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| +# GN Reference |
| + |
| +[TOC] |
| + |
| +This page is automatically generated from `gn help --markdown all`. |
| + |
| +## **--args**: Specifies build arguments overrides. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + See "gn help buildargs" for an overview of how build arguments work. |
| + |
| + Most operations take a build directory. The build arguments are taken |
| + from the previous build done in that directory. If a command specifies |
| + --args, it will override the previous arguments stored in the build |
| + directory, and use the specified ones. |
| + |
| + The args specified will be saved to the build directory for subsequent |
| + commands. Specifying --args="" will clear all build arguments. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Formatting** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The value of the switch is interpreted in GN syntax. For typical usage |
| + of string arguments, you will need to be careful about escaping of |
| + quotes. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen out/Default --args="foo=\"bar\"" |
| + |
| + gn gen out/Default --args='foo="bar" enable=true blah=7' |
| + |
| + gn check out/Default --args="" |
| + Clears existing build args from the directory. |
| + |
| + gn desc out/Default --args="some_list=[1, false, \"foo\"]" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **--[no]color**: Forces colored output on or off. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally GN will try to detect whether it is outputting to a terminal |
| + and will enable or disable color accordingly. Use of these switches |
| + will override the default. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen out/Default --color |
| + |
| + gn gen out/Default --nocolor |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **--dotfile**: override the name of the ".gn" file. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally GN loads the ".gn"file from the source root for some basic |
| + configuration (see "gn help dotfile"). This flag allows you to |
| + use a different file. |
| + |
| + Note that this interacts with "--root" in a possibly incorrect way. |
| + It would be nice to test the edge cases and document or fix. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **--markdown**: write the output in the Markdown format. |
| + |
| +## **--[no]color**: Forces colored output on or off. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally GN will try to detect whether it is outputting to a terminal |
| + and will enable or disable color accordingly. Use of these switches |
| + will override the default. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen out/Default --color |
| + |
| + gn gen out/Default --nocolor |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **-q**: Quiet mode. Don't print output on success. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This is useful when running as a part of another script. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **--root**: Explicitly specify source root. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally GN will look up in the directory tree from the current |
| + directory to find a ".gn" file. The source root directory specifies |
| + the meaning of "//" beginning with paths, and the BUILD.gn file |
| + in that directory will be the first thing loaded. |
| + |
| + Specifying --root allows GN to do builds in a specific directory |
| + regardless of the current directory. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen //out/Default --root=/home/baracko/src |
| + |
| + gn desc //out/Default --root="C:\Users\BObama\My Documents\foo" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **--time**: Outputs a summary of how long everything took. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Hopefully self-explanatory. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen out/Default --time |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **--tracelog**: Writes a Chrome-compatible trace log to the given file. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The trace log will show file loads, executions, scripts, and writes. |
| + This allows performance analysis of the generation step. |
| + |
| + To view the trace, open Chrome and navigate to "chrome://tracing/", |
| + then press "Load" and specify the file you passed to this parameter. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen out/Default --tracelog=mytrace.trace |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **-v**: Verbose logging. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This will spew logging events to the console for debugging issues. |
| + Good luck! |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn args <out_dir> [--list] [--short] [--args]** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + See also "gn help buildargs" for a more high-level overview of how |
| + build arguments work. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Usage** |
| +``` |
| + gn args <out_dir> |
| + Open the arguments for the given build directory in an editor |
| + (as specified by the EDITOR environment variable). If the given |
| + build directory doesn't exist, it will be created and an empty |
| + args file will be opened in the editor. You would type something |
| + like this into that file: |
| + enable_doom_melon=false |
| + os="android" |
| + |
| + Note: you can edit the build args manually by editing the file |
| + "args.gn" in the build directory and then running |
| + "gn gen <out_dir>". |
| + |
| + gn args <out_dir> --list[=<exact_arg>] [--short] |
| + Lists all build arguments available in the current configuration, |
| + or, if an exact_arg is specified for the list flag, just that one |
| + build argument. |
| + |
| + The output will list the declaration location, default value, and |
| + comment preceeding the declaration. If --short is specified, |
| + only the names and values will be printed. |
| + |
| + If the out_dir is specified, the build configuration will be |
| + taken from that build directory. The reason this is needed is that |
| + the definition of some arguments is dependent on the build |
| + configuration, so setting some values might add, remove, or change |
| + the default values for other arguments. Specifying your exact |
| + configuration allows the proper arguments to be displayed. |
| + |
| + Instead of specifying the out_dir, you can also use the |
| + command-line flag to specify the build configuration: |
| + --args=<exact list of args to use> |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| +``` |
| + gn args out/Debug |
| + Opens an editor with the args for out/Debug. |
| + |
| + gn args out/Debug --list --short |
| + Prints all arguments with their default values for the out/Debug |
| + build. |
| + |
| + gn args out/Debug --list=target_cpu |
| + Prints information about the "target_cpu" argument for the out/Debug |
| + build. |
| + |
| + gn args --list --args="os=\"android\" enable_doom_melon=true" |
| + Prints all arguments with the default values for a build with the |
| + given arguments set (which may affect the values of other |
| + arguments). |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn check <out_dir> [<label_pattern>] [--force]** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + "gn check" is the same thing as "gn gen" with the "--check" flag |
| + except that this command does not write out any build files. It's |
| + intended to be an easy way to manually trigger include file checking. |
| + |
| + The <label_pattern> can take exact labels or patterns that match more |
| + than one (although not general regular expressions). If specified, |
| + only those matching targets will be checked. See |
| + "gn help label_pattern" for details. |
| + |
| + The .gn file may specify a list of targets to be checked. Only these |
| + targets will be checked if no label_pattern is specified on the |
| + command line. Otherwise, the command-line list is used instead. See |
| + "gn help dotfile". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Command-specific switches** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + --force |
| + Ignores specifications of "check_includes = false" and checks |
| + all target's files that match the target label. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn check out/Debug |
| + Check everything. |
| + |
| + gn check out/Default //foo:bar |
| + Check only the files in the //foo:bar target. |
| + |
| + gn check out/Default "//foo/* |
| + Check only the files in targets in the //foo directory tree. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn clean <out_dir>** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Deletes the contents of the output directory except for args.gn and |
| + creates a Ninja build environment sufficient to regenerate the build. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn desc <out_dir> <target label> [<what to show>] [--blame]** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Displays information about a given labeled target for the given build. |
| + The build parameters will be taken for the build in the given |
| + <out_dir>. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Possibilities for <what to show>** |
| +``` |
| + (If unspecified an overall summary will be displayed.) |
| + |
| + sources |
| + Source files. |
| + |
| + inputs |
| + Additional input dependencies. |
| + |
| + public |
| + Public header files. |
| + |
| + check_includes |
| + Whether "gn check" checks this target for include usage. |
| + |
| + allow_circular_includes_from |
| + Permit includes from these targets. |
| + |
| + visibility |
| + Prints which targets can depend on this one. |
| + |
| + testonly |
| + Whether this target may only be used in tests. |
| + |
| + configs |
| + Shows configs applied to the given target, sorted in the order |
| + they're specified. This includes both configs specified in the |
| + "configs" variable, as well as configs pushed onto this target |
| + via dependencies specifying "all" or "direct" dependent |
| + configs. |
| + |
| + deps |
| + Show immediate or recursive dependencies. See below for flags that |
| + control deps printing. |
| + |
| + public_configs |
| + all_dependent_configs |
| + Shows the labels of configs applied to targets that depend on this |
| + one (either directly or all of them). |
| + |
| + forward_dependent_configs_from |
| + Shows the labels of dependencies for which dependent configs will |
| + be pushed to targets depending on the current one. |
| + |
| + script |
| + args |
| + depfile |
| + Actions only. The script and related values. |
| + |
| + outputs |
| + Outputs for script and copy target types. |
| + |
| + defines [--blame] |
| + include_dirs [--blame] |
| + cflags [--blame] |
| + cflags_cc [--blame] |
| + cflags_cxx [--blame] |
| + ldflags [--blame] |
| + lib_dirs |
| + libs |
| + Shows the given values taken from the target and all configs |
| + applying. See "--blame" below. |
| + |
| + --blame |
| + Used with any value specified by a config, this will name |
| + the config that specified the value. This doesn't currently work |
| + for libs and lib_dirs because those are inherited and are more |
| + complicated to figure out the blame (patches welcome). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Flags that control how deps are printed** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + --all |
| + Collects all recursive dependencies and prints a sorted flat list. |
| + Also usable with --tree (see below). |
| + |
| + --as=(buildfile|label|output) |
| + How to print targets. |
| + |
| + buildfile |
| + Prints the build files where the given target was declared as |
| + file names. |
| + label (default) |
| + Prints the label of the target. |
| + output |
| + Prints the first output file for the target relative to the |
| + current directory. |
| + |
| + --testonly=(true|false) |
| + Restrict outputs to targets with the testonly flag set |
| + accordingly. When unspecified, the target's testonly flags are |
| + ignored. |
| + |
| + --tree |
| + Print a dependency tree. By default, duplicates will be elided |
| + with "..." but when --all and -tree are used together, no |
| + eliding will be performed. |
| + |
| + The "deps", "public_deps", and "data_deps" will all be |
| + included in the tree. |
| + |
| + Tree output can not be used with the filtering or output flags: |
| + --as, --type, --testonly. |
| + |
| + --type=(action|copy|executable|group|shared_library|source_set| |
| + static_library) |
| + Restrict outputs to targets matching the given type. If |
| + unspecified, no filtering will be performed. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Note** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This command will show the full name of directories and source files, |
| + but when directories and source paths are written to the build file, |
| + they will be adjusted to be relative to the build directory. So the |
| + values for paths displayed by this command won't match (but should |
| + mean the same thing). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn desc out/Debug //base:base |
| + Summarizes the given target. |
| + |
| + gn desc out/Foo :base_unittests deps --tree |
| + Shows a dependency tree of the "base_unittests" project in |
| + the current directory. |
| + |
| + gn desc out/Debug //base defines --blame |
| + Shows defines set for the //base:base target, annotated by where |
| + each one was set from. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn format [--dump-tree] [--in-place] [--stdin] BUILD.gn** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Formats .gn file to a standard format. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Arguments** |
| +``` |
| + --dry-run |
| + Does not change or output anything, but sets the process exit code |
| + based on whether output would be different than what's on disk. |
| + This is useful for presubmit/lint-type checks. |
| + - Exit code 0: successful format, matches on disk. |
| + - Exit code 1: general failure (parse error, etc.) |
| + - Exit code 2: successful format, but differs from on disk. |
| + |
| + --dump-tree |
| + For debugging only, dumps the parse tree. |
| + |
| + --in-place |
| + Instead of writing the formatted file to stdout, replace the input |
| + file with the formatted output. If no reformatting is required, |
| + the input file will not be touched, and nothing printed. |
| + |
| + --stdin |
| + Read input from stdin (and write to stdout). Not compatible with |
| + --in-place of course. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| +``` |
| + gn format //some/BUILD.gn |
| + gn format some\BUILD.gn |
| + gn format /abspath/some/BUILD.gn |
| + gn format --stdin |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn gen**: Generate ninja files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn gen <out_dir> |
| + |
| + Generates ninja files from the current tree and puts them in the given |
| + output directory. |
| + |
| + The output directory can be a source-repo-absolute path name such as: |
| + //out/foo |
| + Or it can be a directory relative to the current directory such as: |
| + out/foo |
| + |
| + See "gn help" for the common command-line switches. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn help <anything>** |
| +``` |
| + Yo dawg, I heard you like help on your help so I put help on the help |
| + in the help. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn ls <out_dir> [<label_pattern>] [--all-toolchains] [--as=...]** |
| +``` |
| + [--type=...] [--testonly=...] |
| + |
| + Lists all targets matching the given pattern for the given build |
| + directory. By default, only targets in the default toolchain will |
| + be matched unless a toolchain is explicitly supplied. |
| + |
| + If the label pattern is unspecified, list all targets. The label |
| + pattern is not a general regular expression (see |
| + "gn help label_pattern"). If you need more complex expressions, |
| + pipe the result through grep. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Options** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + --as=(buildfile|label|output) |
| + How to print targets. |
| + |
| + buildfile |
| + Prints the build files where the given target was declared as |
| + file names. |
| + label (default) |
| + Prints the label of the target. |
| + output |
| + Prints the first output file for the target relative to the |
| + current directory. |
| + |
| + --all-toolchains |
| + Matches all toolchains. When set, if the label pattern does not |
| + specify an explicit toolchain, labels from all toolchains will be |
| + matched. When unset, only targets in the default toolchain will |
| + be matched unless an explicit toolchain in the label is set. |
| + |
| + --testonly=(true|false) |
| + Restrict outputs to targets with the testonly flag set |
| + accordingly. When unspecified, the target's testonly flags are |
| + ignored. |
| + |
| + --type=(action|copy|executable|group|shared_library|source_set| |
| + static_library) |
| + Restrict outputs to targets matching the given type. If |
| + unspecified, no filtering will be performed. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn ls out/Debug |
| + Lists all targets in the default toolchain. |
| + |
| + gn ls out/Debug "//base/*" |
| + Lists all targets in the directory base and all subdirectories. |
| + |
| + gn ls out/Debug "//base:*" |
| + Lists all targets defined in //base/BUILD.gn. |
| + |
| + gn ls out/Debug //base --as=output |
| + Lists the build output file for //base:base |
| + |
| + gn ls out/Debug --type=executable |
| + Lists all executables produced by the build. |
| + |
| + gn ls out/Debug "//base/*" --as=output | xargs ninja -C out/Debug |
| + Builds all targets in //base and all subdirectories. |
| + |
| + gn ls out/Debug //base --all-toolchains |
| + Lists all variants of the target //base:base (it may be referenced |
| + in multiple toolchains). |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **gn refs <out_dir> (<label_pattern>|<label>|<file>)* [--all]** |
| +``` |
| + [--all-toolchains] [--as=...] [--testonly=...] [--type=...] |
| + |
| + Finds reverse dependencies (which targets reference something). The |
| + input is a list containing: |
| + |
| + - Target label: The result will be which targets depend on it. |
| + |
