1 # Quickstart: Building with CMake
3 This tutorial aims to get you up and running with GoogleTest using CMake. If
4 you're using GoogleTest for the first time or need a refresher, we recommend
5 this tutorial as a starting point. If your project uses Bazel, see the
6 [Quickstart for Bazel](quickstart-bazel.md) instead.
10 To complete this tutorial, you'll need:
12 * A compatible operating system (e.g. Linux, macOS, Windows).
13 * A compatible C++ compiler that supports at least C++14.
14 * [CMake](https://cmake.org/) and a compatible build tool for building the
16 * Compatible build tools include
17 [Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/),
18 [Ninja](https://ninja-build.org/), and others - see
19 [CMake Generators](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cmake-generators.7.html)
22 See [Supported Platforms](platforms.md) for more information about platforms
23 compatible with GoogleTest.
25 If you don't already have CMake installed, see the
26 [CMake installation guide](https://cmake.org/install).
29 Note: The terminal commands in this tutorial show a Unix shell prompt, but the
30 commands work on the Windows command line as well.
34 CMake uses a file named `CMakeLists.txt` to configure the build system for a
35 project. You'll use this file to set up your project and declare a dependency on
38 First, create a directory for your project:
41 $ mkdir my_project && cd my_project
44 Next, you'll create the `CMakeLists.txt` file and declare a dependency on
45 GoogleTest. There are many ways to express dependencies in the CMake ecosystem;
46 in this quickstart, you'll use the
47 [`FetchContent` CMake module](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/FetchContent.html).
48 To do this, in your project directory (`my_project`), create a file named
49 `CMakeLists.txt` with the following contents:
52 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
55 # GoogleTest requires at least C++14
56 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
57 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
62 URL https://github.com/google/googletest/archive/03597a01ee50ed33e9dfd640b249b4be3799d395.zip
64 # For Windows: Prevent overriding the parent project's compiler/linker settings
65 set(gtest_force_shared_crt ON CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
66 FetchContent_MakeAvailable(googletest)
69 The above configuration declares a dependency on GoogleTest which is downloaded
70 from GitHub. In the above example, `03597a01ee50ed33e9dfd640b249b4be3799d395` is
71 the Git commit hash of the GoogleTest version to use; we recommend updating the
72 hash often to point to the latest version.
74 For more information about how to create `CMakeLists.txt` files, see the
75 [CMake Tutorial](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/guide/tutorial/index.html).
77 ## Create and run a binary
79 With GoogleTest declared as a dependency, you can use GoogleTest code within
82 As an example, create a file named `hello_test.cc` in your `my_project`
83 directory with the following contents:
86 #include <gtest/gtest.h>
88 // Demonstrate some basic assertions.
89 TEST(HelloTest, BasicAssertions) {
90 // Expect two strings not to be equal.
91 EXPECT_STRNE("hello", "world");
97 GoogleTest provides [assertions](primer.md#assertions) that you use to test the
98 behavior of your code. The above sample includes the main GoogleTest header file
99 and demonstrates some basic assertions.
101 To build the code, add the following to the end of your `CMakeLists.txt` file:
110 target_link_libraries(
116 gtest_discover_tests(hello_test)
119 The above configuration enables testing in CMake, declares the C++ test binary
120 you want to build (`hello_test`), and links it to GoogleTest (`gtest_main`). The
121 last two lines enable CMake's test runner to discover the tests included in the
123 [`GoogleTest` CMake module](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/git-stage/module/GoogleTest.html).
125 Now you can build and run your test:
128 <strong>my_project$ cmake -S . -B build</strong>
129 -- The C compiler identification is GNU 10.2.1
130 -- The CXX compiler identification is GNU 10.2.1
132 -- Build files have been written to: .../my_project/build
134 <strong>my_project$ cmake --build build</strong>
135 Scanning dependencies of target gtest
137 [100%] Built target gmock_main
139 <strong>my_project$ cd build && ctest</strong>
140 Test project .../my_project/build
141 Start 1: HelloTest.BasicAssertions
142 1/1 Test #1: HelloTest.BasicAssertions ........ Passed 0.00 sec
144 100% tests passed, 0 tests failed out of 1
146 Total Test time (real) = 0.01 sec
149 Congratulations! You've successfully built and run a test binary using
154 * [Check out the Primer](primer.md) to start learning how to write simple
156 * [See the code samples](samples.md) for more examples showing how to use a
157 variety of GoogleTest features.