Cmake cannot find library using “link_directories”

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Do not use link_directories like this in CMake.

This is a common beginner’s mistake, as many other build environments work like this, but in CMake it’s just asking for trouble. Even the manpage specifically advises against it:

Note that this command [link_directories] is rarely necessary. Library locations returned
by find_package() and find_library() are absolute paths. Pass these
absolute library file paths directly to the target_link_libraries()
command. CMake will ensure the linker finds them.

So instead, always pass absolute paths to target_link_libraries and use find_library to resolve the link directory:

find_library(PROTOBUF_LIBRARY protobuf HINTS /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu)
target_link_libraries(test PUBLIC ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY})

This has the huge benefit that you will probably get a diagnostic at CMake configure time if the expected library cannot be found, instead of a random linker error at compile time. Also, this allows the user to specify a library location via the GUI if the target machine has a non-standard directory layout.

So if it doesn’t work right away, be sure to check the result of the find_library call and consult the manpage to track down why it doesn’t find your library as intended.

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