CPack
: Build binary and source package installersThe CPack module generates binary and source installers in a variety of formats using the cpack program. Inclusion of the CPack module adds two new targets to the resulting makefiles, package and package_source, which build the binary and source installers, respectively. The generated binary installers contain everything installed via CMake's INSTALL command (and the deprecated INSTALL_FILES, INSTALL_PROGRAMS, and INSTALL_TARGETS commands).
For certain kinds of binary installers (including the graphical installers on Mac OS X and Windows), CPack generates installers that allow users to select individual application components to install. The contents of each of the components are identified by the COMPONENT argument of CMake's INSTALL command. These components can be annotated with user-friendly names and descriptions, inter-component dependencies, etc., and grouped in various ways to customize the resulting installer. See the cpack_add_* commands, described below, for more information about component-specific installations.
Before including the CPack module, there are a variety of variables that can be set to customize the resulting installers. The most commonly-used variables are:
CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME - The name of the package (or application). If
not specified, defaults to the project name.
CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR - The name of the package vendor (e.g.,
"Kitware").
CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR - Package major Version
CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR - Package minor Version
CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH - Package patch Version
CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_FILE - A text file used to describe the
project. Used, for example, the introduction screen of a
CPack-generated Windows installer to describe the project.
CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY - Short description of the
project (only a few words).
CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME - The name of the package file to generate,
not including the extension. For example, cmake-2.6.1-Linux-i686.
CPACK_PACKAGE_INSTALL_DIRECTORY - Installation directory on the
target system, e.g., "CMake 2.5".
CPACK_RESOURCE_FILE_LICENSE - License file for the project, which
will typically be displayed to the user (often with an explicit
"Accept" button, for graphical installers) prior to installation.
CPACK_RESOURCE_FILE_README - ReadMe file for the project, which
typically describes in some detail
CPACK_RESOURCE_FILE_WELCOME - Welcome file for the project, which
welcomes users to this installer. Typically used in the graphical
installers on Windows and Mac OS X.
CPACK_MONOLITHIC_INSTALL - Disables the component-based
installation mechanism, so that all components are always installed.
CPACK_GENERATOR - List of CPack generators to use. If not
specified, CPack will create a set of options (e.g.,
CPACK_BINARY_NSIS) allowing the user to enable/disable individual
generators.
CPACK_OUTPUT_CONFIG_FILE - The name of the CPack configuration file
for binary installers that will be generated by the CPack
module. Defaults to CPackConfig.cmake.
CPACK_PACKAGE_EXECUTABLES - Lists each of the executables along
with a text label, to be used to create Start Menu shortcuts on
Windows. For example, setting this to the list ccmake;CMake will
create a shortcut named "CMake" that will execute the installed
executable ccmake.
CPACK_STRIP_FILES - List of files to be stripped. Starting with
CMake 2.6.0 CPACK_STRIP_FILES will be a boolean variable which
enables stripping of all files (a list of files evaluates to TRUE
in CMake, so this change is compatible).
The following CPack variables are specific to source packages, and will not affect binary packages:
CPACK_SOURCE_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME - The name of the source package,
e.g., cmake-2.6.1
CPACK_SOURCE_STRIP_FILES - List of files in the source tree that
will be stripped. Starting with CMake 2.6.0
CPACK_SOURCE_STRIP_FILES will be a boolean variable which enables
stripping of all files (a list of files evaluates to TRUE in CMake,
so this change is compatible).
CPACK_SOURCE_GENERATOR - List of generators used for the source
packages. As with CPACK_GENERATOR, if this is not specified then
CPack will create a set of options (e.g., CPACK_SOURCE_ZIP)
allowing users to select which packages will be generated.
CPACK_SOURCE_OUTPUT_CONFIG_FILE - The name of the CPack
configuration file for source installers that will be generated by
the CPack module. Defaults to CPackSourceConfig.cmake.
CPACK_SOURCE_IGNORE_FILES - Pattern of files in the source tree
that won't be packaged when building a source package. This is a
list of patterns, e.g., /CVS/;/\\.svn/;\\.swp$;\\.#;/#;.*~;cscope.*
The following variables are specific to the graphical installers built on Windows using the Nullsoft Installation System.
CPACK_PACKAGE_INSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY - Registry key used when
installing this project.
CPACK_NSIS_MUI_ICON - The icon file (.ico) for the generated
install program.
CPACK_NSIS_MUI_UNIICON - The icon file (.ico) for the generated
uninstall program.
CPACK_PACKAGE_ICON - A branding image that will be displayed inside
the installer.
