Command-line commands
There are two different ways of invoking Meson. First, you can run it
directly from the source tree with the command
/path/to/source/meson.py. Meson may also be installed in which case
the command is simply meson. In this manual we only use the latter
format for simplicity.
Meson is invoked using the following syntax:
meson [COMMAND] [COMMAND_OPTIONS]
This section describes all available commands and some of their
Optional arguments. The most common workflow is to run
setup, followed by compile, and then
install.
For the full list of all available options for a specific command use
the following syntax: meson COMMAND --help
configure
$ meson configure [-h] [--prefix PREFIX] [--bindir BINDIR]
[--datadir DATADIR] [--includedir INCLUDEDIR]
[--infodir INFODIR] [--libdir LIBDIR]
[--libexecdir LIBEXECDIR] [--localedir LOCALEDIR]
[--localstatedir LOCALSTATEDIR] [--mandir MANDIR]
[--sbindir SBINDIR] [--sharedstatedir SHAREDSTATEDIR]
[--sysconfdir SYSCONFDIR]
[--auto-features {enabled,disabled,auto}]
[--backend {ninja,vs,vs2010,vs2012,vs2013,vs2015,vs2017,vs2019,xcode}]
[--buildtype {plain,debug,debugoptimized,release,minsize,custom}]
[--debug] [--default-library {shared,static,both}]
[--errorlogs] [--install-umask INSTALL_UMASK]
[--layout {mirror,flat}] [--optimization {0,g,1,2,3,s}]
[--stdsplit] [--strip] [--unity {on,off,subprojects}]
[--unity-size UNITY_SIZE] [--warnlevel {0,1,2,3}]
[--werror]
[--wrap-mode {default,nofallback,nodownload,forcefallback,nopromote}]
[--force-fallback-for FORCE_FALLBACK_FOR]
[--pkg-config-path PKG_CONFIG_PATH]
[--build.pkg-config-path BUILD.PKG_CONFIG_PATH]
[--cmake-prefix-path CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH]
[--build.cmake-prefix-path BUILD.CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH]
[-D option] [--clearcache]
[builddir]
Changes options of a configured meson project.
positional arguments:
builddir
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--prefix PREFIX Installation prefix.
--bindir BINDIR Executable directory.
--datadir DATADIR Data file directory.
--includedir INCLUDEDIR Header file directory.
--infodir INFODIR Info page directory.
--libdir LIBDIR Library directory.
--libexecdir LIBEXECDIR Library executable directory.
--localedir LOCALEDIR Locale data directory.
--localstatedir LOCALSTATEDIR Localstate data directory.
--mandir MANDIR Manual page directory.
--sbindir SBINDIR System executable directory.
--sharedstatedir SHAREDSTATEDIR Architecture-independent data directory.
--sysconfdir SYSCONFDIR Sysconf data directory.
--auto-features {enabled,disabled,auto}
Override value of all 'auto' features
(default: auto).
--backend {ninja,vs,vs2010,vs2012,vs2013,vs2015,vs2017,vs2019,xcode}
Backend to use (default: ninja).
--buildtype {plain,debug,debugoptimized,release,minsize,custom}
Build type to use (default: debug).
--debug Debug
--default-library {shared,static,both}
Default library type (default: shared).
--errorlogs Whether to print the logs from failing
tests
--install-umask INSTALL_UMASK Default umask to apply on permissions of
installed files (default: 022).
--layout {mirror,flat} Build directory layout (default:
mirror).
--optimization {0,g,1,2,3,s} Optimization level (default: 0).
--stdsplit Split stdout and stderr in test logs
--strip Strip targets on install
--unity {on,off,subprojects} Unity build (default: off).
--unity-size UNITY_SIZE Unity block size (default: (2, None,
4)).
--warnlevel {0,1,2,3} Compiler warning level to use (default:
1).
--werror Treat warnings as errors
--wrap-mode {default,nofallback,nodownload,forcefallback,nopromote}
Wrap mode (default: default).
