execute_process

Execute one or more child processes.

execute_process(COMMAND <cmd1> [<arguments>]
                [COMMAND <cmd2> [<arguments>]]...
                [WORKING_DIRECTORY <directory>]
                [TIMEOUT <seconds>]
                [RESULT_VARIABLE <variable>]
                [RESULTS_VARIABLE <variable>]
                [OUTPUT_VARIABLE <variable>]
                [ERROR_VARIABLE <variable>]
                [INPUT_FILE <file>]
                [OUTPUT_FILE <file>]
                [ERROR_FILE <file>]
                [OUTPUT_QUIET]
                [ERROR_QUIET]
                [COMMAND_ECHO <where>]
                [OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE]
                [ERROR_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE]
                [ENCODING <name>])

Runs the given sequence of one or more commands.

Commands are executed concurrently as a pipeline, with the standard output of each process piped to the standard input of the next. A single standard error pipe is used for all processes.

Options:

COMMAND

A child process command line.

CMake executes the child process using operating system APIs directly. All arguments are passed VERBATIM to the child process. No intermediate shell is used, so shell operators such as > are treated as normal arguments. (Use the INPUT_*, OUTPUT_*, and ERROR_* options to redirect stdin, stdout, and stderr.)

If a sequential execution of multiple commands is required, use multiple execute_process() calls with a single COMMAND argument.

WORKING_DIRECTORY

The named directory will be set as the current working directory of the child processes.

TIMEOUT

After the specified number of seconds (fractions allowed), all unfinished child processes will be terminated, and the RESULT_VARIABLE will be set to a string mentioning the “timeout”.

RESULT_VARIABLE

The variable will be set to contain the result of last child process. This will be an integer return code from the last child or a string describing an error condition.

RESULTS_VARIABLE <variable>

The variable will be set to contain the result of all processes as a semicolon-separated list, in order of the given COMMAND arguments. Each entry will be an integer return code from the corresponding child or a string describing an error condition.

OUTPUT_VARIABLE, ERROR_VARIABLE

The variable named will be set with the contents of the standard output and standard error pipes, respectively. If the same variable is named for both pipes their output will be merged in the order produced.

INPUT_FILE, OUTPUT_FILE, ERROR_FILE

The file named will be attached to the standard input of the first process, standard output of the last process, or standard error of all processes, respectively. If the same file is named for both output and error then it will be used for both.

OUTPUT_QUIET, ERROR_QUIET

The standard output or standard error results will be quietly ignored.

COMMAND_ECHO <where>

The command being run will be echo’ed to <where> with <where> being set to one of STDERR, STDOUT or NONE. See the CMAKE_EXECUTE_PROCESS_COMMAND_ECHO variable for a way to control the default behavior when this option is not present.

ENCODING <name>

On Windows, the encoding that is used to decode output from the process. Ignored on other platforms. Valid encoding names are:

NONE

Perform no decoding. This assumes that the process output is encoded in the same way as CMake’s internal encoding (UTF-8). This is the default.

AUTO

Use the current active console’s codepage or if that isn’t available then use ANSI.

ANSI

Use the ANSI codepage.

OEM

Use the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) code page.

UTF8 or UTF-8

Use the UTF-8 codepage. Prior to CMake 3.11.0, only UTF8 was accepted for this encoding. In CMake 3.11.0, UTF-8 was added for consistency with the UTF-8 RFC naming convention.

If more than one OUTPUT_* or ERROR_* option is given for the same pipe the precedence is not specified. If no OUTPUT_* or ERROR_* options are given the output will be shared with the corresponding pipes of the CMake process itself.

The execute_process() command is a newer more powerful version of exec_program(), but the old command has been kept for compatibility. Both commands run while CMake is processing the project prior to build system generation. Use add_custom_target() and add_custom_command() to create custom commands that run at build time.