CPACK_NSIS_EXTRA_INSTALL_COMMANDS - Extra NSIS commands that will
be added to the install Section.
CPACK_NSIS_EXTRA_UNINSTALL_COMMANDS - Extra NSIS commands that will
be added to the uninstall Section.
CPACK_NSIS_COMPRESSOR - The arguments that will be passed to the
NSIS SetCompressor command.
CPACK_NSIS_MODIFY_PATH - If this is set to "ON", then an extra page
will appear in the installer that will allow the user to choose
whether the program directory should be added to the system PATH
variable.
CPACK_NSIS_DISPLAY_NAME - The title displayed at the top of the
installer.
CPACK_NSIS_INSTALLED_ICON_NAME - A path to the executable that
contains the installer icon.
CPACK_NSIS_HELP_LINK - URL to a web site providing assistance in
installing your application.
CPACK_NSIS_URL_INFO_ABOUT - URL to a web site providing more
information about your application.
CPACK_NSIS_CONTACT - Contact information for questions and comments
about the installation process.
CPACK_NSIS_CREATE_ICONS_EXTRA - Additional NSIS commands for
creating start menu shortcuts.
CPACK_NSIS_DELETE_ICONS_EXTRA -Additional NSIS commands to
uninstall start menu shortcuts.
The following variable is specific to installers build on Mac OS X using PackageMaker:
CPACK_OSX_PACKAGE_VERSION - The version of Mac OS X that the
resulting PackageMaker archive should be compatible
with. Different versions of Mac OS X support different
features. For example, CPack can only build component-based
installers for Mac OS X 10.4 or newer, and can only build
installers that download component son-the-fly for Mac OS X 10.5
or newer. If left blank, this value will be set to the minimum
version of Mac OS X that supports the requested features. Set this
variable to some value (e.g., 10.4) only if you want to guarantee
that your installer will work on that version of Mac OS X, and
don't mind missing extra features available in the installer
shipping with later versions of Mac OS X.
The following variables are for advanced uses of CPack:
CPACK_CMAKE_GENERATOR - What CMake generator should be used if the
project is CMake project. Defaults to the value of CMAKE_GENERATOR;
few users will want to change this setting.
CPACK_INSTALL_CMAKE_PROJECTS - List of four values that specify
what project to install. The four values are: Build directory,
Project Name, Project Component, Directory. If omitted, CPack will
build an installer that installers everything.
CPACK_SYSTEM_NAME - System name, defaults to the value of
${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME}.
CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION - Package full version, used internally. By
default, this is built from CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR,
CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR, and CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH.
CPACK_TOPLEVEL_TAG - Directory for the installed files.
CPACK_INSTALL_COMMANDS - Extra commands to install components.
CPACK_INSTALL_DIRECTORIES - Extra directories to install.
Component-specific installation allows users to select specific sets of components to install during the install process. Installation components are identified by the COMPONENT argument of CMake's INSTALL commands, and should be further described by the following CPack commands:
cpack_add_component - Describes a CPack installation component
named by the COMPONENT argument to a CMake INSTALL command.
cpack_add_component(compname
[DISPLAY_NAME name]
[DESCRIPTION description]
[HIDDEN | REQUIRED | DISABLED ]
[GROUP group]
[DEPENDS comp1 comp2 ... ]
[INSTALL_TYPES type1 type2 ... ]
[DOWNLOADED]
[ARCHIVE_FILE filename])
The cmake_add_component command describes an installation
component, which the user can opt to install or remove as part of
the graphical installation process. compname is the name of the
component, as provided to the COMPONENT argument of one or more
CMake INSTALL commands.
DISPLAY_NAME is the displayed name of the component, used in
graphical installers to display the component name. This value can
be any string.
DESCRIPTION is an extended description of the component, used in
graphical installers to give the user additional information about
the component. Descriptions can span multiple lines using "\n" as
the line separator. Typically, these descriptions should be no
more than a few lines long.
HIDDEN indicates that this component will be hidden in the
graphical installer, so that the user cannot directly change
whether it is installed or not.
REQUIRED indicates that this component is required, and therefore
will always be installed. It will be visible in the graphical
installer, but it cannot be unselected. (Typically, required
components are shown greyed out).
DISABLED indicates that this component should be disabled
(unselected) by default. The user is free to select this component
for installation, unless it is also HIDDEN.
DEPENDS lists the components on which this component depends. If
this component is selected, then each of the components listed
must also be selected. The dependency information is encoded
within the installer itself, so that users cannot install
inconsitent sets of components.
GROUP names the component group of which this component is a
part. If not provided, the component will be a standalone
component, not part of any component group. Component groups are
described with the cpack_add_component_group command, detailed
below.