--force-fallback-for FORCE_FALLBACK_FOR
Force fallback for those subprojects
(default: []).
--pkg-config-path PKG_CONFIG_PATH List of additional paths for pkg-config
to search (default: []). (just for host
machine)
--build.pkg-config-path BUILD.PKG_CONFIG_PATH
List of additional paths for pkg-config
to search (default: []). (just for build
machine)
--cmake-prefix-path CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH
List of additional prefixes for cmake to
search (default: []). (just for host
machine)
--build.cmake-prefix-path BUILD.CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH
List of additional prefixes for cmake to
search (default: []). (just for build
machine)
-D option Set the value of an option, can be used
several times to set multiple options.
--clearcache Clear cached state (e.g. found
dependencies)
Most arguments are the same as in setup.
Note: reconfiguring project will not reset options to their default
values (even if they were changed in meson.build).
Examples:
List all available options:
meson configure builddir
Change value of a single option:
meson configure builddir -Doption=new_value
compile
(since 0.54.0)
$ meson compile [-h] [--clean] [-C BUILDDIR] [-j JOBS] [-l LOAD_AVERAGE]
[-v] [--ninja-args NINJA_ARGS] [--vs-args VS_ARGS]
[--xcode-args XCODE_ARGS]
[TARGET ...]
Builds a default or a specified target of a configured Meson project.
positional arguments:
TARGET Targets to build. Target has the
following format: [PATH_TO_TARGET/]TARGE
T_NAME[:TARGET_TYPE].
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--clean Clean the build directory.
-C BUILDDIR The directory containing build files to
be built.
-j JOBS, --jobs JOBS The number of worker jobs to run (if
supported). If the value is less than 1
the build program will guess.
-l LOAD_AVERAGE, --load-average LOAD_AVERAGE
The system load average to try to
maintain (if supported).
-v, --verbose Show more verbose output.
--ninja-args NINJA_ARGS Arguments to pass to `ninja` (applied
only on `ninja` backend).
--vs-args VS_ARGS Arguments to pass to `msbuild` (applied
only on `vs` backend).
--xcode-args XCODE_ARGS Arguments to pass to `xcodebuild`
(applied only on `xcode` backend).
--verbose argument is available since 0.55.0.
Targets
(since 0.55.0)
TARGET has the following syntax [PATH/]NAME[:TYPE], where:
-
NAME: name of the target frommeson.build(e.g.foofromexecutable('foo', ...)). -
PATH: path to the target relative to the rootmeson.buildfile. Note: relative path for a target specified in the rootmeson.buildis./. -
TYPE: type of the target. Can be one of the following: 'executable', 'static_library', 'shared_library', 'shared_module', 'custom', 'run', 'jar'.
PATH and/or TYPE can be omitted if the resulting TARGET can be
used to uniquely identify the target in meson.build.
Backend specific arguments
(since 0.55.0)
BACKEND-args use the following syntax:
If you only pass a single string, then it is considered to have all values separated by commas. Thus invoking the following command:
$ meson compile --ninja-args=-n,-d,explain
would add -n, -d and explain arguments to ninja invocation.
If you need to have commas or spaces in your string values, then you need to pass the value with proper shell quoting like this:
$ meson compile "--ninja-args=['a,b', 'c d']"
Examples:
Build the project:
meson compile -C builddir
Execute a dry run on ninja backend with additional debug info:
meson compile --ninja-args=-n,-d,explain
Build three targets: two targets that have the same foo name, but
different type, and a bar target:
meson compile foo:shared_library foo:static_library bar
Produce a coverage html report (if available):
meson compile coverage-html
dist
(since 0.52.0)
$ meson dist [-h] [-C WD] [--formats FORMATS] [--include-subprojects]
[--no-tests]
Generates a release archive from the current source tree.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-C WD directory to cd into before running
--formats FORMATS Comma separated list of archive types to create.
Supports xztar (default), gztar, and zip.
