Welcome to cget’s documentation!¶

Contents:

Introduction¶

Cmake package retrieval. This can be used to download and install cmake packages. The advantages of using cget are:

Non-intrusive: There is no need to write special hooks in cmake to use cget. One cmake file is written and can be used to install a package with cget or standalone.
Works out of the box: Since it uses the standard build and install of cmake, it already works with almost all cmake packages. There is no need to wait for packages to convert over to support cget. Standard cmake packages can be already installed immediately.
Decentralized: Packages can be installed from anywhere, from github, urls, or local files.

Installing cget¶

cget can be simply installed using pip (you can get pip from here):

pip install cget

Or installed directly with python:

python setup.py install

On windows, you may want to install pkgconfig-lite to support packages that use pkgconfig. This can be installed with cget as well:

cget install pfultz2/pkgconfig

Quickstart¶

We can also install cmake packages directly from source files, for example zlib:

cget install http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

However, its much easier to install recipes so we don’t have to remember urls:

cget install pfultz2/cget-recipes

Then we can install packages such as boost:

cget install boost

Or curl:

cget install curl

Usage¶

Installing a package¶

Any library that uses cmake to build can be built and installed as a package with cget. A source for package can be from many areas (see Package source). We can simply install zlib with its URL:

cget install http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

We can install the package from github as well, using a shorten form. For example, installing John MacFarlane’s implementation of CommonMark in C called cmark:

cget install jgm/cmark

Removing a package¶

A package can be removed by using the same source name that was used to install the package:

cget install http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz
cget remove http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

If an alias was specified, then the name of the alias must be used instead:

cget install zlib,http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz
cget remove zlib

Testing packages¶

The test suite for a package can be ran before installing it, by using the --test flag. This will either build the check target or run ctest. So if we want to run the tests for zlib we can do this:

cget install --test http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

Setting the prefix¶

By default, the packages are installed in the local directory cget. This can be changed by using the --prefix flag:

cget install --prefix /usr/local zlib:http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

The prefix can also be set with the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

Integration with cmake¶

By default, cget creates a cmake toolchain file with the settings necessary to build and find the libraries in the cget prefix. The toolchain file is at $CGET_PREFIX/cget.cmake. If another toolchain needs to be used, it can be specified with the init command:

cget init --toolchain my_cmake_toolchain.cmake

Also, the C++ version can be set for the toolchain as well:

cget init --std=c++14

Which is necessary to use modern C++ on many compilers.

Package source¶

Directory¶

This will install the package that is located at the directory:

cget install ~/mylibrary/

There must be a CMakeLists.txt in the directory.

File¶

An archived file of the package:

cget install zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

The archive will be unpacked and installed.

URL¶

A url to the package:

cget install http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

The file will be downloaded, unpacked, and installed.

Github¶

A package can be installed directly from github using just the namespace and repo name. For example, John MacFarlane’s implementation of CommonMark in C called cmark can be installed like this:

cget install jgm/cmark

A tag or branch can specified using the @ symbol:

cget install jgm/cmark@0.24.1

Recipe¶

A recipe name can also be installed. See Using recipes for more info.

Aliasing¶

Aliasing lets you pick a different name for the package. So when we are installing zlib, we could alias it as zlib:

cget install zlib,http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

This way the package can be referred to as zlib instead of http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz.

Requirements file¶

cget will install all packages listed in the top-level requirements.txt file in the package. Each requirement is listed on a new line.

<package-source>¶

This specifies the package source (see Package source) that will be installed.

-H, --hash¶: This specifies a hash checksum that should checked before installing the packaging. The type of hash needs to be specified with a colon first, and then the hash. So for md5, it would be something like md5:6fc67d80e915e63aacb39bc7f7da0f6c.

-b, --build¶: This is a dependency that is only needed for building the package. It is not installed as a dependent of the package, as such, it can be removed after the package has been installed.

-t, --test¶: cget will only install the dependency if the tests are going to be run. This dependency is also treated as a build dependency so the it can be removed after the package has been installed.

-D, --define VAR=VALUE¶: Extra configuration variables to pass to CMake.

-X, --cmake¶: This specifies an alternative cmake file to be used to build the library. This is useful for packages that don’t have a cmake file.

-f, --file¶: This will read the requirements from another requirements file.

Commands¶

build¶

This will build a package, but it doesn’t install it. This is useful over using raw cmake as it will use the cmake toolchain that was initialized by cget which sets cmake up to easily find the dependencies that have been installed by cget. This will also install the dependencies in a dev-requirements.txt file if available, otherwise it will install any dependencies in the requirements.txt.

<package-source>¶

This specifies the package source (see Package source) that will be built.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

-B, --build-path PATH¶: Set the path for the build directory to use when building the package.

-t, --test¶: Test package after building. This will set the BUILD_TESTING cmake variable to true. It will first try to run the check target. If that fails it will call ctest to try to run the tests.

