# Running cpack after install target and install cpack results?

**URL:** <https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253>\
**Category:** Code\
**Created:** [October 12, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253 "2021-10-12T13:42:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/mathomp4/32/176_2.png) [@mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/mathomp4)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253/1 "2021-10-12T13:42:16Z")

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All, this is one of those myriad of “CMake post install” issues. Essentially, I’m trying to figure out how I can run cpack _after_ I run `make install` and then install the bits that cpack just made into the installation directory.

More verbosely, what I’d like is that every time users run `make install` for my code, I’d also like to make a tarball of the source code and then _install_ that tarball into `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX`. (Why? Well, I work on a climate model and users have expressed a want to make sure they have the source code for every experiment they make which might be a single source code change they build, install, and make an experiment for.)

I already have a nice CPack setup that can do that with the usual `make package_source`. But since `install` isn’t like a “real” CMake target, all the easy ways I can think of doing this are hard (i.e., have the `package_source` target depend on `install` or some such).

Do I perhaps need to make a shell script called via `install(SCRIPT)` that does what CPack would do for `make package_source` (aka `tar czf ...`) and then does a Linux `cp` into the `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX`? Or is there some cool CMake I don’t know about that could help me do this more

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**Author:** ![mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/mathomp4/32/176_2.png) [@mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/mathomp4)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253/2 "2021-10-12T14:55:56Z")

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Well, huh. I guess I figured something out but I guess because it _works_ doesn’t mean I should depend on it.

I made a file `PostInstall.cmake`:

```cmake
execute_process(
  COMMAND make package_source
  WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
  COMMAND_ECHO STDOUT
  )
file(
  INSTALL ${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}.tar.gz
  DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/src
  )

```

and then added to my main `CMakeLists.txt` at the _very end_:

```cmake
include(esma_cpack) # This is our cpack configuration
install(CODE "set(CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME \"${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}\")")
install(SCRIPT "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/PostInstall.cmake")

```

And this…seems to work? It works because our `make package_source` uses `CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME` to name the source tarball. I had to add that `install(CODE)` line because I guess `install()` is…weird. (StackOverflow told me too 🙂 )

Do the CMake gurus here see any issues with what I’m doing?

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**Author:** ![hex](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/hex/32/363_2.png) [@hex](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/hex)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 8:21am UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253/3 "2021-10-13T08:21:20Z")

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Well, i’d say your project is not completely broken _yet_ 😄

Your project depends on the Makefile generator. Also, if you package your project it will essentially package twice. This works with simple archive packages but i don’t know what will happen with other package generator.

> [@mathomp4](#):
>
> (Why? Well, I work on a climate model and users have expressed a want to make sure they have the source code for every experiment they make which might be a single source code change they build, install, and make an experiment for.)

Have you considered to package your project? Note that a package depends on install, which depends on a build. This makes sure your project is reproducible. Installing it directly from source does not.

Usually you have to decide if you want to install from source or if you want to install from a package, but don’t make a mix of both.

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**Author:** ![mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/mathomp4/32/176_2.png) [@mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/mathomp4)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253/4 "2021-10-13T18:18:10Z")

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Oooooh. Nuts. You are right. I didn’t think about ninja! Okay…more to look at… 🙂

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**Author:** ![mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/mathomp4/32/176_2.png) [@mathomp4](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/mathomp4)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253/5 "2021-10-13T18:50:30Z")

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@hex First, our code isn’t really packageable. I mean it’s 5 million lines of Fortran with library dependencies up the wazoo (ESMF, netCDF, HDF, gFTL, etc.). So, it’s source all the way unfortunately. (Well, I have made AWS images so…sort of like a package. A very bulky package 😃 )

Now, I managed to make something that seems just as bad as before. First realize the only Generators I support are Make and Ninja. Maybe others work but…yeah, I haven’t tested. So, looking at that this seems to work:

```cmake
execute_process(
  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} --build ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR} --target package_source
  WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}
  )
file(
  INSTALL ${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}.tar.gz
  DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/src
  )

```

Again, I ask the gurus, how bad is this? It works, but seems perverse that I run `cmake` to make it so I can do a `ninja install` call that then calls `cmake`!

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**Author:** ![hex](https://discourse.cmake.org/user_avatar/discourse.cmake.org/hex/32/363_2.png) [@hex](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/hex)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/running-cpack-after-install-target-and-install-cpack-results/4253/6 "2021-10-13T20:05:34Z")

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my point is that you have it backwards. Packaging is not part of the installation process. I’m not familiar with Fortran so i cannot help with that. In general what you should do is package your project sources / binaries, then use your package manager to install it.

In case of CPack, if your project can be installed it can also be packaged. Otherwise i’m not sure what your installation does or the problems you are facing. How about something like `make install && cpack` in your IDE or terminal? I am only suggesting this because you said your project cannot be packaged.

Edit: to be clear - i am not telling you to run the packaging with CMake but outside of it.