--include-subprojects Include source code of subprojects that have been used
for the build.
--no-tests Do not build and test generated packages.
See notes about creating releases for more info.
Examples:
Create a release archive:
meson dist -C builddir
init
(since 0.45.0)
$ meson init [-h] [-C WD] [-n NAME] [-e EXECUTABLE] [-d DEPS]
[-l {c,cpp,cs,cuda,d,fortran,java,objc,objcpp,rust}] [-b]
[--builddir BUILDDIR] [-f] [--type {executable,library}]
[--version VERSION]
[sourcefile ...]
Creates a basic set of build files based on a template.
positional arguments:
sourcefile source files. default: all recognized
files in current directory
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-C WD directory to cd into before running
-n NAME, --name NAME project name. default: name of current
directory
-e EXECUTABLE, --executable EXECUTABLE
executable name. default: project name
-d DEPS, --deps DEPS dependencies, comma-separated
-l {c,cpp,cs,cuda,d,fortran,java,objc,objcpp,rust}, --language {c,cpp,cs,cuda,d,fortran,java,objc,objcpp,rust}
project language. default: autodetected
based on source files
-b, --build build after generation
--builddir BUILDDIR directory for build
-f, --force force overwrite of existing files and
directories.
--type {executable,library} project type. default: executable based
project
--version VERSION project version. default: 0.1
Examples:
Create a project in sourcedir:
meson init -C sourcedir
introspect
$ meson introspect [-h] [--ast] [--benchmarks] [--buildoptions]
[--buildsystem-files] [--dependencies]
[--scan-dependencies] [--installed] [--install-plan]
[--projectinfo] [--targets] [--tests]
[--backend {ninja,vs,vs2010,vs2012,vs2013,vs2015,vs2017,vs2019,xcode}]
[-a] [-i] [-f]
[builddir]
Displays information about a configured Meson project.
positional arguments:
builddir The build directory
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--ast Dump the AST of the meson file.
--benchmarks List all benchmarks.
--buildoptions List all build options.
--buildsystem-files List files that make up the build
system.
--dependencies List external dependencies.
--scan-dependencies Scan for dependencies used in the
meson.build file.
--installed List all installed files and
directories.
--install-plan List all installed files and directories
with their details.
--projectinfo Information about projects.
--targets List top level targets.
--tests List all unit tests.
--backend {ninja,vs,vs2010,vs2012,vs2013,vs2015,vs2017,vs2019,xcode}
The backend to use for the
--buildoptions introspection.
-a, --all Print all available information.
-i, --indent Enable pretty printed JSON.
-f, --force-object-output Always use the new JSON format for
multiple entries (even for 0 and 1
introspection commands)
Examples:
Display basic information about a configured project in builddir:
meson introspect builddir --projectinfo
install
(since 0.47.0)
$ meson install [-h] [-C WD] [--no-rebuild] [--only-changed] [--quiet]
[--destdir DESTDIR] [--dry-run]
[--skip-subprojects [SKIP_SUBPROJECTS]] [--tags TAGS]
Installs the project to the prefix specified in setup.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-C WD directory to cd into before running
--no-rebuild Do not rebuild before installing.
--only-changed Only overwrite files that are older than
the copied file.
--quiet Do not print every file that was
installed.
--destdir DESTDIR Sets or overrides DESTDIR environment.
(Since 0.57.0)
--dry-run, -n Doesn't actually install, but print
logs. (Since 0.57.0)
--skip-subprojects [SKIP_SUBPROJECTS]
Do not install files from given
subprojects. (Since 0.58.0)
--tags TAGS Install only targets having one of the
given tags. (Since 0.60.0)
See the installation documentation for more info.
Examples:
Install project to prefix:
meson install -C builddir
Install project to $DESTDIR/prefix:
DESTDIR=/path/to/staging/area meson install -C builddir
Since 0.60.0 DESTDIR and --destdir can be a path relative to build
directory. An absolute path will be set into environment when executing scripts.
rewrite
(since 0.50.0)
$ meson rewrite [-h] [-s SRCDIR] [-V] [-S]
{target,kwargs,default-options,command} ...