| + - Config label: The result will be which targets list the given |
| + config in its "configs" or "public_configs" list. |
| + |
| + - Label pattern: The result will be which targets depend on any |
| + target matching the given pattern. Patterns will not match |
| + configs. These are not general regular expressions, see |
| + "gn help label_pattern" for details. |
| + |
| + - File name: The result will be which targets list the given file in |
| + its "inputs", "sources", "public", or "data". Any input |
| + that does not contain wildcards and does not match a target or a |
| + config will be treated as a file. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Options** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + --all |
| + When used without --tree, will recurse and display all unique |
| + dependencies of the given targets. For example, if the input is |
| + a target, this will output all targets that depend directly or |
| + indirectly on the input. If the input is a file, this will output |
| + all targets that depend directly or indirectly on that file. |
| + |
| + When used with --tree, turns off eliding to show a complete tree. |
| + |
| + --all-toolchains |
| + Normally only inputs in the default toolchain will be included. |
| + This switch will turn on matching all toolchains. |
| + |
| + For example, a file is in a target might be compiled twice: |
| + once in the default toolchain and once in a secondary one. Without |
| + this flag, only the default toolchain one will be matched and |
| + printed (potentially with its recursive dependencies, depending on |
| + the other options). With this flag, both will be printed |
| + (potentially with both of their recursive dependencies). |
| + |
| + --as=(buildfile|label|output) |
| + How to print targets. |
| + |
| + buildfile |
| + Prints the build files where the given target was declared as |
| + file names. |
| + label (default) |
| + Prints the label of the target. |
| + output |
| + Prints the first output file for the target relative to the |
| + current directory. |
| + |
| + -q |
| + Quiet. If nothing matches, don't print any output. Without this |
| + option, if there are no matches there will be an informational |
| + message printed which might interfere with scripts processing the |
| + output. |
| + |
| + --testonly=(true|false) |
| + Restrict outputs to targets with the testonly flag set |
| + accordingly. When unspecified, the target's testonly flags are |
| + ignored. |
| + |
| + --tree |
| + Outputs a reverse dependency tree from the given target. |
| + Duplicates will be elided. Combine with --all to see a full |
| + dependency tree. |
| + |
| + Tree output can not be used with the filtering or output flags: |
| + --as, --type, --testonly. |
| + |
| + --type=(action|copy|executable|group|shared_library|source_set| |
| + static_library) |
| + Restrict outputs to targets matching the given type. If |
| + unspecified, no filtering will be performed. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples (target input)** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn refs out/Debug //tools/gn:gn |
| + Find all targets depending on the given exact target name. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base:i18n --as=buildfiles | xargs gvim |
| + Edit all .gn files containing references to //base:i18n |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base --all |
| + List all targets depending directly or indirectly on //base:base. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug "//base/*" |
| + List all targets depending directly on any target in //base or |
| + its subdirectories. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug "//base:*" |
| + List all targets depending directly on any target in |
| + //base/BUILD.gn. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base --tree |
| + Print a reverse dependency tree of //base:base |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples (file input)** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base/macros.h |
| + Print target(s) listing //base/macros.h as a source. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base/macros.h --tree |
| + Display a reverse dependency tree to get to the given file. This |
| + will show how dependencies will reference that file. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base/macros.h //base/basictypes.h --all |
| + Display all unique targets with some dependency path to a target |
| + containing either of the given files as a source. |
| + |
| + gn refs out/Debug //base/macros.h --testonly=true --type=executable |
| + --all --as=output |
| + Display the executable file names of all test executables |
| + potentially affected by a change to the given file. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **action**: Declare a target that runs a script a single time. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This target type allows you to run a script a single time to produce |
| + or more output files. If you want to run a script once for each of a |
| + set of input files, see "gn help action_foreach". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Inputs** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + In an action the "sources" and "inputs" are treated the same: |
| + they're both input dependencies on script execution with no special |
| + handling. If you want to pass the sources to your script, you must do |
| + so explicitly by including them in the "args". Note also that this |
| + means there is no special handling of paths since GN doesn't know |
| + which of the args are paths and not. You will want to use |
| + rebase_path() to convert paths to be relative to the root_build_dir. |
| + |
| + You can dynamically write input dependencies (for incremental rebuilds |
| + if an input file changes) by writing a depfile when the script is run |
| + (see "gn help depfile"). This is more flexible than "inputs". |
| + |
| + It is recommended you put inputs to your script in the "sources" |
| + variable, and stuff like other Python files required to run your |
| + script in the "inputs" variable. |
| + |
| + The "deps" and "public_deps" for an action will always be |
| + completed before any part of the action is run so it can depend on |
| + the output of previous steps. The "data_deps" will be built if the |
| + action is built, but may not have completed before all steps of the |
| + action are started. This can give additional parallelism in the build |
| + for runtime-only dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Outputs** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + You should specify files created by your script by specifying them in |
| + the "outputs". |
| + |
| + The script will be executed with the given arguments with the current |
| + directory being that of the root build directory. If you pass files |
| + to your script, see "gn help rebase_path" for how to convert |
| + file names to be relative to the build directory (file names in the |
| + sources, outputs, and inputs will be all treated as relative to the |
| + current build file and converted as needed automatically). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **File name handling** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + All output files must be inside the output directory of the build. |
| + You would generally use |$target_out_dir| or |$target_gen_dir| to |
| + reference the output or generated intermediate file directories, |
| + respectively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + args, data, data_deps, depfile, deps, outputs*, script*, |
| + inputs, sources |
| + * = required |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + action("run_this_guy_once") { |
| + script = "doprocessing.py" |
| + sources = [ "my_configuration.txt" ] |
| + outputs = [ "$target_gen_dir/insightful_output.txt" ] |
| + |
| +* # Our script imports this Python file so we want to rebuild if it |
| +** # changes. |
| +* inputs = [ "helper_library.py" ] |
| + |
| +* # Note that we have to manually pass the sources to our script if |
| +** # the script needs them as inputs. |
| +* args = [ "--out", rebase_path(target_gen_dir, root_build_dir) ] + |
| + rebase_path(sources, root_build_dir) |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **action_foreach**: Declare a target that runs a script over a set of files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This target type allows you to run a script once-per-file over a set |
| + of sources. If you want to run a script once that takes many files as |
| + input, see "gn help action". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Inputs** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The script will be run once per file in the "sources" variable. The |
| + "outputs" variable should specify one or more files with a source |
| + expansion pattern in it (see "gn help source_expansion"). The output |
| + file(s) for each script invocation should be unique. Normally you |
| + use "{{source_name_part}}" in each output file. |
| + |
| + If your script takes additional data as input, such as a shared |
| + configuration file or a Python module it uses, those files should be |
| + listed in the "inputs" variable. These files are treated as |
| + dependencies of each script invocation. |
| + |
| + You can dynamically write input dependencies (for incremental rebuilds |
| + if an input file changes) by writing a depfile when the script is run |
| + (see "gn help depfile"). This is more flexible than "inputs". |
| + |
| + The "deps" and "public_deps" for an action will always be |
| + completed before any part of the action is run so it can depend on |
| + the output of previous steps. The "data_deps" will be built if the |
| + action is built, but may not have completed before all steps of the |
| + action are started. This can give additional parallelism in the build |
| + for runtime-only dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Outputs** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The script will be executed with the given arguments with the current |
| + directory being that of the root build directory. If you pass files |
| + to your script, see "gn help rebase_path" for how to convert |
| + file names to be relative to the build directory (file names in the |
| + sources, outputs, and inputs will be all treated as relative to the |
| + current build file and converted as needed automatically). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **File name handling** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + All output files must be inside the output directory of the build. |
| + You would generally use |$target_out_dir| or |$target_gen_dir| to |
| + reference the output or generated intermediate file directories, |
| + respectively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + args, data, data_deps, depfile, deps, outputs*, script*, |
| + inputs, sources* |
| + * = required |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # Runs the script over each IDL file. The IDL script will generate |
| +** # both a .cc and a .h file for each input. |
|
brettw
2015/04/17 00:01:53
These are a bug. I think you will need to handle t
Dirk Pranke
2015/04/17 00:08:15
Good catch. Will look.
|
| +* action_foreach("my_idl") { |
| + script = "idl_processor.py" |
| + sources = [ "foo.idl", "bar.idl" ] |
| + |
| +* # Our script reads this file each time, so we need to list is as a |
| +** # dependency so we can rebuild if it changes. |
| +* inputs = [ "my_configuration.txt" ] |
| + |
| +* # Transformation from source file name to output file names. |
| +* outputs = [ "$target_gen_dir/{{source_name_part}}.h", |
| + "$target_gen_dir/{{source_name_part}}.cc" ] |
| + |
| +* # Note that since "args" is opaque to GN, if you specify paths |
| +** # here, you will need to convert it to be relative to the build |
| +** # directory using "rebase_path()". |
| +* args = [ |
| + "{{source}}", |
| + "-o", |
| + rebase_path(relative_target_gen_dir, root_build_dir) + |
| + "/{{source_name_part}}.h" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **assert**: Assert an expression is true at generation time. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + assert(<condition> [, <error string>]) |
| + |
| + If the condition is false, the build will fail with an error. If the |
| + optional second argument is provided, that string will be printed |
| + with the error message. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples**: |
| +``` |
| + assert(is_win) |
| + assert(defined(sources), "Sources must be defined") |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **config**: Defines a configuration object. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Configuration objects can be applied to targets and specify sets of |
| + compiler flags, includes, defines, etc. They provide a way to |
| + conveniently group sets of this configuration information. |
| + |
| + A config is referenced by its label just like a target. |
| + |
| + The values in a config are additive only. If you want to remove a flag |
| + you need to remove the corresponding config that sets it. The final |
| + set of flags, defines, etc. for a target is generated in this order: |
| + |
| + 1. The values specified directly on the target (rather than using a |
| + config. |
| + 2. The configs specified in the target's "configs" list, in order. |
| + 3. Public_configs from a breadth-first traversal of the dependency |
| + tree in the order that the targets appear in "deps". |
| + 4. All dependent configs from a breadth-first traversal of the |
| + dependency tree in the order that the targets appear in "deps". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables valid in a config definition**: |
| +``` |
| + Flags: cflags, cflags_c, cflags_cc, cflags_objc, cflags_objcc, |
| + defines, include_dirs, ldflags, lib_dirs, libs |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables on a target used to apply configs**: |
| +``` |
| + all_dependent_configs, configs, public_configs, |
| + forward_dependent_configs_from |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + config("myconfig") { |
| + includes = [ "include/common" ] |
| + defines = [ "ENABLE_DOOM_MELON" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + executable("mything") { |
| + configs = [ ":myconfig" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **copy**: Declare a target that copies files. |
| + |
| +### **File name handling** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + All output files must be inside the output directory of the build. |
| + You would generally use |$target_out_dir| or |$target_gen_dir| to |
| + reference the output or generated intermediate file directories, |
| + respectively. |
| + |
| + Both "sources" and "outputs" must be specified. Sources can |
| + as many files as you want, but there can only be one item in the |
| + outputs list (plural is used for the name for consistency with |
| + other target types). |
| + |
| + If there is more than one source file, your output name should specify |
| + a mapping from each source files to output file names using source |
| + expansion (see "gn help source_expansion"). The placeholders will |
| + will look like "{{source_name_part}}", for example. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # Write a rule that copies a checked-in DLL to the output directory. |
| +* copy("mydll") { |
| + sources = [ "mydll.dll" ] |
| + outputs = [ "$target_out_dir/mydll.dll" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| +* # Write a rule to copy several files to the target generated files |
| +** # directory. |
| +* copy("myfiles") { |
| + sources = [ "data1.dat", "data2.dat", "data3.dat" ] |
| + |
| +* # Use source expansion to generate output files with the |
| +** # corresponding file names in the gen dir. This will just copy each |
| +** # file. |
| +* outputs = [ "$target_gen_dir/{{source_file_part}}" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **declare_args**: Declare build arguments. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Introduces the given arguments into the current scope. If they are |
| + not specified on the command line or in a toolchain's arguments, |
| + the default values given in the declare_args block will be used. |
| + However, these defaults will not override command-line values. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help buildargs" for an overview. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + declare_args() { |
| + enable_teleporter = true |
| + enable_doom_melon = false |
| + } |
| + |
| + If you want to override the (default disabled) Doom Melon: |
| + gn --args="enable_doom_melon=true enable_teleporter=false" |
| + This also sets the teleporter, but it's already defaulted to on so |
| + it will have no effect. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **defined**: Returns whether an identifier is defined. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Returns true if the given argument is defined. This is most useful in |
| + templates to assert that the caller set things up properly. |
| + |
| + You can pass an identifier: |
| + defined(foo) |
| + which will return true or false depending on whether foo is defined in |
| + the current scope. |
| + |
| + You can also check a named scope: |
| + defined(foo.bar) |
| + which will return true or false depending on whether bar is defined in |
| + the named scope foo. It will throw an error if foo is not defined or |
| + is not a scope. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + template("mytemplate") { |
| +* # To help users call this template properly... |
| +* assert(defined(invoker.sources), "Sources must be defined") |
| + |
| +* # If we want to accept an optional "values" argument, we don't |
| +** # want to dereference something that may not be defined. |
| +* if (defined(invoker.values)) { |
| + values = invoker.values |
| + } else { |
| + values = "some default value" |
| + } |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **exec_script**: Synchronously run a script and return the output. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + exec_script(filename, |
| + arguments = [], |
| + input_conversion = "", |
| + file_dependencies = []) |
| + |
| + Runs the given script, returning the stdout of the script. The build |
| + generation will fail if the script does not exist or returns a nonzero |
| + exit code. |
| + |
