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Asked: 2026-06-14T07:21:42+00:00

How to configure/hack cmake to build particular executable added with add_executable() but do not

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How to configure/hack cmake to build particular executable added with add_executable() but do not install it?

The executable is a unit test and will eventually be handled with add_test but for now I just want to strip test binaries off the release touching as little as possible.

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  1. Editorial Team

    CMake will only install an executable target if you apply the install function to it, i.e.:

     install(TARGETS ExecutableTest RUNTIME DESTINATION "bin")

    To prevent the installation of the ExecutableTest for a Release build, add a CONFIGURATIONS restriction:

     install(TARGETS ExecutableTest RUNTIME DESTINATION "bin" CONFIGURATIONS Debug)

    Alternatively, you can make ExecutableTest an optional target, which is not built by default:

    add_executable(ExecutableTest EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL ${ExecutableTestFiles})

    and then optionally only install the ExecutableTest if it has been built explicitly:

     install(TARGETS ExecutableTest RUNTIME DESTINATION "bin" OPTIONAL)

    All optional test targets can be pooled in a super target to allow for building them in one step:

    add_custom_target(MyTests DEPENDS ExecutableTest ExecutableTest2 ExecutableTest3)
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