CPACKPACKAGEVERSION

CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION is a CPack configuration variable used by CMake’s packaging system to specify the version of the package being generated. The value is included in package metadata and often appears in the resulting package file name, depending on the chosen generator (for example .deb, .rpm, or Windows installers).

The variable can be set directly in CMake with set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION "1.2.3"). If CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION is not defined, CPACK will attempt to derive the version from PROJECT_VERSION, provided that the project version is defined (for example via project(MyProject VERSION 1.2.3)). If neither is defined, packaging may fail or produce ambiguous results.

CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION supports semantic versioning and can include pre-release or build metadata, such as 1.2.3-rc1 or 1.2.3+build456. CPACK also provides separate version components through CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR, CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR, and CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH, which can be set individually if a generator or workflow requires numeric fields rather than a single string.

Usage considerations include maintaining consistency between the project version and the package version, and ensuring compatibility with the target packaging format. Some packaging configurations rely on the major/minor/patch components for repository naming or update semantics, even when a combined CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION string is used.

See also: related CPACK_ variables such as CPACK_PACKAGE_NAME, CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR, and CPACK_PACKAGE_CONTACT.

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