cmakegui

cmakegui, commonly called cmake-gui, is a graphical user interface for CMake that provides a visual workflow for configuring and generating build systems for CMake projects. It is distributed with CMake and available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The program presents a list of cache entries that correspond to CMake variables. Users specify a source directory containing CMakeLists.txt and a binary/build directory where the build files will be generated. After selecting a generator and toolchain, they click Configure to populate the cache, and then Generate to write the final build system.

Users can edit cache values, create new entries, or delete the cache entirely. The cache is stored in CMakeCache.txt in the binary directory and controls the options passed to CMake in subsequent configurations.

CMake GUI provides a straightforward alternative to the command-line interface and to terminal-based ncurses tools such as ccmake, especially on Windows and macOS.

Limitations include that not all advanced CMake options may be exposed in the GUI, and complex projects may still require editing CMakeLists.txt and running CMake from the command line.

In practice, cmake-gui is used to adjust build options, enable or disable features, and then generate platform-specific project files such as Visual Studio solution files, Xcode projects, Makefiles, or Ninja builds.