-c, --configure¶: Configure cmake. This will run either ccmake or cmake-gui so the cmake variables can be set.

-C, --clean¶: Remove build directory.

-P, --path¶: Show path to build directory.

-D, --define VAR=VALUE¶: Extra configuration variables to pass to CMake

-T, --target TARGET¶: Cmake target to build.

-y, --yes¶: Affirm all questions.

-G, --generator GENERATOR¶: Set the generator for CMake to use.

--debug¶: Build the debug version of the package.

--release¶: Build the release version of the package.

clean¶

This will clear the directory used by cget. This will remove all packages that have been installed, and any toolchain settings.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

-y, --yes¶: Affirm all questions.

ignore¶

This will ignore a package, so if an install command or a dependency requests the package it will be treated as already installed. This is useful to ignore a dependency that may already be installed by the system.

<package-name>¶: This is the name of the package that will be ignored.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

init¶

This will initialize the cmake toolchain. By default, the install command will initialize a cmake toolchain if one doesn’t exists. This allows setting different variable, such as setting C++ compiler or standard version.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

-B, --build-path PATH¶: Set the path for the build directory to use when building the package.

-t, --toolchain FILE¶: Set cmake toolchain file to use.

--cxx COMPILER¶: Set c++ compiler.

--cxxflags FLAGS¶: Set additional c++ flags.

--ldflags FLAGS¶: Set additional linker flags.

--std TEXT¶: Set C++ standard if available.

-D, --define VAR=VALUE¶: Extra configuration variables to pass to CMake.

--shared¶: Set toolchain to build shared libraries by default.

--static¶: Set toolchain to build static libraries by default.

install¶

A package can be installed using the install command. When a package is installed, cget configures a build directory with cmake, and then builds the all target and the install target. So, essentially, cget will run the equivalent of these commands on the package to install it:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$CGET_PREFIX/cget/cget.cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$CGET_PREFIX ..
cmake --build .
cmake --build . --target install

However, cget will always create the build directory out of source. The cget.cmake is a toolchain file that is setup by cget, so that cmake can find the installed packages. Other setting can be added about the toolchain as well(see init).

<package-source>¶: This specifies the package source (see Package source) that will be installed. If no package source is provided then cget will default to using the requirements.txt file or the dev-requirements.txt file if available. That is cget install is equivalent to cget install -f requirements.txt or cget install -f dev-requirements.txt.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

-B, --build-path PATH¶: Set the path for the build directory to use when building the package.

-U, --update¶: Update package. This will rebuild the package even its already installed and replace it with the newly built package.

-t, --test¶: Test package before installing. This will set the BUILD_TESTING cmake variable to true. It will first try to run the check target. If that fails it will call ctest to try to run the tests.

--test-all¶: Test all packages including its dependencies before installing by running ctest or check target.

-f, --file FILE¶: Install packages listed in the file.

-D, --define VAR=VALUE¶: Extra configuration variables to pass to CMake.

-G, --generator GENERATOR¶: Set the generator for CMake to use.

-X, --cmake¶: This specifies an alternative cmake file to be used to build the library. This is useful for packages that don’t have a cmake file.

--debug¶: Install the debug version of the package.

--release¶: Install the release version of the package.

list¶

This will list all packages that have been installed.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

pkg-config¶

This will run pkg-config, but will search in the cget directory for pkg-config files. This useful for finding dependencies when not using cmake.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

remove¶

This will remove a package. If other packages depends on the package to be removed, those packages will be removed as well.

<package-name>¶: This is the name of the package to be removed.

-p, --prefix PATH¶: Set prefix where packages are installed. This defaults to a directory named cget in the current working directory. This can also be overidden by the CGET_PREFIX environment variable.

-v, --verbose¶: Enable verbose mode.

-y, --yes¶: Affirm all questions.

-A, --all¶: Select all packages installed.

-U, --unlink¶: Unlink the package but don’t remove it. The install command can be used to relink the package.

Using cget¶

Installing cmake packages¶

When package is installed from one of the package sources(see Package source) using the install command, cget will run the equivalent cmake commands to install it:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$CGET_PREFIX/cget/cget.cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$CGET_PREFIX ..
cmake --build .
cmake --build . --target install

However, cget will always create the build directory out of source. The cget.cmake is a toolchain file that is setup by cget, so that cmake can find the installed packages. Other settings can be added about the toolchain as well(see init).

The cget.cmake toolchain file can be useful for cmake projects to use. This will enable cmake to find the dependencies installed by cget as well:

cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$CGET_PREFIX/cget/cget.cmake ..