| + The current directory when executing the script will be the root |
| + build directory. If you are passing file names, you will want to use |
| + the rebase_path() function to make file names relative to this |
| + path (see "gn help rebase_path"). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Arguments**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + filename: |
| + File name of python script to execute. Non-absolute names will |
| + be treated as relative to the current build file. |
| + |
| + arguments: |
| + A list of strings to be passed to the script as arguments. |
| + May be unspecified or the empty list which means no arguments. |
| + |
| + input_conversion: |
| + Controls how the file is read and parsed. |
| + See "gn help input_conversion". |
| + |
| + If unspecified, defaults to the empty string which causes the |
| + script result to be discarded. exec script will return None. |
| + |
| + dependencies: |
| + (Optional) A list of files that this script reads or otherwise |
| + depends on. These dependencies will be added to the build result |
| + such that if any of them change, the build will be regenerated and |
| + the script will be re-run. |
| + |
| + The script itself will be an implicit dependency so you do not |
| + need to list it. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + all_lines = exec_script( |
| + "myscript.py", [some_input], "list lines", |
| + [ rebase_path("data_file.txt", root_build_dir) ]) |
| + |
| +* # This example just calls the script with no arguments and discards |
| +** # the result. |
| +* exec_script("//foo/bar/myscript.py") |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **executable**: Declare an executable target. |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Flags: cflags, cflags_c, cflags_cc, cflags_objc, cflags_objcc, |
| + defines, include_dirs, ldflags, lib_dirs, libs |
| + Deps: data_deps, deps, forward_dependent_configs_from, public_deps |
| + Dependent configs: all_dependent_configs, public_configs |
| + General: check_includes, configs, data, inputs, output_name, |
| + output_extension, public, sources, testonly, visibility |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **foreach**: Iterate over a list. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + foreach(<loop_var>, <list>) { |
| + <loop contents> |
| + } |
| + |
| + Executes the loop contents block over each item in the list, |
| + assigning the loop_var to each item in sequence. |
| + |
| + The block does not introduce a new scope, so that variable assignments |
| + inside the loop will be visible once the loop terminates. |
| + |
| + The loop variable will temporarily shadow any existing variables with |
| + the same name for the duration of the loop. After the loop terminates |
| + the loop variable will no longer be in scope, and the previous value |
| + (if any) will be restored. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + mylist = [ "a", "b", "c" ] |
| + foreach(i, mylist) { |
| + print(i) |
| + } |
| + |
| + Prints: |
| + a |
| + b |
| + c |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **get_label_info**: Get an attribute from a target's label. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + get_label_info(target_label, what) |
| + |
| + Given the label of a target, returns some attribute of that target. |
| + The target need not have been previously defined in the same file, |
| + since none of the attributes depend on the actual target definition, |
| + only the label itself. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help get_target_outputs". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Possible values for the "what" parameter** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + "name" |
| + The short name of the target. This will match the value of the |
| + "target_name" variable inside that target's declaration. For the |
| + label "//foo/bar:baz" this will return "baz". |
| + |
| + "dir" |
| + The directory containing the target's definition, with no slash at |
| + the end. For the label "//foo/bar:baz" this will return |
| + "//foo/bar". |
| + |
| + "target_gen_dir" |
| + The generated file directory for the target. This will match the |
| + value of the "target_gen_dir" variable when inside that target's |
| + declaration. |
| + |
| + "root_gen_dir" |
| + The root of the generated file tree for the target. This will |
| + match the value of the "root_gen_dir" variable when inside that |
| + target's declaration. |
| + |
| + "target_out_dir |
| + The output directory for the target. This will match the |
| + value of the "target_out_dir" variable when inside that target's |
| + declaration. |
| + |
| + "root_out_dir" |
| + The root of the output file tree for the target. This will |
| + match the value of the "root_gen_dir" variable when inside that |
| + target's declaration. |
| + |
| + "label_no_toolchain" |
| + The fully qualified version of this label, not including the |
| + toolchain. For the input ":bar" it might return |
| + "//foo:bar". |
| + |
| + "label_with_toolchain" |
| + The fully qualified version of this label, including the |
| + toolchain. For the input ":bar" it might return |
| + "//foo:bar(//toolchain:x64)". |
| + |
| + "toolchain" |
| + The label of the toolchain. This will match the value of the |
| + "current_toolchain" variable when inside that target's |
| + declaration. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + get_label_info(":foo", "name") |
| +* # Returns string "foo". |
| +* |
| + get_label_info("//foo/bar:baz", "gen_dir") |
| +* # Returns string "//out/Debug/gen/foo/bar". |
| +* |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **get_path_info**: Extract parts of a file or directory name. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + get_path_info(input, what) |
| + |
| + The first argument is either a string representing a file or |
| + directory name, or a list of such strings. If the input is a list |
| + the return value will be a list containing the result of applying the |
| + rule to each item in the input. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Possible values for the "what" parameter** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + "file" |
| + The substring after the last slash in the path, including the name |
| + and extension. If the input ends in a slash, the empty string will |
| + be returned. |
| + "foo/bar.txt" => "bar.txt" |
| + "bar.txt" => "bar.txt" |
| + "foo/" => "" |
| + "" => "" |
| + |
| + "name" |
| + The substring of the file name not including the extension. |
| + "foo/bar.txt" => "bar" |
| + "foo/bar" => "bar" |
| + "foo/" => "" |
| + |
| + "extension" |
| + The substring following the last period following the last slash, |
| + or the empty string if not found. The period is not included. |
| + "foo/bar.txt" => "txt" |
| + "foo/bar" => "" |
| + |
| + "dir" |
| + The directory portion of the name, not including the slash. |
| + "foo/bar.txt" => "foo" |
| + "//foo/bar" => "//foo" |
| + "foo" => "." |
| + |
| + The result will never end in a slash, so if the resulting |
| + is empty, the system ("/") or source ("//") roots, a "." |
| + will be appended such that it is always legal to append a slash |
| + and a filename and get a valid path. |
| + |
| + "out_dir" |
| + The output file directory corresponding to the path of the |
| + given file, not including a trailing slash. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "//out/Default/obj/foo/bar" |
| + "gen_dir" |
| + The generated file directory corresponding to the path of the |
| + given file, not including a trailing slash. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "//out/Default/gen/foo/bar" |
| + |
| + "abspath" |
| + The full absolute path name to the file or directory. It will be |
| + resolved relative to the currebt directory, and then the source- |
| + absolute version will be returned. If the input is system- |
| + absolute, the same input will be returned. |
| + "foo/bar.txt" => "//mydir/foo/bar.txt" |
| + "foo/" => "//mydir/foo/" |
| + "//foo/bar" => "//foo/bar" (already absolute) |
| + "/usr/include" => "/usr/include" (already absolute) |
| + |
| + If you want to make the path relative to another directory, or to |
| + be system-absolute, see rebase_path(). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| +``` |
| + sources = [ "foo.cc", "foo.h" ] |
| + result = get_path_info(source, "abspath") |
| +* # result will be [ "//mydir/foo.cc", "//mydir/foo.h" ] |
| +* |
| + result = get_path_info("//foo/bar/baz.cc", "dir") |
| +* # result will be "//foo/bar" |
| +* |
| +* # Extract the source-absolute directory name, |
| +* result = get_path_info(get_path_info(path, "dir"), "abspath") |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **get_target_outputs**: [file list] Get the list of outputs from a target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + get_target_outputs(target_label) |
| + |
| + Returns a list of output files for the named target. The named target |
| + must have been previously defined in the current file before this |
| + function is called (it can't reference targets in other files because |
| + there isn't a defined execution order, and it obviously can't |
| + reference targets that are defined after the function call). |
| + |
| + Only copy and action targets are supported. The outputs from binary |
| + targets will depend on the toolchain definition which won't |
| + necessarily have been loaded by the time a given line of code has run, |
| + and source sets and groups have no useful output file. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Return value** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The names in the resulting list will be absolute file paths (normally |
| + like "//out/Debug/bar.exe", depending on the build directory). |
| + |
| + action targets: this will just return the files specified in the |
| + "outputs" variable of the target. |
| + |
| + action_foreach targets: this will return the result of applying |
| + the output template to the sources (see "gn help source_expansion"). |
| + This will be the same result (though with guaranteed absolute file |
| + paths), as process_file_template will return for those inputs |
| + (see "gn help process_file_template"). |
| + |
| + binary targets (executables, libraries): this will return a list |
| + of the resulting binary file(s). The "main output" (the actual |
| + binary or library) will always be the 0th element in the result. |
| + Depending on the platform and output type, there may be other output |
| + files as well (like import libraries) which will follow. |
| + |
| + source sets and groups: this will return a list containing the path of |
| + the "stamp" file that Ninja will produce once all outputs are |
| + generated. This probably isn't very useful. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # Say this action generates a bunch of C source files. |
| +* action_foreach("my_action") { |
| + sources = [ ... ] |
| + outputs = [ ... ] |
| + } |
| + |
| +* # Compile the resulting source files into a source set. |
| +* source_set("my_lib") { |
| + sources = get_target_outputs(":my_action") |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **getenv**: Get an environment variable. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + value = getenv(env_var_name) |
| + |
| + Returns the value of the given enironment variable. If the value is |
| + not found, it will try to look up the variable with the "opposite" |
| + case (based on the case of the first letter of the variable), but |
| + is otherwise case-sensitive. |
| + |
| + If the environment variable is not found, the empty string will be |
| + returned. Note: it might be nice to extend this if we had the concept |
| + of "none" in the language to indicate lookup failure. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + home_dir = getenv("HOME") |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **group**: Declare a named group of targets. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This target type allows you to create meta-targets that just collect a |
| + set of dependencies into one named target. Groups can additionally |
| + specify configs that apply to their dependents. |
| + |
| + Depending on a group is exactly like depending directly on that |
| + group's deps. Direct dependent configs will get automatically |
| + forwarded through the group so you shouldn't need to use |
| + "forward_dependent_configs_from. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Deps: data_deps, deps, forward_dependent_configs_from, public_deps |
| + Dependent configs: all_dependent_configs, public_configs |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + group("all") { |
| + deps = [ |
| + "//project:runner", |
| + "//project:unit_tests", |
| + ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **import**: Import a file into the current scope. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The import command loads the rules and variables resulting from |
| + executing the given file into the current scope. |
| + |
| + By convention, imported files are named with a .gni extension. |
| + |
| + An import is different than a C++ "include". The imported file is |
| + executed in a standalone environment from the caller of the import |
| + command. The results of this execution are cached for other files that |
| + import the same .gni file. |
| + |
| + Note that you can not import a BUILD.gn file that's otherwise used |
| + in the build. Files must either be imported or implicitly loaded as |
| + a result of deps rules, but not both. |
| + |
| + The imported file's scope will be merged with the scope at the point |
| + import was called. If there is a conflict (both the current scope and |
| + the imported file define some variable or rule with the same name but |
| + different value), a runtime error will be thrown. Therefore, it's good |
| + practice to minimize the stuff that an imported file defines. |
| + |
| + Variables and templates beginning with an underscore '_' are |
| + considered private and will not be imported. Imported files can use |
| + such variables for internal computation without affecting other files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + import("//build/rules/idl_compilation_rule.gni") |
| + |
| +* # Looks in the current directory. |
| +* import("my_vars.gni") |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **print**: Prints to the console. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Prints all arguments to the console separated by spaces. A newline is |
| + automatically appended to the end. |
| + |
| + This function is intended for debugging. Note that build files are run |
| + in parallel so you may get interleaved prints. A buildfile may also |
| + be executed more than once in parallel in the context of different |
| + toolchains so the prints from one file may be duplicated or |
| + interleaved with itself. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples**: |
| +``` |
| + print("Hello world") |
| + |
| + print(sources, deps) |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **process_file_template**: Do template expansion over a list of files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + process_file_template(source_list, template) |
| + |
| + process_file_template applies a template list to a source file list, |
| + returning the result of applying each template to each source. This is |
| + typically used for computing output file names from input files. |
| + |
| + In most cases, get_target_outputs() will give the same result with |
| + shorter, more maintainable code. This function should only be used |
| + when that function can't be used (like there's no target or the target |
| + is defined in another build file). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Arguments**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The source_list is a list of file names. |
| + |
| + The template can be a string or a list. If it is a list, multiple |
| + output strings are generated for each input. |
| + |
| + The template should contain source expansions to which each name in |
| + the source list is applied. See "gn help source_expansion". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + sources = [ |
| + "foo.idl", |
| + "bar.idl", |
| + ] |
| + myoutputs = process_file_template( |
| + sources, |
| + [ "$target_gen_dir/{{source_name_part}}.cc", |
| + "$target_gen_dir/{{source_name_part}}.h" ]) |
| + |
| + The result in this case will be: |
| + [ "//out/Debug/foo.cc" |
| + "//out/Debug/foo.h" |
| + "//out/Debug/bar.cc" |
| + "//out/Debug/bar.h" ] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **read_file**: Read a file into a variable. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + read_file(filename, input_conversion) |
| + |
| + Whitespace will be trimmed from the end of the file. Throws an error |
| + if the file can not be opened. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Arguments**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + filename |
| + Filename to read, relative to the build file. |
| + |
| + input_conversion |
| + Controls how the file is read and parsed. |
| + See "gn help input_conversion". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| +``` |
| + lines = read_file("foo.txt", "list lines") |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **rebase_path**: Rebase a file or directory to another location. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + converted = rebase_path(input, |
| + new_base = "", |
| + current_base = ".") |
| + |
| + Takes a string argument representing a file name, or a list of such |
| + strings and converts it/them to be relative to a different base |
| + directory. |
| + |
| + When invoking the compiler or scripts, GN will automatically convert |
| + sources and include directories to be relative to the build directory. |
| + However, if you're passing files directly in the "args" array or |
| + doing other manual manipulations where GN doesn't know something is |
| + a file name, you will need to convert paths to be relative to what |
| + your tool is expecting. |
| + |
| + The common case is to use this to convert paths relative to the |
| + current directory to be relative to the build directory (which will |
| + be the current directory when executing scripts). |
| + |
| + If you want to convert a file path to be source-absolute (that is, |
