How to copy contents of a directory into build directory after make with CMake?

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You can use add_custom_command.

Say your target is called MyTarget, then you can do this:

add_custom_command(TARGET MyTarget PRE_BUILD
                   COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy_directory
                       ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/config/ $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:MyTarget>)

This executes every time you build MyTarget and copies the contents of “/config” into the directory where the target exe/lib will end up.

As Mark Lakata points out in a comment below, replacing PRE_BUILD with POST_BUILD in the add_custom_command ensures that copying will only happen if the build succeeds.

Explanation

  • ${CMAKE_COMMAND} is the path to CMake
  • -E makes CMake run commands instead of building
  • copy_directory is a Command-Line Tool
  • config is the directory (that falls under the root of the project) who’s contents will be copied into the build target
  • $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:MyTarget> is a generator expression, described in the add_custom_command documentation.

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