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Asked: 2026-06-17T03:32:53+00:00

I use CMake to generate unix makefiles. After that I compile project using make

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I use CMake to generate unix makefiles. After that I compile project using make utility.
Problem is that I can’t see any warnings! For example, this results in clean build without warnings:

#include <iostream>

class Foo
{
    int first;
    int second;
public:
    Foo(int a, int b)
    : second(a) // invalid initialization order
    , first(b)
    {
    }
};

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
    int unused; // unused variable
    int x;
    double y = 3.14159;
    x = y; // invalid cast
    Foo foo(1,2);
    std::cout << y << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Unused variable and lossy variable cast – no warnings! My CMakeLists.txt file is minimalistic:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8)

add_executable(main main.cpp)

When I run cmake and then make my output looks like this:

[100%] Building CXX object CMakeFiles/main.dir/main.cpp.o
Linking CXX executable main
[100%] Built target main

But when I add this line of code:

#warning ("Custom warning")

resulting output contains warning:

[100%] Building CXX object CMakeFiles/main.dir/main.cpp.o
../src/main.cpp:15:2: warning: #warning ("Custom Warning") [-Wcpp]
Linking CXX executable main
[100%] Built target main

I use Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and GCC as a compiler. Maybe CMake passes some flag to compiler that results in absence of warnings. How can I check it? I can’t read makefiles generated by CMake, they are a little bit cryptic.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    The positions on compiler warnings are divided. There are package maintainers who will tell you that they know what they are doing, and compiler warnings should be ignored in any case. (I think they couldn’t be more wrong.) But I guess that is why CMake mostly leaves the warning settings alone.

    If you want to be a bit more sophisticated about it, check for the compiler being used, and add the flag to the specific property of the specific target.

    Apply to a Single Target

    if ( CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCC )
    target_compile_options(main PRIVATE -Wall -Wextra)
endif()
if ( MSVC )
    target_compile_options(main PRIVATE /W4)
endif()

    Apply to All Targets

    if ( CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCC )
    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS  "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -Wall -Wextra")
endif()
if ( MSVC )
    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS  "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} /W4")
endif()

    Note: add -Werror for GCC or /WX for MSVC to treat all warnings as errors. This will treat all warnings as errors. This can be handy for new projects to enforce warning strictness.

    Also, -Wall -Wextra does not mean "all errors"; historically -Wall meant "all errors that everybody could agree on", and -Wextra "some more". Start with that, then peruse the manual for your version of GCC, and find what else the compiler can do for you with regards to warnings…

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