CMakeExpandImportedTargets

Deprecated since version 3.4: This module should no longer be used.

It was once needed to replace Imported Targets with their underlying libraries referenced on disk for use with the try_compile() and try_run() commands. These commands now support imported targets in their LINK_LIBRARIES options (since CMake 2.8.11 for try_compile() command and since CMake 3.2 for try_run() command).

Load this module in a CMake project with:

include(CMakeExpandImportedTargets)

Note

This module does not support the policy CMP0022 NEW behavior, nor does it use the INTERFACE_LINK_LIBRARIES property, because generator expressions cannot be evaluated at the configuration phase.

Commands

This module provides the following command:

cmake_expand_imported_targets

Expands all imported targets in a given list of libraries to their corresponding file paths on disk and stores the resulting list in a local variable:

cmake_expand_imported_targets(
  <result-var>
  LIBRARIES <libs>...
  [CONFIGURATION <config>]
)

The arguments are:

<result-var>: Name of a CMake variable containing the resulting list of file paths.
LIBRARIES <libs>...: A semicolon-separated list of system and imported targets. Imported targets in this list are replaced with their corresponding library file paths, including libraries from their link interfaces.
CONFIGURATION <config>: If this option is given, it uses the respective build configuration <config> of the imported targets if it exists. If omitted, it defaults to the first entry in the CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES variable, or falls back to CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE if CMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES is not set.

Examples

Using this module to get a list of library paths:

include(CMakeExpandImportedTargets)
cmake_expand_imported_targets(
  expandedLibs
  LIBRARIES ${CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES}
  CONFIGURATION "${CMAKE_TRY_COMPILE_CONFIGURATION}"
)

© 2000–2026 Kitware, Inc. and Contributors
Licensed under the BSD 3-clause License.
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/module/CMakeExpandImportedTargets.html