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cmake: how to keep path to libraries during installation

I have some executable which depends on config files which relative path are setup in the source.

The executable links against a library, which is created in the same project.

What I am hoping to achieve, is having the executable working out of the box after installation, i.e. the installation would copy the executable, config files and library in a suitable location, and the executable would be linked to the library.

What I have for the moment:

install(TARGETS ${test_executables}  ${PROJECT_NAME} 
    RUNTIME DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/bin
    ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/lib
    LIBRARY DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/lib)
install(DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/plot" 
    DESTINATION .)

${PROJECT_NAME} is the library, plot is the folder in which the config files are.

What happens after install is that all files are in the right place in the install folder, but the executable does not find the library.

ps:

I tried to add this before :

set(CMAKE_SKIP_BUILD_RPATH  FALSE)
set(CMAKE_BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH FALSE) # tried also with TRUE
set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH_USE_LINK_PATH TRUE)                                                
set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/lib)

but this did not work

Solution

  • It is INSTALL_RPATH target's property which affects on RPATH for installed executable. This property is set to value of variable CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH at target creation time.

    So, variable CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH needs to be set before add_executable() call for make effect on the target.

    Most of global variables and target-unaware commands affect on the target only at target creation time.

    There are exceptions, like command include_directories(), which affects on all targets created in the current directory. But preparing everything before creation of the target could be good practice.