# make command failed with error: cmake error: unknown argument

**URL:** https://discourse.cmake.org/t/make-command-failed-with-error-cmake-error-unknown-argument/15526
**Category:** Community
**Created:** [February 24, 2026, 6:54am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/make-command-failed-with-error-cmake-error-unknown-argument/15526 "2026-02-24T06:54:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![john.pang](https://discourse.cmake.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a4c791/32.png) [@john.pang](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/john.pang)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 6:54am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/make-command-failed-with-error-cmake-error-unknown-argument/15526/1 "2026-02-24T06:54:20Z")

</div>

the content of build.py is as following:

> # Generate a Project Buildsystem
> 
> cmake\_command = [‘cmake’, ‘-G’, ‘MinGW Makefiles’, ‘-DCMAKE\_MAKE\_PROGRAM=’+make\_program,
> 
> ```
> '-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=./CMake/dspc2000_toolchain.cmake',
> 
> '-S', root_dir, '-B', '.'\]
> 
> ```
> 
> result = subprocess.run(cmake\_command, check=True)
> 
> if result.returncode != 0:
> 
> ```
> print(f"Make command failed with error: {result.stderr}")
> 
> ```
> 
> else:
> 
> ```
> print("Make command executed successfully")
> 
> ```
> 
> # Build a Project
> 
> result = subprocess.run([‘cmake’, ‘–build’, ‘.’, ‘–parallel’, ‘12’], capture\_output=True, text=True)

the output of terminal is as following:

> – Configuring done (6.4s)  
> – Generating done (0.1s)  
> – Build files have been written to: D:/ti/ccs12\_workspace/xxxx/Build/build\_cache  
> Make command executed successfully  
> Make command failed with error: CMake Error: Unknown argument --parallel 12  
> CMake Error: Run ‘cmake --help’ for all supported options.

If I remove –parallel 12, then the error message will change to

Make command failed with error: CMake Error: Unknown argument –build

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![john.pang](https://discourse.cmake.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a4c791/32.png) [@john.pang](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/john.pang)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2026, 7:04am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/make-command-failed-with-error-cmake-error-unknown-argument/15526/2 "2026-02-24T07:04:29Z")

</div>

I have tried clean build\_cache first before starting building the project.

I have tried remove most of the source files (especially .asm and .obj files) from the project.

I also have tried change cmake version from 4.2.1 to 3.31.11.

problem still there.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![john.pang](https://discourse.cmake.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/a4c791/32.png) [@john.pang](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/john.pang)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/make-command-failed-with-error-cmake-error-unknown-argument/15526/3 "2026-02-25T00:52:26Z")

</div>

I replaced mingw32-make.exe with ccsxx/utils/bin/gmake.exe, problem is solved.