BINARYDIR

BINARYDIR is a term used in software development to designate the directory where compiled binary artifacts are placed after a build. It is not a universal standard, but a convention that appears in documentation and build scripts to distinguish source files from build outputs. The purpose is to organize a project so that source trees remain clean and build outputs can be isolated, archived, or deployed independently.

In typical usage, BINARYDIR is the top-level directory that contains subdirectories such as bin for executables, lib for libraries, and sometimes include or share for generated headers and data. The name and structure may vary; some projects use "build" or "out" as the binary directory, and on some systems a project may create per-configuration subdirectories (for example Debug/Release on Windows) inside the binary directory.

BINARYDIR is often used in out-of-tree or out-of-source builds, where the build is performed outside the source tree. This aids in keeping the source tree pristine and simplifies cleanup (a single removal of the BINARYDIR removes all build artifacts). Build systems may have variables or options to specify the binary directory, and scripts frequently reference BINARYDIR to locate produced executables or libraries during testing and packaging.

Limitations include potential confusion over naming conventions across platforms, and the need to ensure relative paths are maintained if the binary directory is moved. See also: source directory, build directory, out-of-tree build.