CMake Project Template

A modern C++ project template using CMake 3.25+ and CPM.cmake for dependency management, with out-of-the-box support for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Requirements

Tool	Minimum version
CMake	3.25
C++ compiler	C++23-capable (MSVC 19.34+, GCC 13+, Clang 16+, AppleClang 15+)
Ninja (optional)	any recent version

Project Layout

.
├── CMakeLists.txt       # Main build script
├── CMakePresets.json    # Platform presets (Windows / macOS / Linux)
├── cmake/               # Auto-downloaded CPM.cmake lives here
└── src/
    └── main.cpp         # Application entry point

Quick Start

Using CMake Presets (recommended)

Pick the preset that matches your platform:

Platform	Preset name
Windows (Visual Studio 2022)	windows-msvc
Windows (Ninja + MSVC)	windows-ninja
Linux (GCC)	linux-gcc
Linux (Clang)	linux-clang
macOS (AppleClang)	macos-clang
Any platform – Debug	debug

# Configure
cmake --preset linux-gcc        # replace with your preset

# Build
cmake --build --preset linux-gcc

The compiled binary is placed in build/<preset-name>/.

Manual configuration

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build

Adding Dependencies

CPM.cmake is downloaded automatically on the first CMake run.
Add packages inside CMakeLists.txt after the # Dependencies section:

CPMAddPackage("gh:fmtlib/fmt#11.0.2")
target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE fmt::fmt)

Platform Notes

• Windows – UNICODE, _UNICODE, WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN, and NOMINMAX are defined automatically. MSVC warning level /W4 is enabled.
• macOS / Linux – -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic are passed to the compiler.
• compile_commands.json is always generated into the build directory for IDE/clangd support.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

Acknowledgements

• CPM.cmake for dependency management