Build Info Basics

This page describes how to specify the most common options for the build info.

Build Type

The BuildType setting specifies what type of output to build. Here are the supported types:

• Executable: Build as an executable program (default)
• Static: Build as a static library
• Shared: Build as a shared library

BuildType: Static # Static library

Note

If not specified, the default build type is Executable.

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Required Profiles

A profile represents a compiler/linker toolchain. You can set what only profiles are allowed to compile/link this project. For example

RequiredProfiles: 
    Windows: ["g++", "msvc"]
    Linux: ["g++"]
    MacOS: ["g++"]

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Compile And Link Flags

You can modify compile and link flags using OverrideCompileFlags and OverrideLinkFlags. Each setting supports two operations:

• Remove: Remove flags from the profile default flags
• Append: Add additional flags in addition to the profile default flags

OverrideCompileFlags:
    Windows:
        "msvc":
            Remove: "/W3"        # Remove default warning level
            Append: "/W4 /WX"    # Use W4 and treat warnings as errors
    DefaultPlatform:
        "g++":
            Append: "-Wall -Wextra -Werror"

OverrideLinkFlags:
    Linux:
        "g++":
            Append: "-Wl,-rpath,\\$ORIGIN"    # Add rpath for shared libraries

Warning

Flag modifications are passed directly to the shell. Be cautious when using variables or user-provided input in your build commands.

Note

The default flags for each profile can be found in your user config file. Run runcpp2 show-config-path to locate it.

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Source Files And Include Paths

You can specify source files and include paths using SourceFiles and IncludePaths. If you main file is a source file (i.e. .cpp or .c), then it is included as a source file implicitly.

All paths are relative to main file's location, like so

Project Structure

project/
├── main.cpp
├── main.yaml
├── src/
│   └── utils.cpp
│   └── helper.cpp
└── include/
    └── utils.hpp
    └── helper.hpp

main.yaml

SourceFiles: ["./src/utils.cpp", "./src/helper.cpp"]
IncludePaths: ["./include"]

Note

You can specify different source files for different platforms/profiles:

SourceFiles:
    Windows:
        "msvc": ["./src/windows_impl.cpp"]
    Unix:
        "g++": ["./src/unix_impl.cpp"]
IncludePaths:
    Windows:
        "msvc": ["./include/win/msvc"]
    Unix:
        "g++": ["./include/unix/gcc"]

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Defines

You can add preprocessor definitions using the Defines field. Defines can be specified with or without values, for different platforms/profiles:

Example

# For DefaultPlatform & DefaultProfile
Defines:
-   "DEBUG"                    # Define without value (#define DEBUG)
-   "VERSION_MAJOR=1"          # Define with value (#define VERSION_MAJOR 1)
-   "APP_NAME=\"MyApp\""       # Define with string value (#define APP_NAME "MyApp")

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Adding Command Hooks

runcpp2 provides four types of command hooks that run at different stages of the build, all of which can be configured per platform/profile:

1. Setup: Run once before the script is first built

   Info

   • Runs at the script's location when no build directory exists
   • Useful for one-time initialization

2. PreBuild: Run before each build

   Info

   • Runs in the build directory before compilation starts
   • Useful for generating files or updating dependencies

3. PostBuild: Run after each successful build

   Info

   • Runs in the output directory where binaries are located
   • Useful for copying resources or post-processing binaries

4. Cleanup: Run when runcpp2 reset ... is used

   Info

   • Runs at the script's location before the build directory is removed
   • Useful for cleaning up generated files

Setup:
    Windows:
        DefaultProfile: ["echo Setting up in %cd%", "mkdir assets"]
PreBuild: ["python generate_version.py"] # Generate version header
PostBuild:
    Unix:
        DefaultProfile: ["cp -r assets/* ."] # Copy assets to output
Cleanup:
    Unix:
        DefaultProfile: ["rm -rf assets"] # Clean up generated files

Warning

All commands are passed directly to the shell. Be cautious when using variables or user-provided input in your commands.

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Importing Fields

Common values that are shared between multiple build info files can be reused by being imported to the current build info.

This can be done by specifying a path to the target yaml as a string or as an array of strings.

...
Import: "./OtherDefines.yaml"
...

OtherDefines.yaml

Defines: ["MyDefine1", "MyDefine2", ...]