| + beginning with a double slash like "//foo/bar"), you should use |
| + the get_path_info() function. This function won't work because it will |
| + always make relative paths, and it needs to support making paths |
| + relative to the source root, so can't also generate source-absolute |
| + paths without more special-cases. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Arguments**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + input |
| + A string or list of strings representing file or directory names |
| + These can be relative paths ("foo/bar.txt"), system absolute |
| + paths ("/foo/bar.txt"), or source absolute paths |
| + ("//foo/bar.txt"). |
| + |
| + new_base |
| + The directory to convert the paths to be relative to. This can be |
| + an absolute path or a relative path (which will be treated |
| + as being relative to the current BUILD-file's directory). |
| + |
| + As a special case, if new_base is the empty string (the default), |
| + all paths will be converted to system-absolute native style paths |
| + with system path separators. This is useful for invoking external |
| + programs. |
| + |
| + current_base |
| + Directory representing the base for relative paths in the input. |
| + If this is not an absolute path, it will be treated as being |
| + relative to the current build file. Use "." (the default) to |
| + convert paths from the current BUILD-file's directory. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Return value** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The return value will be the same type as the input value (either a |
| + string or a list of strings). All relative and source-absolute file |
| + names will be converted to be relative to the requested output |
| + System-absolute paths will be unchanged. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # Convert a file in the current directory to be relative to the build |
| +** # directory (the current dir when executing compilers and scripts). |
| +* foo = rebase_path("myfile.txt", root_build_dir) |
| +* # might produce "../../project/myfile.txt". |
| +* |
| +* # Convert a file to be system absolute: |
| +* foo = rebase_path("myfile.txt") |
| +* # Might produce "D:\source\project\myfile.txt" on Windows or |
| +** # "/home/you/source/project/myfile.txt" on Linux. |
| +* |
| +* # Typical usage for converting to the build directory for a script. |
| +* action("myscript") { |
| +* # Don't convert sources, GN will automatically convert these to be |
| +** # relative to the build directory when it constructs the command |
| +** # line for your script. |
| +* sources = [ "foo.txt", "bar.txt" ] |
| + |
| +* # Extra file args passed manually need to be explicitly converted |
| +** # to be relative to the build directory: |
| +* args = [ |
| + "--data", |
| + rebase_path("//mything/data/input.dat", root_build_dir), |
| + "--rel", |
| + rebase_path("relative_path.txt", root_build_dir) |
| + ] + rebase_path(sources, root_build_dir) |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **set_default_toolchain**: Sets the default toolchain name. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + set_default_toolchain(toolchain_label) |
| + |
| + The given label should identify a toolchain definition (see |
| + "help toolchain"). This toolchain will be used for all targets |
| + unless otherwise specified. |
| + |
| + This function is only valid to call during the processing of the build |
| + configuration file. Since the build configuration file is processed |
| + separately for each toolchain, this function will be a no-op when |
| + called under any non-default toolchains. |
| + |
| + For example, the default toolchain should be appropriate for the |
| + current environment. If the current environment is 32-bit and |
| + somebody references a target with a 64-bit toolchain, we wouldn't |
| + want processing of the build config file for the 64-bit toolchain to |
| + reset the default toolchain to 64-bit, we want to keep it 32-bits. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Argument**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + toolchain_label |
| + Toolchain name. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + set_default_toolchain("//build/config/win:vs32") |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **set_defaults**: Set default values for a target type. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + set_defaults(<target_type_name>) { <values...> } |
| + |
| + Sets the default values for a given target type. Whenever |
| + target_type_name is seen in the future, the values specified in |
| + set_default's block will be copied into the current scope. |
| + |
| + When the target type is used, the variable copying is very strict. |
| + If a variable with that name is already in scope, the build will fail |
| + with an error. |
| + |
| + set_defaults can be used for built-in target types ("executable", |
| + "shared_library", etc.) and custom ones defined via the "template" |
| + command. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + set_defaults("static_library") { |
| + configs = [ "//tools/mything:settings" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + static_library("mylib") |
| +* # The configs will be auto-populated as above. You can remove it if |
| +** # you don't want the default for a particular default: |
| +* configs -= "//tools/mything:settings" |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **set_sources_assignment_filter**: Set a pattern to filter source files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The sources assignment filter is a list of patterns that remove files |
| + from the list implicitly whenever the "sources" variable is |
| + assigned to. This is intended to be used to globally filter out files |
| + with platform-specific naming schemes when they don't apply, for |
| + example, you may want to filter out all "*_win.cc" files on non- |
| + Windows platforms. |
| + |
| + Typically this will be called once in the master build config script |
| + to set up the filter for the current platform. Subsequent calls will |
| + overwrite the previous values. |
| + |
| + If you want to bypass the filter and add a file even if it might |
| + be filtered out, call set_sources_assignment_filter([]) to clear the |
| + list of filters. This will apply until the current scope exits |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **How to use patterns** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + File patterns are VERY limited regular expressions. They must match |
| + the entire input string to be counted as a match. In regular |
| + expression parlance, there is an implicit "^...$" surrounding your |
| + input. If you want to match a substring, you need to use wildcards at |
| + the beginning and end. |
| + |
| + There are only two special tokens understood by the pattern matcher. |
| + Everything else is a literal. |
| + |
| + * Matches zero or more of any character. It does not depend on the |
| + preceding character (in regular expression parlance it is |
| + equivalent to ".*"). |
| + |
| + \b Matches a path boundary. This will match the beginning or end of |
| + a string, or a slash. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Pattern examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + "*asdf*" |
| + Matches a string containing "asdf" anywhere. |
| + |
| + "asdf" |
| + Matches only the exact string "asdf". |
| + |
| + "*.cc" |
| + Matches strings ending in the literal ".cc". |
| + |
| + "\bwin/*" |
| + Matches "win/foo" and "foo/win/bar.cc" but not "iwin/foo". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Sources assignment example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # Filter out all _win files. |
| +* set_sources_assignment_filter([ "*_win.cc", "*_win.h" ]) |
| + sources = [ "a.cc", "b_win.cc" ] |
| + print(sources) |
| +* # Will print [ "a.cc" ]. b_win one was filtered out. |
| +* |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **shared_library**: Declare a shared library target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A shared library will be specified on the linker line for targets |
| + listing the shared library in its "deps". If you don't want this |
| + (say you dynamically load the library at runtime), then you should |
| + depend on the shared library via "data_deps" instead. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Flags: cflags, cflags_c, cflags_cc, cflags_objc, cflags_objcc, |
| + defines, include_dirs, ldflags, lib_dirs, libs |
| + Deps: data_deps, deps, forward_dependent_configs_from, public_deps |
| + Dependent configs: all_dependent_configs, public_configs |
| + General: check_includes, configs, data, inputs, output_name, |
| + output_extension, public, sources, testonly, visibility |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **source_set**: Declare a source set target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A source set is a collection of sources that get compiled, but are not |
| + linked to produce any kind of library. Instead, the resulting object |
| + files are implicitly added to the linker line of all targets that |
| + depend on the source set. |
| + |
| + In most cases, a source set will behave like a static library, except |
| + no actual library file will be produced. This will make the build go |
| + a little faster by skipping creation of a large static library, while |
| + maintaining the organizational benefits of focused build targets. |
| + |
| + The main difference between a source set and a static library is |
| + around handling of exported symbols. Most linkers assume declaring |
| + a function exported means exported from the static library. The linker |
| + can then do dead code elimination to delete code not reachable from |
| + exported functions. |
| + |
| + A source set will not do this code elimination since there is no link |
| + step. This allows you to link many sources sets into a shared library |
| + and have the "exported symbol" notation indicate "export from the |
| + final shared library and not from the intermediate targets." There is |
| + no way to express this concept when linking multiple static libraries |
| + into a shared library. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Flags: cflags, cflags_c, cflags_cc, cflags_objc, cflags_objcc, |
| + defines, include_dirs, ldflags, lib_dirs, libs |
| + Deps: data_deps, deps, forward_dependent_configs_from, public_deps |
| + Dependent configs: all_dependent_configs, public_configs |
| + General: check_includes, configs, data, inputs, output_name, |
| + output_extension, public, sources, testonly, visibility |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **static_library**: Declare a static library target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Make a ".a" / ".lib" file. |
| + |
| + If you only need the static library for intermediate results in the |
| + build, you should consider a source_set instead since it will skip |
| + the (potentially slow) step of creating the intermediate library file. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Flags: cflags, cflags_c, cflags_cc, cflags_objc, cflags_objcc, |
| + defines, include_dirs, ldflags, lib_dirs, libs |
| + Deps: data_deps, deps, forward_dependent_configs_from, public_deps |
| + Dependent configs: all_dependent_configs, public_configs |
| + General: check_includes, configs, data, inputs, output_name, |
| + output_extension, public, sources, testonly, visibility |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **template**: Define a template rule. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A template defines a custom name that acts like a function. It |
| + provides a way to add to the built-in target types. |
| + |
| + The template() function is used to declare a template. To invoke the |
| + template, just use the name of the template like any other target |
| + type. |
| + |
| + Often you will want to declare your template in a special file that |
| + other files will import (see "gn help import") so your template |
| + rule can be shared across build files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **More details**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + When you call template() it creates a closure around all variables |
| + currently in scope with the code in the template block. When the |
| + template is invoked, the closure will be executed. |
| + |
| + When the template is invoked, the code in the caller is executed and |
| + passed to the template code as an implicit "invoker" variable. The |
| + template uses this to read state out of the invoking code. |
| + |
| + One thing explicitly excluded from the closure is the "current |
| + directory" against which relative file names are resolved. The |
| + current directory will be that of the invoking code, since typically |
| + that code specifies the file names. This means all files internal |
| + to the template should use absolute names. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Target naming**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Your template should almost always define a built-in target with the |
| + name the template invoker specified. For example, if you have an IDL |
| + template and somebody does: |
| + idl("foo") {... |
| + you will normally want this to expand to something defining a |
| + source_set or static_library named "foo" (among other things you may |
| + need). This way, when another target specifies a dependency on |
| + "foo", the static_library or source_set will be linked. |
| + |
| + It is also important that any other targets your template expands to |
| + have globally unique names, or you will get collisions. |
| + |
| + Access the invoking name in your template via the implicit |
| + "target_name" variable. This should also be the basis of how other |
| + targets that a template expands to to ensure uniquness. |
| + |
| + A typical example would be a template that defines an action to |
| + generate some source files, and a source_set to compile that source. |
| + Your template would name the source_set "target_name" because |
| + that's what you want external targets to depend on to link your code. |
| + And you would name the action something like "${target_name}_action" |
| + to make it unique. The source set would have a dependency on the |
| + action to make it run. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example of defining a template**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + template("my_idl") { |
| +* # Be nice and help callers debug problems by checking that the |
| +** # variables the template requires are defined. This gives a nice |
| +** # message rather than giving the user an error about an |
| +** # undefined variable in the file defining the template |
| +** # |
| +** # You can also use defined() to give default values to variables |
| +** # unspecified by the invoker. |
| +* assert(defined(invoker.sources), |
| + "Need sources in $target_name listing the idl files.") |
| + |
| +* # Name of the intermediate target that does the code gen. This must |
| +** # incorporate the target name so it's unique across template |
| +** # instantiations. |
| +* code_gen_target_name = target_name + "_code_gen" |
| + |
| +* # Intermediate target to convert IDL to C source. Note that the name |
| +** # is based on the name the invoker of the template specified. This |
| +** # way, each time the template is invoked we get a unique |
| +** # intermediate action name (since all target names are in the global |
| +** # scope). |
| +* action_foreach(code_gen_target_name) { |
| +* # Access the scope defined by the invoker via the implicit |
| +** # "invoker" variable. |
| +* sources = invoker.sources |
| + |
| +* # Note that we need an absolute path for our script file name. |
| +** # The current directory when executing this code will be that of |
| +** # the invoker (this is why we can use the "sources" directly |
| +** # above without having to rebase all of the paths). But if we need |
| +** # to reference a script relative to the template file, we'll need |
| +** # to use an absolute path instead. |
| +* script = "//tools/idl/idl_code_generator.py" |
| + |
| +* # Tell GN how to expand output names given the sources. |
| +** # See "gn help source_expansion" for more. |
| +* outputs = [ "$target_gen_dir/{{source_name_part}}.cc", |
| + "$target_gen_dir/{{source_name_part}}.h" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| +* # Name the source set the same as the template invocation so |
| +** # instancing this template produces something that other targets |
| +** # can link to in their deps. |
| +* source_set(target_name) { |
| +* # Generates the list of sources, we get these from the |
| +** # action_foreach above. |
| +* sources = get_target_outputs(":$code_gen_target_name") |
| + |
| +* # This target depends on the files produced by the above code gen |
| +** # target. |
| +* deps = [ ":$code_gen_target_name" ] |
| + } |
| + } |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example of invoking the resulting template**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # This calls the template code above, defining target_name to be |
| +** # "foo_idl_files" and "invoker" to be the set of stuff defined in |
| +** # the curly brackets. |
| +* my_idl("foo_idl_files") { |
| +* # Goes into the template as "invoker.sources". |
| +* sources = [ "foo.idl", "bar.idl" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| +* # Here is a target that depends on our template. |
| +* executable("my_exe") { |
| +* # Depend on the name we gave the template call above. Internally, |
| +** # this will produce a dependency from executable to the source_set |
| +** # inside the template (since it has this name), which will in turn |
| +** # depend on the code gen action. |
| +* deps = [ ":foo_idl_files" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **tool**: Specify arguments to a toolchain tool. |
| + |
| +### **Usage**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + tool(<tool type>) { |
| + <tool variables...> |
| + } |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Tool types** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Compiler tools: |
| + "cc": C compiler |
| + "cxx": C++ compiler |
| + "objc": Objective C compiler |
| + "objcxx": Objective C++ compiler |
| + "rc": Resource compiler (Windows .rc files) |
| + "asm": Assembler |
