Help/command/project.rst

project
-------

Set the name of the project.

Synopsis
^^^^^^^^

.. code-block:: cmake

 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
:variable:`PROJECT_NAME`. When called from the top-level
``CMakeLists.txt`` also stores the project name in the
variable :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME`.

Also sets the variables:

:variable:`PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR`, :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_SOURCE_DIR`
  Absolute path to the source directory for the project.

:variable:`PROJECT_BINARY_DIR`, :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_BINARY_DIR`
  Absolute path to the binary directory for the project.

:variable:`PROJECT_IS_TOP_LEVEL`, :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_IS_TOP_LEVEL`
  .. versionadded:: 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 :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

  * :variable:`PROJECT_VERSION`,
    :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION`
  * :variable:`PROJECT_VERSION_MAJOR`,
    :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_MAJOR`
  * :variable:`PROJECT_VERSION_MINOR`,
    :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_MINOR`
  * :variable:`PROJECT_VERSION_PATCH`,
    :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_PATCH`
  * :variable:`PROJECT_VERSION_TWEAK`,
    :variable:`<PROJECT-NAME>_VERSION_TWEAK`.

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

``DESCRIPTION <project-description-string>``
  .. versionadded:: 3.9

  Optional.
  Sets the variables

  * :variable:`PROJECT_DESCRIPTION`, :variable:`<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 :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_DESCRIPTION`.

  .. versionadded:: 3.12
    Added the ``<PROJECT-NAME>_DESCRIPTION`` variable.

``HOMEPAGE_URL <url-string>``
  .. versionadded:: 3.12

  Optional.
  Sets the variables

  * :variable:`PROJECT_HOMEPAGE_URL`, :variable:`<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 :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.

  .. versionadded:: 3.8
    Added ``CUDA`` support.

  .. versionadded:: 3.16
    Added ``OBJC`` and ``OBJCXX`` support.

  .. versionadded:: 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
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If the :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE` or
:variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE_BEFORE` variables are set,
the files they point to will be included as the first step of the
``project()`` command.
If both are set, then :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE` will be
included before :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE_BEFORE`.

If the :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE` or
:variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE` variables are set, the files
they point to will be included as the last step of the ``project()`` command.
If both are set, then :variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE` will be included before
:variable:`CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE`.

.. versionadded:: 3.15
  Added the ``CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE`` and ``CMAKE_PROJECT_INCLUDE_BEFORE``
  variables.

.. versionadded:: 3.17
  Added the ``CMAKE_PROJECT_<PROJECT-NAME>_INCLUDE_BEFORE`` variable.

Usage
^^^^^

The top-level ``CMakeLists.txt`` file for a project must contain a
literal, direct call to the ``project()`` command; loading one
through the :command:`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 :command:`cmake_minimum_required`.
  It is important to establish version and policy settings before invoking
  other commands whose behavior they may affect.
  See also policy :policy:`CMP0000`.