CMake Uninstall

CMake does not provide a built-in uninstall command, but you can implement an uninstall process manually using the install_manifest.txt file generated during installation. Below are the steps to add and execute an uninstall target in your CMake project.

1. Create an uninstall Script

• Create a file named cmake_uninstall.cmake.in in your project directory with the following content:

if(NOT EXISTS "@CMAKE_BINARY_DIR@/install_manifest.txt")

message(FATAL_ERROR "Cannot find install manifest: @CMAKE_BINARY_DIR@/install_manifest.txt")

endif()

file(READ "@CMAKE_BINARY_DIR@/install_manifest.txt" files)

string(REGEX REPLACE "\n" ";" files "${files}")

foreach(file ${files})

message(STATUS "Uninstalling $ENV{DESTDIR}${file}")

if(IS_SYMLINK "$ENV{DESTDIR}${file}" OR EXISTS "$ENV{DESTDIR}${file}")

execute_process(COMMAND "@CMAKE_COMMAND@" -E remove "$ENV{DESTDIR}${file}")

else()

message(STATUS "File $ENV{DESTDIR}${file} does not exist.")

endif()

endforeach()

 

2. Add Uninstall Target to CMakeLists.txt

• Modify your CMakeLists.txt file to include the uninstall target:

if(NOT TARGET uninstall)

configure_file(

"${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake_uninstall.cmake.in"

"${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/cmake_uninstall.cmake"

IMMEDIATE @ONLY

)

add_custom_target(uninstall

COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -P ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/cmake_uninstall.cmake

)

endif()

 

3. Execute the Uninstall Command

• After building and installing your project, you can run the following command to uninstall:

sudo make uninstall

 

This will remove all files listed in the install_manifest.txt.

Best Practices

• Always verify that the install_manifest.txt exists before running the uninstall process.

• For UNIX systems, you can also directly use:

xargs rm < install_manifest.txt

 

to remove installed files.

By following these steps, you can safely implement and execute an uninstall process for your CMake-based projects.