| + |
| + Linker tools: |
| + "alink": Linker for static libraries (archives) |
| + "solink": Linker for shared libraries |
| + "link": Linker for executables |
| + |
| + Other tools: |
| + "stamp": Tool for creating stamp files |
| + "copy": Tool to copy files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Tool variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + command [string with substitutions] |
| + Valid for: all tools (required) |
| + |
| + The command to run. |
| + |
| + default_output_extension [string] |
| + Valid for: linker tools |
| + |
| + Extension for the main output of a linkable tool. It includes |
| + the leading dot. This will be the default value for the |
| + {{output_extension}} expansion (discussed below) but will be |
| + overridden by by the "output extension" variable in a target, |
| + if one is specified. Empty string means no extension. |
| + |
| + GN doesn't actually do anything with this extension other than |
| + pass it along, potentially with target-specific overrides. One |
| + would typically use the {{output_extension}} value in the |
| + "outputs" to read this value. |
| + |
| + Example: default_output_extension = ".exe" |
| + |
| + depfile [string] |
| + Valid for: compiler tools (optional) |
| + |
| + If the tool can write ".d" files, this specifies the name of |
| + the resulting file. These files are used to list header file |
| + dependencies (or other implicit input dependencies) that are |
| + discovered at build time. See also "depsformat". |
| + |
| + Example: depfile = "{{output}}.d" |
| + |
| + depsformat [string] |
| + Valid for: compiler tools (when depfile is specified) |
| + |
| + Format for the deps outputs. This is either "gcc" or "msvc". |
| + See the ninja documentation for "deps" for more information. |
| + |
| + Example: depsformat = "gcc" |
| + |
| + description [string with substitutions, optional] |
| + Valid for: all tools |
| + |
| + What to print when the command is run. |
| + |
| + Example: description = "Compiling {{source}}" |
| + |
| + lib_switch [string, optional, link tools only] |
| + lib_dir_switch [string, optional, link tools only] |
| + Valid for: Linker tools except "alink" |
| + |
| + These strings will be prepended to the libraries and library |
| + search directories, respectively, because linkers differ on how |
| + specify them. If you specified: |
| + lib_switch = "-l" |
| + lib_dir_switch = "-L" |
| + then the "{{libs}}" expansion for [ "freetype", "expat"] |
| + would be "-lfreetype -lexpat". |
| + |
| + outputs [list of strings with substitutions] |
| + Valid for: Linker and compiler tools (required) |
| + |
| + An array of names for the output files the tool produces. These |
| + are relative to the build output directory. There must always be |
| + at least one output file. There can be more than one output (a |
| + linker might produce a library and an import library, for |
| + example). |
| + |
| + This array just declares to GN what files the tool will |
| + produce. It is your responsibility to specify the tool command |
| + that actually produces these files. |
| + |
| + If you specify more than one output for shared library links, |
| + you should consider setting link_output and depend_output. |
| + Otherwise, the first entry in the outputs list should always be |
| + the main output which will be linked to. |
| + |
| + Example for a compiler tool that produces .obj files: |
| + outputs = [ |
| + "{{source_out_dir}}/{{source_name_part}}.obj" |
| + ] |
| + |
| + Example for a linker tool that produces a .dll and a .lib. The |
| + use of {{output_extension}} rather than hardcoding ".dll" |
| + allows the extension of the library to be overridden on a |
| + target-by-target basis, but in this example, it always |
| + produces a ".lib" import library: |
| + outputs = [ |
| + "{{root_out_dir}}/{{target_output_name}}{{output_extension}}", |
| + "{{root_out_dir}}/{{target_output_name}}.lib", |
| + ] |
| + |
| + link_output [string with substitutions] |
| + depend_output [string with substitutions] |
| + Valid for: "solink" only (optional) |
| + |
| + These two files specify whch of the outputs from the solink |
| + tool should be used for linking and dependency tracking. These |
| + should match entries in the "outputs". If unspecified, the |
| + first item in the "outputs" array will be used for both. See |
| + "Separate linking and dependencies for shared libraries" |
| + below for more. |
| + |
| + On Windows, where the tools produce a .dll shared library and |
| + a .lib import library, you will want both of these to be the |
| + import library. On Linux, if you're not doing the separate |
| + linking/dependency optimization, both of these should be the |
| + .so output. |
| + |
| + output_prefix [string] |
| + Valid for: Linker tools (optional) |
| + |
| + Prefix to use for the output name. Defaults to empty. This |
| + prefix will be prepended to the name of the target (or the |
| + output_name if one is manually specified for it) if the prefix |
| + is not already there. The result will show up in the |
| + {{output_name}} substitution pattern. |
| + |
| + This is typically used to prepend "lib" to libraries on |
| + Posix systems: |
| + output_prefix = "lib" |
| + |
| + restat [boolean] |
| + Valid for: all tools (optional, defaults to false) |
| + |
| + Requests that Ninja check the file timestamp after this tool has |
| + run to determine if anything changed. Set this if your tool has |
| + the ability to skip writing output if the output file has not |
| + changed. |
| + |
| + Normally, Ninja will assume that when a tool runs the output |
| + be new and downstream dependents must be rebuild. When this is |
| + set to trye, Ninja can skip rebuilding downstream dependents for |
| + input changes that don't actually affect the output. |
| + |
| + Example: |
| + restat = true |
| + |
| + rspfile [string with substitutions] |
| + Valid for: all tools (optional) |
| + |
| + Name of the response file. If empty, no response file will be |
| + used. See "rspfile_content". |
| + |
| + rspfile_content [string with substitutions] |
| + Valid for: all tools (required when "rspfile" is specified) |
| + |
| + The contents to be written to the response file. This may |
| + include all or part of the command to send to the tool which |
| + allows you to get around OS command-line length limits. |
| + |
| + This example adds the inputs and libraries to a response file, |
| + but passes the linker flags directly on the command line: |
| + tool("link") { |
| + command = "link -o {{output}} {{ldflags}} @{{output}}.rsp" |
| + rspfile = "{{output}}.rsp" |
| + rspfile_content = "{{inputs}} {{solibs}} {{libs}}" |
| + } |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Expansions for tool variables** |
| +``` |
| + All paths are relative to the root build directory, which is the |
| + current directory for running all tools. These expansions are |
| + available to all tools: |
| + |
| + {{label}} |
| + The label of the current target. This is typically used in the |
| + "description" field for link tools. The toolchain will be |
| + omitted from the label for targets in the default toolchain, and |
| + will be included for targets in other toolchains. |
| + |
| + {{output}} |
| + The relative path and name of the output(s) of the current |
| + build step. If there is more than one output, this will expand |
| + to a list of all of them. |
| + Example: "out/base/my_file.o" |
| + |
| + {{target_gen_dir}} |
| + {{target_out_dir}} |
| + The directory of the generated file and output directories, |
| + respectively, for the current target. There is no trailing |
| + slash. |
| + Example: "out/base/test" |
| + |
| + {{target_output_name}} |
| + The short name of the current target with no path information, |
| + or the value of the "output_name" variable if one is specified |
| + in the target. This will include the "output_prefix" if any. |
| + Example: "libfoo" for the target named "foo" and an |
| + output prefix for the linker tool of "lib". |
| + |
| + Compiler tools have the notion of a single input and a single output, |
| + along with a set of compiler-specific flags. The following expansions |
| + are available: |
| + |
| + {{cflags}} |
| + {{cflags_c}} |
| + {{cflags_cc}} |
| + {{cflags_objc}} |
| + {{cflags_objcc}} |
| + {{defines}} |
| + {{include_dirs}} |
| + Strings correspond that to the processed flags/defines/include |
| + directories specified for the target. |
| + Example: "--enable-foo --enable-bar" |
| + |
| + Defines will be prefixed by "-D" and include directories will |
| + be prefixed by "-I" (these work with Posix tools as well as |
| + Microsoft ones). |
| + |
| + {{source}} |
| + The relative path and name of the current input file. |
| + Example: "../../base/my_file.cc" |
| + |
| + {{source_file_part}} |
| + The file part of the source including the extension (with no |
| + directory information). |
| + Example: "foo.cc" |
| + |
| + {{source_name_part}} |
| + The filename part of the source file with no directory or |
| + extension. |
| + Example: "foo" |
| + |
| + {{source_gen_dir}} |
| + {{source_out_dir}} |
| + The directory in the generated file and output directories, |
| + respectively, for the current input file. If the source file |
| + is in the same directory as the target is declared in, they will |
| + will be the same as the "target" versions above. |
| + Example: "gen/base/test" |
| + |
| + Linker tools have multiple inputs and (potentially) multiple outputs |
| + The following expansions are available: |
| + |
| + {{inputs}} |
| + {{inputs_newline}} |
| + Expands to the inputs to the link step. This will be a list of |
| + object files and static libraries. |
| + Example: "obj/foo.o obj/bar.o obj/somelibrary.a" |
| + |
| + The "_newline" version will separate the input files with |
| + newlines instead of spaces. This is useful in response files: |
| + some linkers can take a "-filelist" flag which expects newline |
| + separated files, and some Microsoft tools have a fixed-sized |
| + buffer for parsing each line of a response file. |
| + |
| + {{ldflags}} |
| + Expands to the processed set of ldflags and library search paths |
| + specified for the target. |
| + Example: "-m64 -fPIC -pthread -L/usr/local/mylib" |
| + |
| + {{libs}} |
| + Expands to the list of system libraries to link to. Each will |
| + be prefixed by the "lib_prefix". |
| + |
| + As a special case to support Mac, libraries with names ending in |
| + ".framework" will be added to the {{libs}} with "-framework" |
| + preceeding it, and the lib prefix will be ignored. |
| + |
| + Example: "-lfoo -lbar" |
| + |
| + {{output_extension}} |
| + The value of the "output_extension" variable in the target, |
| + or the value of the "default_output_extension" value in the |
| + tool if the target does not specify an output extension. |
| + Example: ".so" |
| + |
| + {{solibs}} |
| + Extra libraries from shared library dependencide not specified |
| + in the {{inputs}}. This is the list of link_output files from |
| + shared libraries (if the solink tool specifies a "link_output" |
| + variable separate from the "depend_output"). |
| + |
| + These should generally be treated the same as libs by your tool. |
| + Example: "libfoo.so libbar.so" |
| + |
| + The copy tool allows the common compiler/linker substitutions, plus |
| + {{source}} which is the source of the copy. The stamp tool allows |
| + only the common tool substitutions. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Separate linking and dependencies for shared libraries** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Shared libraries are special in that not all changes to them require |
| + that dependent targets be re-linked. If the shared library is changed |
| + but no imports or exports are different, dependent code needn't be |
| + relinked, which can speed up the build. |
| + |
| + If your link step can output a list of exports from a shared library |
| + and writes the file only if the new one is different, the timestamp of |
| + this file can be used for triggering re-links, while the actual shared |
| + library would be used for linking. |
| + |
| + You will need to specify |
| + restat = true |
| + in the linker tool to make this work, so Ninja will detect if the |
| + timestamp of the dependency file has changed after linking (otherwise |
| + it will always assume that running a command updates the output): |
| + |
| + tool("solink") { |
| + command = "..." |
| + outputs = [ |
| + "{{root_out_dir}}/{{target_output_name}}{{output_extension}}", |
| + "{{root_out_dir}}/{{target_output_name}}{{output_extension}}.TOC", |
| + ] |
| + link_output = |
| + "{{root_out_dir}}/{{target_output_name}}{{output_extension}}" |
| + depend_output = |
| + "{{root_out_dir}}/{{target_output_name}}{{output_extension}}.TOC" |
| + restat = true |
| + } |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + toolchain("my_toolchain") { |
| +* # Put these at the top to apply to all tools below. |
| +* lib_prefix = "-l" |
| + lib_dir_prefix = "-L" |
| + |
| + tool("cc") { |
| + command = "gcc {{source}} -o {{output}}" |
| + outputs = [ "{{source_out_dir}}/{{source_name_part}}.o" ] |
| + description = "GCC {{source}}" |
| + } |
| + tool("cxx") { |
| + command = "g++ {{source}} -o {{output}}" |
| + outputs = [ "{{source_out_dir}}/{{source_name_part}}.o" ] |
| + description = "G++ {{source}}" |
| + } |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **toolchain**: Defines a toolchain. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A toolchain is a set of commands and build flags used to compile the |
| + source code. You can have more than one toolchain in use at once in |
| + a build. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Functions and variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + tool() |
| + The tool() function call specifies the commands commands to run for |
| + a given step. See "gn help tool". |
| + |
| + toolchain_args() |
| + List of arguments to pass to the toolchain when invoking this |
| + toolchain. This applies only to non-default toolchains. See |
| + "gn help toolchain_args" for more. |
| + |
| + deps |
| + Dependencies of this toolchain. These dependencies will be resolved |
| + before any target in the toolchain is compiled. To avoid circular |
| + dependencies these must be targets defined in another toolchain. |
| + |
| + This is expressed as a list of targets, and generally these targets |
| + will always specify a toolchain: |
| + deps = [ "//foo/bar:baz(//build/toolchain:bootstrap)" ] |
| + |
| + This concept is somewhat inefficient to express in Ninja (it |
| + requires a lot of duplicate of rules) so should only be used when |
| + absolutely necessary. |
| + |
| + concurrent_links |
| + In integer expressing the number of links that Ninja will perform in |
| + parallel. GN will create a pool for shared library and executable |
| + link steps with this many processes. Since linking is memory- and |
| + I/O-intensive, projects with many large targets may want to limit |
| + the number of parallel steps to avoid overloading the computer. |
| + Since creating static libraries is generally not as intensive |
| + there is no limit to "alink" steps. |
| + |
| + Defaults to 0 which Ninja interprets as "no limit". |
| + |
| + The value used will be the one from the default toolchain of the |
| + current build. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Invoking targets in toolchains**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + By default, when a target depends on another, there is an implicit |
| + toolchain label that is inherited, so the dependee has the same one |
| + as the dependent. |
| + |
| + You can override this and refer to any other toolchain by explicitly |
| + labeling the toolchain to use. For example: |
| + data_deps = [ "//plugins:mine(//toolchains:plugin_toolchain)" ] |
| + The string "//build/toolchains:plugin_toolchain" is a label that |
| + identifies the toolchain declaration for compiling the sources. |
| + |
| + To load a file in an alternate toolchain, GN does the following: |
| + |
| + 1. Loads the file with the toolchain definition in it (as determined |
| + by the toolchain label). |
| + 2. Re-runs the master build configuration file, applying the |
| + arguments specified by the toolchain_args section of the toolchain |
| + definition (see "gn help toolchain_args"). |
| + 3. Loads the destination build file in the context of the |
| + configuration file in the previous step. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + toolchain("plugin_toolchain") { |
| + concurrent_links = 8 |
| + |
| + tool("cc") { |
| + command = "gcc {{source}}" |
| + ... |
| + } |
| + |
| + toolchain_args() { |
| + is_plugin = true |
| + is_32bit = true |
| + is_64bit = false |
| + } |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **toolchain_args**: Set build arguments for toolchain build setup. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Used inside a toolchain definition to pass arguments to an alternate |
| + toolchain's invocation of the build. |
| + |
| + When you specify a target using an alternate toolchain, the master |
| + build configuration file is re-interpreted in the context of that |
| + toolchain (see "gn help toolchain"). The toolchain_args function |
| + allows you to control the arguments passed into this alternate |
| + invocation of the build. |
| + |
| + Any default system arguments or arguments passed in on the command- |
| + line will also be passed to the alternate invocation unless explicitly |
| + overridden by toolchain_args. |
| + |
| + The toolchain_args will be ignored when the toolchain being defined |
| + is the default. In this case, it's expected you want the default |
| + argument values. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help buildargs" for an overview of these arguments. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + toolchain("my_weird_toolchain") { |
| + ... |
| + toolchain_args() { |
| +* # Override the system values for a generic Posix system. |
| +* is_win = false |
| + is_posix = true |
| + |
| +* # Pass this new value for specific setup for my toolchain. |
| +* is_my_weird_system = true |
| + } |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **write_file**: Write a file to disk. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + write_file(filename, data) |
| + |
| + If data is a list, the list will be written one-item-per-line with no |