INSTALL_TYPES lists the installation types of which this component
is a part. When one of these installations types is selected, this
component will automatically be selected. Installation types are
described with the cpack_add_install_type command, detailed below.
DOWNLOADED indicates that this component should be downloaded
on-the-fly by the installer, rather than packaged in with the
installer itself. For more information, see the cpack_configure_downloads
command.
ARCHIVE_FILE provides a name for the archive file created by CPack
to be used for downloaded components. If not supplied, CPack will
create a file with some name based on CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME and
the name of the component. See cpack_configure_downloads for more
information.
cpack_add_component_group - Describes a group of related CPack
installation components.
cpack_add_component_group(groupname
[DISPLAY_NAME name]
[DESCRIPTION description]
[PARENT_GROUP parent]
[EXPANDED]
[BOLD_TITLE])
The cpack_add_component_group describes a group of installation
components, which will be placed together within the listing of
options. Typically, component groups allow the user to
select/deselect all of the components within a single group via a
single group-level option. Use component groups to reduce the
complexity of installers with many options. groupname is an
arbitrary name used to identify the group in the GROUP argument of
the cpack_add_component command, which is used to place a
component in a group. The name of the group must not conflict with
the name of any component.
DISPLAY_NAME is the displayed name of the component group, used in
graphical installers to display the component group name. This
value can be any string.
DESCRIPTION is an extended description of the component group,
used in graphical installers to give the user additional
information about the components within that group. Descriptions
can span multiple lines using "\n" as the line
separator. Typically, these descriptions should be no more than a
few lines long.
PARENT_GROUP, if supplied, names the parent group of this group.
Parent groups are used to establish a hierarchy of groups,
providing an arbitrary hierarchy of groups.
EXPANDED indicates that, by default, the group should show up as
"expanded", so that the user immediately sees all of the
components within the group. Otherwise, the group will initially
show up as a single entry.
BOLD_TITLE indicates that the group title should appear in bold,
to call the user's attention to the group.
cpack_add_install_type - Add a new installation type containing a
set of predefined component selections to the graphical installer.
cpack_add_install_type(typename
[DISPLAY_NAME name])
The cpack_add_install_type command identifies a set of preselected
components that represents a common use case for an
application. For example, a "Developer" install type might include
an application along with its header and library files, while an
"End user" install type might just include the application's
executable. Each component identifies itself with one or more
install types via the INSTALL_TYPES argument to
cpack_add_component.
DISPLAY_NAME is the displayed name of the install type, which will
typically show up in a drop-down box within a graphical
installer. This value can be any string.
cpack_configure_downloads - Configure CPack to download selected
components on-the-fly as part of the installation process.
cpack_configure_downloads(site
[UPLOAD_DIRECTORY dirname]
[ALL]
[ADD_REMOVE|NO_ADD_REMOVE])
The cpack_configure_downloads command configures installation-time
downloads of selected components. For each downloadable component,
CPack will create an archive containing the contents of that
component, which should be uploaded to the given site. When the
user selects that component for installation, the installer will
download and extract the component in place. This feature is
useful for creating small installers that only download the
requested components, saving bandwidth. Additionally, the
installers are small enough that they will be installed as part of
the normal installation process, and the "Change" button in
Windows Add/Remove Programs control panel will allow one to add or
remove parts of the application after the original
installation. On Windows, the downloaded-components functionality
requires the ZipDLL plug-in for NSIS, available at:
http://nsis.sourceforge.net/ZipDLL_plug-in
On Mac OS X, installers that download components on-the-fly can
only be built and installed on system using Mac OS X 10.5 or
later.
The site argument is a URL where the archives for downloadable
components will reside, e.g., http://www.cmake.org/files/2.6.1/installer/
All of the archives produced by CPack should be uploaded to that location.
UPLOAD_DIRECTORY is the local directory where CPack will create the
various archives for each of the components. The contents of this
directory should be uploaded to a location accessible by the URL given
in the site argument. If omitted, CPack will use the directory CPackUploads
inside the CMake binary directory to store the generated archives.
The ALL flag indicates that all components be downloaded. Otherwise, only
those components explicitly marked as DOWNLOADED or that have a specified
ARCHIVE_FILE will be downloaded. Additionally, the ALL option implies
ADD_REMOVE (unless NO_ADD_REMOVE is specified).
ADD_REMOVE indicates that CPack should install a copy of the installer
that can be called from Windows' Add/Remove Programs dialog (via the
"Modify" button) to change the set of installed components. NO_ADD_REMOVE
turns off this behavior. This option is ignored on Mac OS X.