_PATH <path-var> [BASE_DIRECTORY <input>] [NORMALIZE] [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <out-var>])

  If `<path-var>` is a relative path (`IS_RELATIVE` is true), it is evaluated relative to the given base directory specified by `BASE_DIRECTORY` option. If `BASE_DIRECTORY` is not specified, the default base directory will be `CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR`.

  When the `NORMALIZE` option is specified, the path is normalized after the path computation.

  Because `cmake_path()` does not access the filesystem, symbolic links are not resolved and any leading tilde is not expanded. To compute a real path with symbolic links resolved and leading tildes expanded, use the `file(REAL_PATH)` command instead.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

## Native Conversion

For commands in this section, native refers to the host platform, not the target platform when cross-compiling.

cmake_path(NATIVE_PATH <path-var> [NORMALIZE] <out-var>)

  Converts a CMake-style `<path-var>` into a native path with platform-specific slashes (`\` on Windows hosts and `/` elsewhere).

  When the `NORMALIZE` option is specified, the path is normalized before the conversion.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

cmake_path(CONVERT <input> TO_CMAKE_PATH_LIST <out-var> [NORMALIZE])

  Converts a native `<input>` path into a CMake-style path with forward slashes (`/`).

  On Windows hosts, the long filename marker is taken into account. The input can be a single path or a system search path like `$ENV{PATH}`. A search path will be converted to a semicolon-separated list (on non-Windows platforms, this essentially means `:` separators are replaced with `;`).

  When the `NORMALIZE` option is specified, the path is normalized before the conversion.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

  Note

  Unlike most other `cmake_path()` subcommands, the `CONVERT` subcommand takes a literal string as input, not the name of a variable.

cmake_path(CONVERT <input> TO_NATIVE_PATH_LIST <out-var> [NORMALIZE])

  Converts a CMake-style `<input>` path into a native path with platform-specific slashes (`\` on Windows hosts and `/` elsewhere).

  The input can be a single path or a semicolon-separated list. A list will be converted into a native search path (`;`-separated on Windows, `:`-separated on other platforms).

  When the `NORMALIZE` option is specified, the path is normalized before the conversion.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.

  Note

  Unlike most other `cmake_path()` subcommands, the `CONVERT` subcommand takes a literal string as input, not the name of a variable.

  For example:

      set(paths "/a/b/c" "/x/y/z")
      cmake_path(CONVERT "${paths}" TO_NATIVE_PATH_LIST native_paths)
      message("Native path list is \"${native_paths}\"")

  Output on Windows:

      Native path list is "\a\b\c;\x\y\z"

  Output on all other platforms:

      Native path list is "/a/b/c:/x/y/z"

## Hashing

cmake_path(HASH <path-var> <out-var>)

  Computes a hash value of `<path-var>` such that for two paths `p1` and `p2` that compare equal (`COMPARE ... EQUAL`), the hash value of `p1` is equal to the hash value of `p2`. The path is always normalized before the hash is computed.

  See Creating A Path Variable for details on the output variable.