| + quoting or brackets. |
| + |
| + If the file exists and the contents are identical to that being |
| + written, the file will not be updated. This will prevent unnecessary |
| + rebuilds of targets that depend on this file. |
| + |
| + TODO(brettw) we probably need an optional third argument to control |
| + list formatting. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Arguments**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + filename |
| + Filename to write. This must be within the output directory. |
| + |
| + data: |
| + The list or string to write. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **current_cpu**: The processor architecture of the current toolchain. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The build configuration usually sets this value based on the value |
| + of "host_cpu" (see "gn help host_cpu") and then threads |
| + this through the toolchain definitions to ensure that it always |
| + reflects the appropriate value. |
| + |
| + This value is not used internally by GN for any purpose. It is |
| + set it to the empty string ("") by default but is declared so |
| + that it can be overridden on the command line if so desired. |
| + |
| + See "gn help target_cpu" for a list of common values returned. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **current_os**: The operating system of the current toolchain. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + The build configuration usually sets this value based on the value |
| + of "target_os" (see "gn help target_os"), and then threads this |
| + through the toolchain definitions to ensure that it always reflects |
| + the appropriate value. |
| + |
| + This value is not used internally by GN for any purpose. It is |
| + set it to the empty string ("") by default but is declared so |
| + that it can be overridden on the command line if so desired. |
| + |
| + See "gn help target_os" for a list of common values returned. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **current_toolchain**: Label of the current toolchain. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A fully-qualified label representing the current toolchain. You can |
| + use this to make toolchain-related decisions in the build. See also |
| + "default_toolchain". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + if (current_toolchain == "//build:64_bit_toolchain") { |
| + executable("output_thats_64_bit_only") { |
| + ... |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **default_toolchain**: [string] Label of the default toolchain. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A fully-qualified label representing the default toolchain, which may |
| + not necessarily be the current one (see "current_toolchain"). |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **host_cpu**: The processor architecture that GN is running on. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This is value is exposed so that cross-compile toolchains can |
| + access the host architecture when needed. |
| + |
| + The value should generally be considered read-only, but it can be |
| + overriden in order to handle unusual cases where there might |
| + be multiple plausible values for the host architecture (e.g., if |
| + you can do either 32-bit or 64-bit builds). The value is not used |
| + internally by GN for any purpose. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Some possible values**: |
| +``` |
| + - "x64" |
| + - "x86" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **host_os**: [string] The operating system that GN is running on. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This value is exposed so that cross-compiles can access the host |
| + build system's settings. |
| + |
| + This value should generally be treated as read-only. It, however, |
| + is not used internally by GN for any purpose. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Some possible values**: |
| +``` |
| + - "linux" |
| + - "mac" |
| + - "win" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **python_path**: Absolute path of Python. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally used in toolchain definitions if running some command |
| + requires Python. You will normally not need this when invoking scripts |
| + since GN automatically finds it for you. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **root_build_dir**: [string] Directory where build commands are run. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This is the root build output directory which will be the current |
| + directory when executing all compilers and scripts. |
| + |
| + Most often this is used with rebase_path (see "gn help rebase_path") |
| + to convert arguments to be relative to a script's current directory. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **root_gen_dir**: Directory for the toolchain's generated files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Absolute path to the root of the generated output directory tree for |
| + the current toolchain. An example would be "//out/Debug/gen" for the |
| + default toolchain, or "//out/Debug/arm/gen" for the "arm" |
| + toolchain. |
| + |
| + This is primarily useful for setting up include paths for generated |
| + files. If you are passing this to a script, you will want to pass it |
| + through rebase_path() (see "gn help rebase_path") to convert it |
| + to be relative to the build directory. |
| + |
| + See also "target_gen_dir" which is usually a better location for |
| + generated files. It will be inside the root generated dir. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **root_out_dir**: [string] Root directory for toolchain output files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Absolute path to the root of the output directory tree for the current |
| + toolchain. It will not have a trailing slash. |
| + |
| + For the default toolchain this will be the same as the root_build_dir. |
| + An example would be "//out/Debug" for the default toolchain, or |
| + "//out/Debug/arm" for the "arm" toolchain. |
| + |
| + This is primarily useful for setting up script calls. If you are |
| + passing this to a script, you will want to pass it through |
| + rebase_path() (see "gn help rebase_path") to convert it |
| + to be relative to the build directory. |
| + |
| + See also "target_out_dir" which is usually a better location for |
| + output files. It will be inside the root output dir. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + action("myscript") { |
| +* # Pass the output dir to the script. |
| +* args = [ "-o", rebase_path(root_out_dir, root_build_dir) ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **target_cpu**: The desired cpu architecture for the build. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This value should be used to indicate the desired architecture for |
| + the primary objects of the build. It will match the cpu architecture |
| + of the default toolchain. |
| + |
| + In many cases, this is the same as "host_cpu", but in the case |
| + of cross-compiles, this can be set to something different. This |
| + value is different from "current_cpu" in that it can be referenced |
| + from inside any toolchain. This value can also be ignored if it is |
| + not needed or meaningful for a project. |
| + |
| + This value is not used internally by GN for any purpose, so it |
| + may be set to whatever value is needed for the build. |
| + GN defaults this value to the empty string ("") and the |
| + configuration files should set it to an appropriate value |
| + (e.g., setting it to the value of "host_cpu") if it is not |
| + overridden on the command line or in the args.gn file. |
| + |
| + Where practical, use one of the following list of common values: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Possible values**: |
| +``` |
| + - "x86" |
| + - "x64" |
| + - "arm" |
| + - "arm64" |
| + - "mipsel" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **target_gen_dir**: Directory for a target's generated files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Absolute path to the target's generated file directory. This will be |
| + the "root_gen_dir" followed by the relative path to the current |
| + build file. If your file is in "//tools/doom_melon" then |
| + target_gen_dir would be "//out/Debug/gen/tools/doom_melon". It will |
| + not have a trailing slash. |
| + |
| + This is primarily useful for setting up include paths for generated |
| + files. If you are passing this to a script, you will want to pass it |
| + through rebase_path() (see "gn help rebase_path") to convert it |
| + to be relative to the build directory. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help root_gen_dir". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + action("myscript") { |
| +* # Pass the generated output dir to the script. |
| +* args = [ "-o", rebase_path(target_gen_dir, root_build_dir) ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **target_os**: The desired operating system for the build. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + This value should be used to indicate the desired operating system |
| + for the primary object(s) of the build. It will match the OS of |
| + the default toolchain. |
| + |
| + In many cases, this is the same as "host_os", but in the case of |
| + cross-compiles, it may be different. This variable differs from |
| + "current_os" in that it can be referenced from inside any |
| + toolchain and will always return the initial value. |
| + |
| + This should be set to the most specific value possible. So, |
| + "android" or "chromeos" should be used instead of "linux" |
| + where applicable, even though Android and ChromeOS are both Linux |
| + variants. This can mean that one needs to write |
| + |
| + if (target_os == "android" || target_os == "linux") { |
| +* # ... |
| +* } |
| + |
| + and so forth. |
| + |
| + This value is not used internally by GN for any purpose, so it |
| + may be set to whatever value is needed for the build. |
| + GN defaults this value to the empty string ("") and the |
| + configuration files should set it to an appropriate value |
| + (e.g., setting it to the value of "host_os") if it is not |
| + set via the command line or in the args.gn file. |
| + |
| + Where practical, use one of the following list of common values: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Possible values**: |
| +``` |
| + - "android" |
| + - "chromeos" |
| + - "ios" |
| + - "linux" |
| + - "nacl" |
| + - "mac" |
| + - "win" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **target_out_dir**: [string] Directory for target output files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Absolute path to the target's generated file directory. If your |
| + current target is in "//tools/doom_melon" then this value might be |
| + "//out/Debug/obj/tools/doom_melon". It will not have a trailing |
| + slash. |
| + |
| + This is primarily useful for setting up arguments for calling |
| + scripts. If you are passing this to a script, you will want to pass it |
| + through rebase_path() (see "gn help rebase_path") to convert it |
| + to be relative to the build directory. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help root_out_dir". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + action("myscript") { |
| +* # Pass the output dir to the script. |
| +* args = [ "-o", rebase_path(target_out_dir, root_build_dir) ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **all_dependent_configs**: Configs to be forced on dependents. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of config labels. |
| + |
| + All targets depending on this one, and recursively, all targets |
| + depending on those, will have the configs listed in this variable |
| + added to them. These configs will also apply to the current target. |
| + |
| + This addition happens in a second phase once a target and all of its |
| + dependencies have been resolved. Therefore, a target will not see |
| + these force-added configs in their "configs" variable while the |
| + script is running, and then can not be removed. As a result, this |
| + capability should generally only be used to add defines and include |
| + directories necessary to compile a target's headers. |
| + |
| + See also "public_configs". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **allow_circular_includes_from**: Permit includes from deps. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of target labels. Must be a subset of the target's "deps". |
| + These targets will be permitted to include headers from the current |
| + target despite the dependency going in the opposite direction. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Tedious exposition** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally, for a file in target A to include a file from target B, |
| + A must list B as a dependency. This invariant is enforced by the |
| + "gn check" command (and the --check flag to "gn gen"). |
| + |
| + Sometimes, two targets might be the same unit for linking purposes |
| + (two source sets or static libraries that would always be linked |
| + together in a final executable or shared library). In this case, |
| + you want A to be able to include B's headers, and B to include A's |
| + headers. |
| + |
| + This list, if specified, lists which of the dependencies of the |
| + current target can include header files from the current target. |
| + That is, if A depends on B, B can only include headers from A if it is |
| + in A's allow_circular_includes_from list. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + source_set("a") { |
| + deps = [ ":b", ":c" ] |
| + allow_circular_includes_from = [ ":b" ] |
| + ... |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **args**: Arguments passed to an action. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + For action and action_foreach targets, args is the list of arguments |
| + to pass to the script. Typically you would use source expansion (see |
| + "gn help source_expansion") to insert the source file names. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help action" and "gn help action_foreach". |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **cflags***: Flags passed to the C compiler. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + "cflags" are passed to all invocations of the C, C++, Objective C, |
| + and Objective C++ compilers. |
| + |
| + To target one of these variants individually, use "cflags_c", |
| + "cflags_cc", "cflags_objc", and "cflags_objcc", respectively. |
| + These variant-specific versions will be appended to the "cflags". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **cflags***: Flags passed to the C compiler. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + "cflags" are passed to all invocations of the C, C++, Objective C, |
| + and Objective C++ compilers. |
| + |
| + To target one of these variants individually, use "cflags_c", |
| + "cflags_cc", "cflags_objc", and "cflags_objcc", respectively. |
| + These variant-specific versions will be appended to the "cflags". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **cflags***: Flags passed to the C compiler. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + "cflags" are passed to all invocations of the C, C++, Objective C, |
| + and Objective C++ compilers. |
| + |
| + To target one of these variants individually, use "cflags_c", |
| + "cflags_cc", "cflags_objc", and "cflags_objcc", respectively. |
| + These variant-specific versions will be appended to the "cflags". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **cflags***: Flags passed to the C compiler. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + "cflags" are passed to all invocations of the C, C++, Objective C, |
| + and Objective C++ compilers. |
| + |
| + To target one of these variants individually, use "cflags_c", |
| + "cflags_cc", "cflags_objc", and "cflags_objcc", respectively. |
| + These variant-specific versions will be appended to the "cflags". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **cflags***: Flags passed to the C compiler. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + "cflags" are passed to all invocations of the C, C++, Objective C, |
| + and Objective C++ compilers. |
| + |
| + To target one of these variants individually, use "cflags_c", |
| + "cflags_cc", "cflags_objc", and "cflags_objcc", respectively. |
| + These variant-specific versions will be appended to the "cflags". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **check_includes**: [boolean] Controls whether a target's files are checked. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + When true (the default), the "gn check" command (as well as |
| + "gn gen" with the --check flag) will check this target's sources |
| + and headers for proper dependencies. |
| + |
| + When false, the files in this target will be skipped by default. |
| + This does not affect other targets that depend on the current target, |
| + it just skips checking the includes of the current target's files. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + source_set("busted_includes") { |
| +* # This target's includes are messed up, exclude it from checking. |
| +* check_includes = false |
| + ... |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **complete_static_lib**: [boolean] Links all deps into a static library. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A static library normally doesn't include code from dependencies, but |
| + instead forwards the static libraries and source sets in its deps up |
| + the dependency chain until a linkable target (an executable or shared |
| + library) is reached. The final linkable target only links each static |
| + library once, even if it appears more than once in its dependency |
| + graph. |
| + |
| + In some cases the static library might be the final desired output. |
| + For example, you may be producing a static library for distribution to |
| + third parties. In this case, the static library should include code |
| + for all dependencies in one complete package. Since GN does not unpack |
| + static libraries to forward their contents up the dependency chain, |
| + it is an error for complete static libraries to depend on other static |
| + libraries. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + static_library("foo") { |
| + complete_static_lib = true |