Instead of passing in the toolchain, cget provides a build command to take of this already(see build). This will configure cmake with cget.cmake toolchain file and build the project:

cget build

By default, it will build the all target, but a target can be specified as well:

cget build --target some_target

For projects that don’t use cmake, then its matter of searching for the dependencies in CGET_PREFIX. Also, it is quite common for packages to provide pkg-config files for managing dependencies. So, cget provides a pkg-config command that will search for the dependencies that cget has installed. For example, cget pkg-config can be used to link in the dependencies for zlib without needing cmake:

cget install zlib,http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz
g++ src.cpp `cget pkg-config zlib --cflags --libs`

Installing non-cmake packages¶

Cget can install non-cmake packages as well. Due note that non-cmake build systems do not have a way to tell the build where the dependencies are installed. Cget will set environmnet variables such as PKG_CONFIG_PATH and PATH, but if the dependencies are not found using pkg-config or these standard environmnet variables then you will need to consult the build scripts as to what protocol is needed to resolve the dependencies.

Using custom cmake¶

For packages that don’t support building with cmake. A cmake file can be provided to build the package. This can either build the sources or bootstrap the build system for the package:

cget install SomePackage --cmake mycmake.cmake

Header-only libraries¶

For libraries that are header-only, cget provides a cmake file header to install the headers. For example, Boost.Preprocessor library can be installed like this:

cget install boostorg/preprocessor --cmake header

By default, it installs the headers in the ‘include’ directory, but this can be changed by setting the INCLUDE_DIR cmake variable:

cget install boostorg/preprocessor --cmake header -DINCLUDE_DIR=include

Binaries¶

For binaries, cget provides a cmake file binary which will install all the files in the package without building any source files. For example, the clang binaries for ubuntu can be installed like this:

cget install clang,http://llvm.org/releases/3.9.0/clang+llvm-3.9.0-x86_64-linux-gnu-ubuntu-16.04.tar.xz  --cmake binary

CMake Subdirectory¶

If cmake is not in the top-level directory this will use the cmake in a subdirectory:

cget install google/protobuf --cmake subdir

By default, it uses a directory named cmake, but this can be changed by setting the CMAKE_DIR variable:

cget install sandstorm-io/capnproto --cmake subdir -DCMAKE_DIR=c++

Boost¶

A cmake boost is provided to install boost libraries as well:

cget install boost,http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/boost/boost/1.62.0/boost_1_62_0.tar.bz2 --cmake boost

Libraries can be selected with cmake variables BOOST_WITH_ and BOOST_WITHOUT_. For example, just Boost.Filesystem(and it dependencies) can be built as:

cget install boost,http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/boost/boost/1.62.0/boost_1_62_0.tar.bz2 --cmake boost -DBOOST_WITH_FILESYSTEM=1

Also, everthing can be built except Boost.Python like the following:

cget install boost,http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/boost/boost/1.62.0/boost_1_62_0.tar.bz2 --cmake boost -DBOOST_WITHOUT_PYTHON=1

Meson¶

A cmake meson is provided to build packages that use the meson build system. CMake variables of the form MESON_SOME_VAR are passed to meson as a variable some-var.

To use meson you will need python 3.5 or later, with meson and ninja installed. It can be installed with pip3 install meson ninja. Cget does not provide an installation of meson.

Autotools¶

A cmake autotools is provided to build autotools-based libraries. Autotools is not a portable build system and may not work on all platforms.

Using recipes¶

Many times a package doesn’t list its dependencies in a requirements.txt file, or it requires special defines or custom cmake(see Using custom cmake). A recipe helps simplify this, by allowing a package to be installed with a simple recipe name without needing to update the original package source.

Structure of a recipe¶

A recipe is a directoy which contains a ‘package.txt’ file and an optional ‘requirements.txt’ file. If a ‘requirements.txt’ is not provided, then the requirements file in the package will be used otherwise the requirements file in the recipe will be used and the package’s requirements.txt will be ignored.

Both files follow the format describe in Requirements file. The ‘package.txt’ file list only one package, which is the package to be installed. The ‘requirements.txt’ list packages to be installed as dependecies, which can also reference other recipes.

All recipe directories are searched under the $CGET_PREFIX/etc/cget/recipes/ directory. A cmake package can install additional recipes through cget.

For example, we could build a simple recipe for zlib so we don’t have to remember the url everytime. By adding the file $CGET_PREFIX/etc/cget/recipes/zlib/package.txt with the url like this:

http://zlib.net/zlib-1.2.11.tar.gz

We can now install zlib with just cget install zlib. Additionally, we can set additional options as well. For example, if we want to install boost, we can write $CGET_PREFIX/etc/cget/recipes/boost/package.txt to use the boost cmake(see Boost):

http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/boost/boost/1.62.0/boost_1_62_0.tar.bz2 --cmake boost

We can also make zlib a dependency of boost by writing a $CGET_PREFIX/etc/cget/recipes/boost/requirements.txt file listing zlib:

zlib

So, now we can easily install boost with cget install boost and it will install zlib automatically as well.

Getting recipes¶

The cget-recipes repository maintains a set of recipes for many packages. It can be easily installed with:

cget install pfultz2/cget-recipes