How to use `protobuf_generate`

This document explains how to use the function protobuf_generate which is provided by protobuf's CMake module.

Usage

In the same directory that called find_package(protobuf CONFIG) and any of its subdirectories, the CMake function protobuf_generate is made available by protobuf-generate.cmake. It can be used to automatically generate source files from .proto schema files at build time.

Basic example

Let us see how protobuf_generate can be used to generate and compile the source files of a proto schema whenever an object target called proto-objects is built.

Given the following directory structure:

proto/helloworld/helloworld.proto
CMakeLists.txt

where helloworld.proto is a protobuf schema file and CMakeLists.txt contains:

find_package(protobuf CONFIG REQUIRED)

add_library(proto-objects OBJECT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/proto/helloworld/helloworld.proto")

target_link_libraries(proto-objects PUBLIC protobuf::libprotobuf)

set(PROTO_BINARY_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated")

target_include_directories(proto-objects PUBLIC "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${PROTO_BINARY_DIR}>")

protobuf_generate(
    TARGET proto-objects
    IMPORT_DIRS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/proto"
    PROTOC_OUT_DIR "${PROTO_BINARY_DIR}")

Building the target proto-objects will generate the files:

${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/helloworld/helloworld.pb.h
${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/helloworld/helloworld.pb.cc

and (depending on the build system) output:

[build] [1/2] Running cpp protocol buffer compiler on /proto/helloworld/helloworld.proto
[build] [2/2] Building CXX object /build/generated/helloworld/helloworld.pb.cc.o

gRPC example

protobuf_generate can also be customized to invoke plugins like gRPC's grpc_cpp_plugin. Given the same directory structure as in the basic example and let CMakeLists.txt contain:

find_package(gRPC CONFIG REQUIRED)

add_library(proto-objects OBJECT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/proto/helloworld/helloworld.proto")

target_link_libraries(proto-objects PUBLIC protobuf::libprotobuf gRPC::grpc++)

set(PROTO_BINARY_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated")
set(PROTO_IMPORT_DIRS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/proto")

target_include_directories(proto-objects PUBLIC "$<BUILD_INTERFACE:${PROTO_BINARY_DIR}>")

protobuf_generate(
    TARGET proto-objects
    IMPORT_DIRS ${PROTO_IMPORT_DIRS}
    PROTOC_OUT_DIR "${PROTO_BINARY_DIR}")

protobuf_generate(
    TARGET proto-objects
    LANGUAGE grpc
    GENERATE_EXTENSIONS .grpc.pb.h .grpc.pb.cc
    PLUGIN "protoc-gen-grpc=\$<TARGET_FILE:gRPC::grpc_cpp_plugin>"
    IMPORT_DIRS ${PROTO_IMPORT_DIRS}
    PROTOC_OUT_DIR "${PROTO_BINARY_DIR}")

Then building proto-objects will generate and compile:

${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/helloworld/helloworld.pb.h
${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/helloworld/helloworld.pb.cc
${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/helloworld/helloworld.grpc.pb.h
${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/generated/helloworld/helloworld.grpc.pb.cc

And protoc will automatically be re-run whenever the schema files change and proto-objects is built.

Note on unity builds

Since protobuf's generated source files are unsuited for jumbo/unity builds it is recommended to exclude them from such builds which can be achieved by adjusting their properties:

protobuf_generate(
    OUT_VAR PROTO_GENERATED_FILES
    ...)

set_source_files_properties(${PROTO_GENERATED_FILES} PROPERTIES SKIP_UNITY_BUILD_INCLUSION on)

How it works

For each source file ending in proto of the argument provided to TARGET or each file provided through PROTOS, protobuf_generate will set up a add_custom_command which depends on protobuf::protoc and the proto files. It declares the generated source files as OUTPUT which means that any target that depends on them will automatically cause the custom command to execute when it is brought up to date. The command itself is made up of the arguments for protoc, like the output directory, the schema files, the language to generate for, the plugins to use, etc.

Reference

Arguments accepted by protobuf_generate.

Flag arguments:

APPEND_PATH — A flag that causes the base path of all proto schema files to be added to IMPORT_DIRS.

Single-value arguments:

LANGUAGE — A single value: cpp or python. Determines what kind of source files are being generated.
OUT_VAR — Name of a CMake variable that will be filled with the paths to the generated source files.
EXPORT_MACRO — Name of a macro that is applied to all generated Protobuf message classes and extern variables. It can, for example, be used to declare DLL exports.
PROTOC_EXE — Command name, path, or CMake executable used to run protoc commands. Defaults to protobuf::protoc.
PROTOC_OUT_DIR — Output directory of generated source files. Defaults to CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR.
PLUGIN — An optional plugin executable. This could, for example, be the path to grpc_cpp_plugin.
PLUGIN_OPTIONS — Additional options provided to the plugin, such as generate_mock_code=true for the gRPC cpp plugin.
DEPENDENCIES — Arguments forwarded to the DEPENDS of the underlying add_custom_command invocation.
TARGET — CMake target that will have the generated files added as sources.

Multi-value arguments:

PROTOS — List of proto schema files. If omitted, then every source file ending in proto of TARGET will be used.
IMPORT_DIRS — A common parent directory for the schema files. For example, if the schema file is proto/helloworld/helloworld.proto and the import directory proto/ then the generated files are ${PROTOC_OUT_DIR}/helloworld/helloworld.pb.h and ${PROTOC_OUT_DIR}/helloworld/helloworld.pb.cc.
GENERATE_EXTENSIONS — If LANGUAGE is omitted then this must be set to the extensions that protoc generates.
PROTOC_OPTIONS — Additional arguments that are forwarded to protoc.

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How to use protobuf_generate