| + deps = [ "bar" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **configs**: Configs applying to this target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of config labels. |
| + |
| + The include_dirs, defines, etc. in each config are appended in the |
| + order they appear to the compile command for each file in the target. |
| + They will appear after the include_dirs, defines, etc. that the target |
| + sets directly. |
| + |
| + The build configuration script will generally set up the default |
| + configs applying to a given target type (see "set_defaults"). |
| + When a target is being defined, it can add to or remove from this |
| + list. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + static_library("foo") { |
| + configs -= "//build:no_rtti" # Don't use the default RTTI config. |
| + configs += ":mysettings" # Add some of our own settings. |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **data**: Runtime data file dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Lists files required to run the given target. These are typically |
| + data files. |
| + |
| + Appearing in the "data" section does not imply any special handling |
| + such as copying them to the output directory. This is just used for |
| + declaring runtime dependencies. There currently isn't a good use for |
| + these but it is envisioned that test data can be listed here for use |
| + running automated tests. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help inputs" and "gn help data_deps", both of |
| + which actually affect the build in concrete ways. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **data_deps**: Non-linked dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of target labels. |
| + |
| + Specifies dependencies of a target that are not actually linked into |
| + the current target. Such dependencies will built and will be available |
| + at runtime. |
| + |
| + This is normally used for things like plugins or helper programs that |
| + a target needs at runtime. |
| + |
| + See also "gn help deps" and "gn help data". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + executable("foo") { |
| + deps = [ "//base" ] |
| + data_deps = [ "//plugins:my_runtime_plugin" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **defines**: C preprocessor defines. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings |
| + |
| + These strings will be passed to the C/C++ compiler as #defines. The |
| + strings may or may not include an "=" to assign a value. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + defines = [ "AWESOME_FEATURE", "LOG_LEVEL=3" ] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **depfile**: [string] File name for input dependencies for actions. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + If nonempty, this string specifies that the current action or |
| + action_foreach target will generate the given ".d" file containing |
| + the dependencies of the input. Empty or unset means that the script |
| + doesn't generate the files. |
| + |
| + The .d file should go in the target output directory. If you have more |
| + than one source file that the script is being run over, you can use |
| + the output file expansions described in "gn help action_foreach" to |
| + name the .d file according to the input. |
| + The format is that of a Makefile, and all of the paths should be |
| + relative to the root build directory. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + action_foreach("myscript_target") { |
| + script = "myscript.py" |
| + sources = [ ... ] |
| + |
| +* # Locate the depfile in the output directory named like the |
| +** # inputs but with a ".d" appended. |
| +* depfile = "$relative_target_output_dir/{{source_name}}.d" |
| + |
| +* # Say our script uses "-o <d file>" to indicate the depfile. |
| +* args = [ "{{source}}", "-o", depfile ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **deps**: Private linked dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of target labels. |
| + |
| + Specifies private dependencies of a target. Shared and dynamic |
| + libraries will be linked into the current target. Other target types |
| + that can't be linked (like actions and groups) listed in "deps" will |
| + be treated as "data_deps". Likewise, if the current target isn't |
| + linkable, then all deps will be treated as "data_deps". |
| + |
| + These dependencies are private in that it does not grant dependent |
| + targets the ability to include headers from the dependency, and direct |
| + dependent configs are not forwarded. |
| + |
| + See also "public_deps" and "data_deps". |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **forward_dependent_configs_from** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of target labels. |
| + |
| + Exposes the public_configs from a private dependent target as |
| + public_configs of the current one. Each label in this list |
| + must also be in the deps. |
| + |
| + Generally you should use public_deps instead of this variable to |
| + express the concept of exposing a dependency as part of a target's |
| + public API. We're considering removing this variable. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Discussion** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Sometimes you depend on a child library that exports some necessary |
| + configuration via public_configs. If your target in turn exposes the |
| + child library's headers in its public headers, it might mean that |
| + targets that depend on you won't work: they'll be seeing the child |
| + library's code but not the necessary configuration. This list |
| + specifies which of your deps' direct dependent configs to expose as |
| + your own. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + If we use a given library "a" from our public headers: |
| + |
| + deps = [ ":a", ":b", ... ] |
| + forward_dependent_configs_from = [ ":a" ] |
| + |
| + This example makes a "transparent" target that forwards a dependency |
| + to another: |
| + |
| + group("frob") { |
| + if (use_system_frob) { |
| + deps = ":system_frob" |
| + } else { |
| + deps = "//third_party/fallback_frob" |
| + } |
| + forward_dependent_configs_from = deps |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **include_dirs**: Additional include directories. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of source directories. |
| + |
| + The directories in this list will be added to the include path for |
| + the files in the affected target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + include_dirs = [ "src/include", "//third_party/foo" ] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **inputs**: Additional compile-time dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Inputs are compile-time dependencies of the current target. This means |
| + that all inputs must be available before compiling any of the sources |
| + or executing any actions. |
| + |
| + Inputs are typically only used for action and action_foreach targets. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Inputs for actions** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + For action and action_foreach targets, inputs should be the inputs to |
| + script that don't vary. These should be all .py files that the script |
| + uses via imports (the main script itself will be an implcit dependency |
| + of the action so need not be listed). |
| + |
| + For action targets, inputs should be the entire set of inputs the |
| + script needs. For action_foreach targets, inputs should be the set of |
| + dependencies that don't change. These will be applied to each script |
| + invocation over the sources. |
| + |
| + Note that another way to declare input dependencies from an action |
| + is to have the action write a depfile (see "gn help depfile"). This |
| + allows the script to dynamically write input dependencies, that might |
| + not be known until actually executing the script. This is more |
| + efficient than doing processing while running GN to determine the |
| + inputs, and is easier to keep in-sync than hardcoding the list. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Inputs for binary targets** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Any input dependencies will be resolved before compiling any sources. |
| + Normally, all actions that a target depends on will be run before any |
| + files in a target are compiled. So if you depend on generated headers, |
| + you do not typically need to list them in the inputs section. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + action("myscript") { |
| + script = "domything.py" |
| + inputs = [ "input.data" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **ldflags**: Flags passed to the linker. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + These flags are passed on the command-line to the linker and generally |
| + specify various linking options. Most targets will not need these and |
| + will use "libs" and "lib_dirs" instead. |
| + |
| + ldflags are NOT pushed to dependents, so applying ldflags to source |
| + sets or static libraries will be a no-op. If you want to apply ldflags |
| + to dependent targets, put them in a config and set it in the |
| + all_dependent_configs or public_configs. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **lib_dirs**: Additional library directories. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of directories. |
| + |
| + Specifies additional directories passed to the linker for searching |
| + for the required libraries. If an item is not an absolute path, it |
| + will be treated as being relative to the current build file. |
| + |
| + libs and lib_dirs work differently than other flags in two respects. |
| + First, then are inherited across static library boundaries until a |
| + shared library or executable target is reached. Second, they are |
| + uniquified so each one is only passed once (the first instance of it |
| + will be the one used). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + lib_dirs = [ "/usr/lib/foo", "lib/doom_melon" ] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **libs**: Additional libraries to link. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of strings. |
| + |
| + These files will be passed to the linker, which will generally search |
| + the library include path. Unlike a normal list of files, they will be |
| + passed to the linker unmodified rather than being treated as file |
| + names relative to the current build file. Generally you would set |
| + the "lib_dirs" so your library is found. If you need to specify |
| + a path, you can use "rebase_path" to convert a path to be relative |
| + to the build directory. |
| + |
| + When constructing the linker command, the "lib_prefix" attribute of |
| + the linker tool in the current toolchain will be prepended to each |
| + library. So your BUILD file should not specify the switch prefix |
| + (like "-l"). On Mac, libraries ending in ".framework" will be |
| + special-cased: the switch "-framework" will be prepended instead of |
| + the lib_prefix, and the ".framework" suffix will be trimmed. |
| + |
| + libs and lib_dirs work differently than other flags in two respects. |
| + First, then are inherited across static library boundaries until a |
| + shared library or executable target is reached. Second, they are |
| + uniquified so each one is only passed once (the first instance of it |
| + will be the one used). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples**: |
| +``` |
| + On Windows: |
| + libs = [ "ctl3d.lib" ] |
| + On Linux: |
| + libs = [ "ld" ] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **output_extension**: Value to use for the output's file extension. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally the file extension for a target is based on the target |
| + type and the operating system, but in rare cases you will need to |
| + override the name (for example to use "libfreetype.so.6" instead |
| + of libfreetype.so on Linux). |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **output_name**: Define a name for the output file other than the default. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Normally the output name of a target will be based on the target name, |
| + so the target "//foo/bar:bar_unittests" will generate an output |
| + file such as "bar_unittests.exe" (using Windows as an example). |
| + |
| + Sometimes you will want an alternate name to avoid collisions or |
| + if the internal name isn't appropriate for public distribution. |
| + |
| + The output name should have no extension or prefixes, these will be |
| + added using the default system rules. For example, on Linux an output |
| + name of "foo" will produce a shared library "libfoo.so". |
| + |
| + This variable is valid for all binary output target types. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example**: |
| +``` |
| + static_library("doom_melon") { |
| + output_name = "fluffy_bunny" |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **outputs**: Output files for actions and copy targets. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Outputs is valid for "copy", "action", and "action_foreach" |
| + target types and indicates the resulting files. The values may contain |
| + source expansions to generate the output names from the sources (see |
| + "gn help source_expansion"). |
| + |
| + For copy targets, the outputs is the destination for the copied |
| + file(s). For actions, the outputs should be the list of files |
| + generated by the script. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **public**: Declare public header files for a target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of files that other targets can include. These permissions are |
| + checked via the "check" command (see "gn help check"). |
| + |
| + If no public files are declared, other targets (assuming they have |
| + visibility to depend on this target can include any file in the |
| + sources list. If this variable is defined on a target, dependent |
| + targets may only include files on this whitelist. |
| + |
| + Header file permissions are also subject to visibility. A target |
| + must be visible to another target to include any files from it at all |
| + and the public headers indicate which subset of those files are |
| + permitted. See "gn help visibility" for more. |
| + |
| + Public files are inherited through the dependency tree. So if there is |
| + a dependency A -> B -> C, then A can include C's public headers. |
| + However, the same is NOT true of visibility, so unless A is in C's |
| + visibility list, the include will be rejected. |
| + |
| + GN only knows about files declared in the "sources" and "public" |
| + sections of targets. If a file is included that is not known to the |
| + build, it will be allowed. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples**: |
| +``` |
| + These exact files are public: |
| + public = [ "foo.h", "bar.h" ] |
| + |
| + No files are public (no targets may include headers from this one): |
| + public = [] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **public_configs**: Configs to be applied on dependents. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of config labels. |
| + |
| + Targets directly depending on this one will have the configs listed in |
| + this variable added to them. These configs will also apply to the |
| + current target. |
| + |
| + This addition happens in a second phase once a target and all of its |
| + dependencies have been resolved. Therefore, a target will not see |
| + these force-added configs in their "configs" variable while the |
| + script is running, and then can not be removed. As a result, this |
| + capability should generally only be used to add defines and include |
| + directories necessary to compile a target's headers. |
| + |
| + See also "all_dependent_configs". |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Ordering of flags and values**: |
| + |
| +``` |
| + 1. Those set on the current target (not in a config). |
| + 2. Those set on the "configs" on the target in order that the |
| + configs appear in the list. |
| + 3. Those set on the "all_dependent_configs" on the target in order |
| + that the configs appear in the list. |
| + 4. Those set on the "public_configs" on the target in order that |
| + those configs appear in the list. |
| + 5. all_dependent_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of |
| + the "deps" list. This is done recursively. If a config appears |
| + more than once, only the first occurance will be used. |
| + 6. public_configs pulled from dependencies, in the order of the |
| + "deps" list. If a dependency has "forward_dependent_configs_from", |
| + or are public dependencies, they will be applied recursively. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **public_deps**: Declare public dependencies. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Public dependencies are like private dependencies ("deps") but |
| + additionally express that the current target exposes the listed deps |
| + as part of its public API. |
| + |
| + This has two ramifications: |
| + |
| + - public_configs that are part of the dependency are forwarded |
| + to direct dependents (this is the same as using |
| + forward_dependent_configs_from). |
| + |
| + - public headers in the dependency are usable by dependents |
| + (includes do not require a direct dependency or visibility). |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Discussion** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Say you have three targets: A -> B -> C. C's visibility may allow |
| + B to depend on it but not A. Normally, this would prevent A from |
| + including any headers from C, and C's public_configs would apply |
| + only to B. |
| + |
| + If B lists C in its public_deps instead of regular deps, A will now |
| + inherit C's public_configs and the ability to include C's public |
| + headers. |
| + |
| + Generally if you are writing a target B and you include C's headers |
| + as part of B's public headers, or targets depending on B should |
| + consider B and C to be part of a unit, you should use public_deps |
| + instead of deps. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| +* # This target can include files from "c" but not from |
| +** # "super_secret_implementation_details". |
| +* executable("a") { |
| + deps = [ ":b" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + shared_library("b") { |
