CMake

CMake is an open-source, cross-platform build tool for software development projects, especially C and C++.

It is available for a variety of operating systems and there are multiple ways to install it.

Before you begin

This article provides quick instructions to install CMake for Arm Linux distributions and for Windows on Arm.

Windows on Arm

Confirm you are using a Windows on Arm device such as Windows Dev Kit 2023 or a laptop such as Lenovo ThinkPad X13s or Surface Pro 9 with 5G.

Arm Linux

Confirm you are using an Arm computer with 64-bit Linux by running:

    

        
        
            uname -m
        
    

The output should be:

    

        
        aarch64

        
    

If you see a different result, you are not using an Arm computer running 64-bit Linux.

Download and install on Windows

Native CMake support for Windows on Arm is available starting with version 3.24. Installers are available now from the CMake download page. Emulated CMake can be used but is no longer needed unless an older version of CMake must be used.

Download the Windows ARM64 Installer and run it.

The welcome screen will appear:

Accept the End-User License Agreement.

Check Add CMake to the system PATH for the current user if you want to easily invoke cmake from any directory.

Follow the prompts to complete the installation.

Wait for the installer to complete and click Finish:

Download and install on Linux

There are multiple ways to install CMake on Linux.

Use the package manager

Use apt on Ubuntu and Debian to install:

    

        
        
            sudo apt update
sudo apt install cmake -y
        
    

Use dnf to install on Fedora and Amazon Linux 2023:

    

        
        
            sudo dnf install cmake -y
        
    

Depending on your Linux distribution you may have a version of cmake which is too old or too new for your project.

Use Snap

Installing with snap provides the latest version of cmake:

    

        
        
            sudo snap install cmake --classic
        
    

With snap the cmake executable is installed in /snap/bin which should already be in your search path.

Use a specific release from GitHub

If you need a specific version look for it in the GitHub releases area

Substitute the release number you want to install in the commands below..

1. Download a release from GitHub:

    

        
        
            cd $HOME
wget -N https://github.com/Kitware/CMake/releases/download/v3.28.1/cmake-3.28.1-Linux-aarch64.sh
        
    

2. Run the install script and set the search path using:

    

        
        
            mkdir cmake
bash /home/$USER/cmake-3.28.1-Linux-aarch64.sh --skip-license --exclude-subdir --prefix=$HOME/cmake
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/cmake/bin
        
    

Verify CMake is installed

1. Confirm CMake is installed on Linux or Windows.

After installing CMake, run it to confirm it is installed and can be found:

    

        
        
            cmake
        
    

The output is similar to:

    

        
        Usage

  cmake [options] <path-to-source>
  cmake [options] <path-to-existing-build>
  cmake [options] -S <path-to-source> -B <path-to-build>

Specify a source directory to (re-)generate a build system for it in the
current working directory.  Specify an existing build directory to
re-generate its build system.

Run 'cmake --help' for more information.

        
    

2. Print the CMake version

To print the version run:

    

        
        
            cmake --version
        
    

The output is similar to:

    

        
        cmake version 3.28.1

CMake suite maintained and supported by Kitware (kitware.com/cmake).

        
    

You are ready to use CMake.