How to properly add include directories with CMake

Two things must be done.

First add the directory to be included:

target_include_directories(test PRIVATE ${YOUR_DIRECTORY})

In case you are stuck with a very old CMake version (2.8.10 or older) without support for target_include_directories, you can also use the legacy include_directories instead:

include_directories(${YOUR_DIRECTORY})

Then you also must add the header files to the list of your source files for the current target, for instance:

set(SOURCES file.cpp file2.cpp ${YOUR_DIRECTORY}/file1.h ${YOUR_DIRECTORY}/file2.h)
add_executable(test ${SOURCES})

This way, the header files will appear as dependencies in the Makefile, and also for example in the generated Visual Studio project, if you generate one.

How to use those header files for several targets:

set(HEADER_FILES ${YOUR_DIRECTORY}/file1.h ${YOUR_DIRECTORY}/file2.h)

add_library(mylib libsrc.cpp ${HEADER_FILES})
target_include_directories(mylib PRIVATE ${YOUR_DIRECTORY})
add_executable(myexec execfile.cpp ${HEADER_FILES})
target_include_directories(myexec PRIVATE ${YOUR_DIRECTORY})

---

First, you use include_directories() to tell CMake to add the directory as -I to the compilation command line. Second, you list the headers in your add_executable() or add_library() call.

As an example, if your project's sources are in src, and you need headers from include, you could do it like this:

include_directories(include)

add_executable(MyExec
  src/main.c
  src/other_source.c
  include/header1.h
  include/header2.h
)

---

Add include_directories("/your/path/here").

This will be similar to calling gcc with -I/your/path/here/ option.

Make sure you put double quotes around the path. Other people didn't mention that and it made me stuck for 2 days. So this answer is for people who are very new to CMake and very confused.

---

CMake is more like a script language if comparing it with other ways to create Makefile (e.g. make or qmake). It is not very cool like Python, but still.

There are no such thing like a "proper way" if looking in various opensource projects how people include directories. But there are two ways to do it.

Crude include_directories will append a directory to the current project and all other descendant projects which you will append via a series of add_subdirectory commands. Sometimes people say that such approach is legacy. A more elegant way is with target_include_directories. It allows to append a directory for a specific project/target without (maybe) unnecessary inheritance or clashing of various include directories. Also allow to perform even a subtle configuration and append one of the following markers for this command.

PRIVATE - use only for this specified build target

PUBLIC - use it for specified target and for targets which links with this project

INTERFACE -- use it only for targets which links with the current project

PS:

Both commands allow to mark a directory as SYSTEM to give a hint that it is not your business that specified directories will contain warnings. A similar answer is with other pairs of commands target_compile_definitions/add_definitions, target_compile_options/CMAKE_C_FLAGS

---

Structure of project

.
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── external //We simulate that code is provided by an "external" library outside of src
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   ├── conversion.cpp
│   ├── conversion.hpp
│   └── README.md
├── src
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   ├── evolution   //propagates the system in a time step
│   │   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   │   ├── evolution.cpp
│   │   └── evolution.hpp
│   ├── initial    //produces the initial state
│   │   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   │   ├── initial.cpp
│   │   └── initial.hpp
│   ├── io   //contains a function to print a row
│   │   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   │   ├── io.cpp
│   │   └── io.hpp
│   ├── main.cpp      //the main function
│   └── parser   //parses the command-line input
│       ├── CMakeLists.txt
│       ├── parser.cpp
│       └── parser.hpp
└── tests  //contains two unit tests using the Catch2 library
    ├── catch.hpp
    ├── CMakeLists.txt
    └── test.cpp

How to do it

1. The top-level CMakeLists.txt is very similar to Recipe 1, Code reuse with functions and macros

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5 FATAL_ERROR)
  
project(recipe-07 LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 11)
set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

include(GNUInstallDirs)
set(CMAKE_ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY
  ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR})
set(CMAKE_LIBRARY_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY
  ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR})
set(CMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY
  ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR})

# defines targets and sources
add_subdirectory(src)

# contains an "external" library we will link to
add_subdirectory(external)

# enable testing and define tests
enable_testing()
add_subdirectory(tests)

2.Targets and sources are defined in src/CMakeLists.txt (except the conversion target)

add_executable(automata main.cpp)
  
add_subdirectory(evolution)
add_subdirectory(initial)
add_subdirectory(io)
add_subdirectory(parser)

target_link_libraries(automata
  PRIVATE
    conversion
    evolution
    initial
    io
    parser
  )

3.The conversion library is defined in external/CMakeLists.txt

add_library(conversion "")

target_sources(conversion
  PRIVATE
    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/conversion.cpp
  PUBLIC
    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/conversion.hpp
  )

target_include_directories(conversion
  PUBLIC
    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}
  )

4.The src/CMakeLists.txt file adds further subdirectories, which in turn contain CMakeLists.txt files. They are all similar in structure; src/evolution/CMakeLists.txt contains the following:

add_library(evolution "")

target_sources(evolution
  PRIVATE
    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/evolution.cpp
  PUBLIC
    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/evolution.hpp
  )
target_include_directories(evolution
  PUBLIC
    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}
  )

5.The unit tests are registered in tests/CMakeLists.txt

add_executable(cpp_test test.cpp)

target_link_libraries(cpp_test evolution)

add_test(
  NAME
    test_evolution
  COMMAND
    $<TARGET_FILE:cpp_test>
  )

How to run it

$ mkdir -p build
$ cd build
$ cmake ..
$ cmake --build .

Refer to: https://github.com/sun1211/cmake_with_add_subdirectory

---

I had the same problem.

My project directory was like this:

    --project
    ---Classes
    ----Application
    -----.h and .c files
    ----OtherFolders
    --main.cpp

And what I used to include the files in all those folders:

    file(GLOB source_files CONFIGURE_DEPENDS
            "*.h"
            "*.cpp"
            "Classes/*/*.cpp"
            "Classes/*/*.h"
    )

    add_executable(Server ${source_files})

And it totally worked.

---

This worked for me:

set(SOURCE main.cpp)
add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME} ${SOURCE})

# target_include_directories must be added AFTER add_executable
target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC ${INTERNAL_INCLUDES})

---

Don't forget to include ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}. That's what was causing problems for me.

Example should be like this:

target_include_directories(projectname
    PUBLIC "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/include"                          
)

PUBLIC for dependencies which you want to be included by a parent project. PRIVATE for ones that you don't.

---

Yet another alternative:

set_property(
    TARGET MyApp
    APPEND PROPERTY
        INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/src"
)  

---

I am using CLion also my project structure is the following :

--main.cpp
--Class.cpp
--Class.h
--CMakeLists.txt

The CMakeLists.txt before the change:

add_executable(ProjectName main.cpp)

The CMakeLists.txt after the change:

add_executable(ProjectName main.cpp Class.cpp Class.h)

By doing that the program compiled successfully.

---