| + deps = [ ":super_secret_implementation_details" ] |
| + public_deps = [ ":c" ] |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **script**: Script file for actions. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + An absolute or buildfile-relative file name of a Python script to run |
| + for a action and action_foreach targets (see "gn help action" and |
| + "gn help action_foreach"). |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **sources**: Source files for a target |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of files relative to the current buildfile. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **testonly**: Declares a target must only be used for testing. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Boolean. Defaults to false. |
| + |
| + When a target is marked "testonly = true", it must only be depended |
| + on by other test-only targets. Otherwise, GN will issue an error |
| + that the depenedency is not allowed. |
| + |
| + This feature is intended to prevent accidentally shipping test code |
| + in a final product. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + source_set("test_support") { |
| + testonly = true |
| + ... |
| + } |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **visibility**: A list of labels that can depend on a target. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A list of labels and label patterns that define which targets can |
| + depend on the current one. These permissions are checked via the |
| + "check" command (see "gn help check"). |
| + |
| + If visibility is not defined, it defaults to public ("*"). |
| + |
| + If visibility is defined, only the targets with labels that match it |
| + can depend on the current target. The empty list means no targets |
| + can depend on the current target. |
| + |
| + Tip: Often you will want the same visibility for all targets in a |
| + BUILD file. In this case you can just put the definition at the top, |
| + outside of any target, and the targets will inherit that scope and see |
| + the definition. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Patterns** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + See "gn help label_pattern" for more details on what types of |
| + patterns are supported. If a toolchain is specified, only targets |
| + in that toolchain will be matched. If a toolchain is not specified on |
| + a pattern, targets in all toolchains will be matched. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Only targets in the current buildfile ("private"): |
| + visibility = [ ":*" ] |
| + |
| + No targets (used for targets that should be leaf nodes): |
| + visibility = [] |
| + |
| + Any target ("public", the default): |
| + visibility = [ "*" ] |
| + |
| + All targets in the current directory and any subdirectory: |
| + visibility = [ "./*" ] |
| + |
| + Any target in "//bar/BUILD.gn": |
| + visibility = [ "//bar:*" ] |
| + |
| + Any target in "//bar/" or any subdirectory thereof: |
| + visibility = [ "//bar/*" ] |
| + |
| + Just these specific targets: |
| + visibility = [ ":mything", "//foo:something_else" ] |
| + |
| + Any target in the current directory and any subdirectory thereof, plus |
| + any targets in "//bar/" and any subdirectory thereof. |
| + visibility = [ "./*", "//bar/*" ] |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **Build Arguments Overview** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Build arguments are variables passed in from outside of the build |
| + that build files can query to determine how the build works. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **How build arguments are set** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + First, system default arguments are set based on the current system. |
| + The built-in arguments are: |
| + - host_cpu |
| + - host_os |
| + - current_cpu |
| + - current_os |
| + - target_cpu |
| + - target_os |
| + |
| + If specified, arguments from the --args command line flag are used. If |
| + that flag is not specified, args from previous builds in the build |
| + directory will be used (this is in the file args.gn in the build |
| + directory). |
| + |
| + Last, for targets being compiled with a non-default toolchain, the |
| + toolchain overrides are applied. These are specified in the |
| + toolchain_args section of a toolchain definition. The use-case for |
| + this is that a toolchain may be building code for a different |
| + platform, and that it may want to always specify Posix, for example. |
| + See "gn help toolchain_args" for more. |
| + |
| + If you specify an override for a build argument that never appears in |
| + a "declare_args" call, a nonfatal error will be displayed. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + gn args out/FooBar |
| + Create the directory out/FooBar and open an editor. You would type |
| + something like this into that file: |
| + enable_doom_melon=false |
| + os="android" |
| + |
| + gn gen out/FooBar --args="enable_doom_melon=true os=\"android\"" |
| + This will overwrite the build directory with the given arguments. |
| + (Note that the quotes inside the args command will usually need to |
| + be escaped for your shell to pass through strings values.) |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **How build arguments are used** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + If you want to use an argument, you use declare_args() and specify |
| + default values. These default values will apply if none of the steps |
| + listed in the "How build arguments are set" section above apply to |
| + the given argument, but the defaults will not override any of these. |
| + |
| + Often, the root build config file will declare global arguments that |
| + will be passed to all buildfiles. Individual build files can also |
| + specify arguments that apply only to those files. It is also useful |
| + to specify build args in an "import"-ed file if you want such |
| + arguments to apply to multiple buildfiles. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **.gn file** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + When gn starts, it will search the current directory and parent |
| + directories for a file called ".gn". This indicates the source root. |
| + You can override this detection by using the --root command-line |
| + argument |
| + |
| + The .gn file in the source root will be executed. The syntax is the |
| + same as a buildfile, but with very limited build setup-specific |
| + meaning. |
| + |
| + If you specify --root, by default GN will look for the file .gn in |
| + that directory. If you want to specify a different file, you can |
| + additionally pass --dotfile: |
| + |
| + gn gen out/Debug --root=/home/build --dotfile=/home/my_gn_file.gn |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Variables** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + buildconfig [required] |
| + Label of the build config file. This file will be used to set up |
| + the build file execution environment for each toolchain. |
| + |
| + check_targets [optional] |
| + A list of labels and label patterns that should be checked when |
| + running "gn check" or "gn gen --check". If unspecified, all |
| + targets will be checked. If it is the empty list, no targets will |
| + be checked. |
| + |
| + The format of this list is identical to that of "visibility" |
| + so see "gn help visibility" for examples. |
| + |
| + exec_script_whitelist [optional] |
| + A list of .gn/.gni files (not labels) that have permission to call |
| + the exec_script function. If this list is defined, calls to |
| + exec_script will be checked against this list and GN will fail if |
| + the current file isn't in the list. |
| + |
| + This is to allow the use of exec_script to be restricted since |
| + is easy to use inappropriately. Wildcards are not supported. |
| + Files in the secondary_source tree (if defined) should be |
| + referenced by ignoring the secondary tree and naming them as if |
| + they are in the main tree. |
| + |
| + If unspecified, the ability to call exec_script is unrestricted. |
| + |
| + Example: |
| + exec_script_whitelist = [ |
| + "//base/BUILD.gn", |
| + "//build/my_config.gni", |
| + ] |
| + |
| + root [optional] |
| + Label of the root build target. The GN build will start by loading |
| + the build file containing this target name. This defaults to |
| + "//:" which will cause the file //BUILD.gn to be loaded. |
| + |
| + secondary_source [optional] |
| + Label of an alternate directory tree to find input files. When |
| + searching for a BUILD.gn file (or the build config file discussed |
| + above), the file will first be looked for in the source root. |
| + If it's not found, the secondary source root will be checked |
| + (which would contain a parallel directory hierarchy). |
| + |
| + This behavior is intended to be used when BUILD.gn files can't be |
| + checked in to certain source directories for whatever reason. |
| + |
| + The secondary source root must be inside the main source tree. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Example .gn file contents** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + buildconfig = "//build/config/BUILDCONFIG.gn" |
| + |
| + check_targets = [ |
| + "//doom_melon/*", # Check everything in this subtree. |
| + "//tools:mind_controlling_ant", # Check this specific target. |
| + ] |
| + |
| + root = "//:root" |
| + |
| + secondary_source = "//build/config/temporary_buildfiles/" |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **input_conversion**: Specifies how to transform input to a variable. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + input_conversion is an argument to read_file and exec_script that |
| + specifies how the result of the read operation should be converted |
| + into a variable. |
| + |
| + "" (the default) |
| + Discard the result and return None. |
| + |
| + "list lines" |
| + Return the file contents as a list, with a string for each line. |
| + The newlines will not be present in the result. The last line may |
| + or may not end in a newline. |
| + |
| + After splitting, each individual line will be trimmed of |
| + whitespace on both ends. |
| + |
| + "scope" |
| + Execute the block as GN code and return a scope with the |
| + resulting values in it. If the input was: |
| + a = [ "hello.cc", "world.cc" ] |
| + b = 26 |
| + and you read the result into a variable named "val", then you |
| + could access contents the "." operator on "val": |
| + sources = val.a |
| + some_count = val.b |
| + |
| + "string" |
| + Return the file contents into a single string. |
| + |
| + "value" |
| + Parse the input as if it was a literal rvalue in a buildfile. |
| + Examples of typical program output using this mode: |
| + [ "foo", "bar" ] (result will be a list) |
| + or |
| + "foo bar" (result will be a string) |
| + or |
| + 5 (result will be an integer) |
| + |
| + Note that if the input is empty, the result will be a null value |
| + which will produce an error if assigned to a variable. |
| + |
| + "trim ..." |
| + Prefixing any of the other transformations with the word "trim" |
| + will result in whitespace being trimmed from the beginning and end |
| + of the result before processing. |
| + |
| + Examples: "trim string" or "trim list lines" |
| + |
| + Note that "trim value" is useless because the value parser skips |
| + whitespace anyway. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **Label patterns** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + A label pattern is a way of expressing one or more labels in a portion |
| + of the source tree. They are not general regular expressions. |
| + |
| + They can take the following forms only: |
| + |
| + - Explicit (no wildcard): |
| + "//foo/bar:baz" |
| + ":baz" |
| + |
| + - Wildcard target names: |
| + "//foo/bar:*" (all targets in the //foo/bar/BUILD.gn file) |
| + ":*" (all targets in the current build file) |
| + |
| + - Wildcard directory names ("*" is only supported at the end) |
| + "*" (all targets) |
| + "//foo/bar/*" (all targets in any subdir of //foo/bar) |
| + "./*" (all targets in the current build file or sub dirs) |
| + |
| + Any of the above forms can additionally take an explicit toolchain. |
| + In this case, the toolchain must be fully qualified (no wildcards |
| + are supported in the toolchain name). |
| + |
| + "//foo:bar(//build/toochain:mac)" |
| + An explicit target in an explicit toolchain. |
| + |
| + ":*(//build/toolchain/linux:32bit)" |
| + All targets in the current build file using the 32-bit Linux |
| + toolchain. |
| + |
| + "//foo/*(//build/toolchain:win)" |
| + All targets in //foo and any subdirectory using the Windows |
| + toolchain. |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +## **How Source Expansion Works** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Source expansion is used for the action_foreach and copy target types |
| + to map source file names to output file names or arguments. |
| + |
| + To perform source expansion in the outputs, GN maps every entry in the |
| + sources to every entry in the outputs list, producing the cross |
| + product of all combinations, expanding placeholders (see below). |
| + |
| + Source expansion in the args works similarly, but performing the |
| + placeholder substitution produces a different set of arguments for |
| + each invocation of the script. |
| + |
| + If no placeholders are found, the outputs or args list will be treated |
| + as a static list of literal file names that do not depend on the |
| + sources. |
| + |
| + See "gn help copy" and "gn help action_foreach" for more on how |
| + this is applied. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Placeholders** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + {{source}} |
| + The name of the source file including directory (*). This will |
| + generally be used for specifying inputs to a script in the |
| + "args" variable. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "../../foo/bar/baz.txt" |
| + |
| + {{source_file_part}} |
| + The file part of the source including the extension. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "baz.txt" |
| + |
| + {{source_name_part}} |
| + The filename part of the source file with no directory or |
| + extension. This will generally be used for specifying a |
| + transformation from a soruce file to a destination file with the |
| + same name but different extension. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "baz" |
| + |
| + {{source_dir}} |
| + The directory (*) containing the source file with no |
| + trailing slash. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "../../foo/bar" |
| + |
| + {{source_root_relative_dir}} |
| + The path to the source file's directory relative to the source |
| + root, with no leading "//" or trailing slashes. If the path is |
| + system-absolute, (beginning in a single slash) this will just |
| + return the path with no trailing slash. This value will always |
| + be the same, regardless of whether it appears in the "outputs" |
| + or "args" section. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "foo/bar" |
| + |
| + {{source_gen_dir}} |
| + The generated file directory (*) corresponding to the source |
| + file's path. This will be different than the target's generated |
| + file directory if the source file is in a different directory |
| + than the BUILD.gn file. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "gen/foo/bar" |
| + |
| + {{source_out_dir}} |
| + The object file directory (*) corresponding to the source file's |
| + path, relative to the build directory. this us be different than |
| + the target's out directory if the source file is in a different |
| + directory than the build.gn file. |
| + "//foo/bar/baz.txt" => "obj/foo/bar" |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **(*) Note on directories** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Paths containing directories (except the source_root_relative_dir) |
| + will be different depending on what context the expansion is evaluated |
| + in. Generally it should "just work" but it means you can't |
| + concatenate strings containing these values with reasonable results. |
| + |
| + Details: source expansions can be used in the "outputs" variable, |
| + the "args" variable, and in calls to "process_file_template". The |
| + "args" are passed to a script which is run from the build directory, |
| + so these directories will relative to the build directory for the |
| + script to find. In the other cases, the directories will be source- |
| + absolute (begin with a "//") because the results of those expansions |
| + will be handled by GN internally. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +### **Examples** |
| + |
| +``` |
| + Non-varying outputs: |
| + action("hardcoded_outputs") { |
| + sources = [ "input1.idl", "input2.idl" ] |
| + outputs = [ "$target_out_dir/output1.dat", |
| + "$target_out_dir/output2.dat" ] |
| + } |
| + The outputs in this case will be the two literal files given. |
| + |
| + Varying outputs: |
| + action_foreach("varying_outputs") { |
| + sources = [ "input1.idl", "input2.idl" ] |
| + outputs = [ "{{source_gen_dir}}/{{source_name_part}}.h", |
| + "{{source_gen_dir}}/{{source_name_part}}.cc" ] |
| + } |
| + Performing source expansion will result in the following output names: |
| + //out/Debug/obj/mydirectory/input1.h |
| + //out/Debug/obj/mydirectory/input1.cc |
| + //out/Debug/obj/mydirectory/input2.h |
| + //out/Debug/obj/mydirectory/input2.cc |
| + |
| + |
| +``` |
| +**Available global switches |
| +** Do "gn help --the_switch_you_want_help_on" for more. Individual |
| + commands may take command-specific switches not listed here. See the |
| + help on your specific command for more. |
| + |
| +``` |
| + |
| +** --args**: Specifies build arguments overrides. |
| +** --color**: Force colored output. |
| +** --dotfile**: override the name of the ".gn" file. |
| +** --markdown**: write the output in the Markdown format. |
| +** --nocolor**: Force non-colored output. |
| +** -q**: Quiet mode. Don't print output on success. |
| +** --root**: Explicitly specify source root. |
| +** --time**: Outputs a summary of how long everything took. |
| +** --tracelog**: Writes a Chrome-compatible trace log to the given file. |
| +** -v**: Verbose logging. |
| +** --version**: Prints the GN version number and exits. |
| + |
| +``` |