Modifies the Meson project.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-s SRCDIR, --sourcedir SRCDIR Path to source directory.
-V, --verbose Enable verbose output
-S, --skip-errors Skip errors instead of aborting
Rewriter commands:
Rewrite command to execute
{target,kwargs,default-options,command}
target Modify a target
kwargs Modify keyword arguments
default-options Modify the project default options
command Execute a JSON array of commands
See the Meson file rewriter documentation for more info.
setup
$ meson setup [-h] [--prefix PREFIX] [--bindir BINDIR] [--datadir DATADIR]
[--includedir INCLUDEDIR] [--infodir INFODIR]
[--libdir LIBDIR] [--libexecdir LIBEXECDIR]
[--localedir LOCALEDIR] [--localstatedir LOCALSTATEDIR]
[--mandir MANDIR] [--sbindir SBINDIR]
[--sharedstatedir SHAREDSTATEDIR] [--sysconfdir SYSCONFDIR]
[--auto-features {enabled,disabled,auto}]
[--backend {ninja,vs,vs2010,vs2012,vs2013,vs2015,vs2017,vs2019,xcode}]
[--buildtype {plain,debug,debugoptimized,release,minsize,custom}]
[--debug] [--default-library {shared,static,both}]
[--errorlogs] [--install-umask INSTALL_UMASK]
[--layout {mirror,flat}] [--optimization {0,g,1,2,3,s}]
[--stdsplit] [--strip] [--unity {on,off,subprojects}]
[--unity-size UNITY_SIZE] [--warnlevel {0,1,2,3}] [--werror]
[--wrap-mode {default,nofallback,nodownload,forcefallback,nopromote}]
[--force-fallback-for FORCE_FALLBACK_FOR]
[--pkg-config-path PKG_CONFIG_PATH]
[--build.pkg-config-path BUILD.PKG_CONFIG_PATH]
[--cmake-prefix-path CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH]
[--build.cmake-prefix-path BUILD.CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH]
[-D option] [--native-file NATIVE_FILE]
[--cross-file CROSS_FILE] [-v] [--fatal-meson-warnings]
[--reconfigure] [--wipe]
[builddir] [sourcedir]
Configures a build directory for the Meson project.
This is the default Meson command (invoked if there was no COMMAND supplied).
positional arguments:
builddir
sourcedir
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--prefix PREFIX Installation prefix.
--bindir BINDIR Executable directory.
--datadir DATADIR Data file directory.
--includedir INCLUDEDIR Header file directory.
--infodir INFODIR Info page directory.
--libdir LIBDIR Library directory.
--libexecdir LIBEXECDIR Library executable directory.
--localedir LOCALEDIR Locale data directory.
--localstatedir LOCALSTATEDIR Localstate data directory.
--mandir MANDIR Manual page directory.
--sbindir SBINDIR System executable directory.
--sharedstatedir SHAREDSTATEDIR Architecture-independent data directory.
--sysconfdir SYSCONFDIR Sysconf data directory.
--auto-features {enabled,disabled,auto}
Override value of all 'auto' features
(default: auto).
--backend {ninja,vs,vs2010,vs2012,vs2013,vs2015,vs2017,vs2019,xcode}
Backend to use (default: ninja).
--buildtype {plain,debug,debugoptimized,release,minsize,custom}
Build type to use (default: debug).
--debug Debug
--default-library {shared,static,both}
Default library type (default: shared).
--errorlogs Whether to print the logs from failing
tests
--install-umask INSTALL_UMASK Default umask to apply on permissions of
installed files (default: 022).
--layout {mirror,flat} Build directory layout (default:
mirror).
--optimization {0,g,1,2,3,s} Optimization level (default: 0).
--stdsplit Split stdout and stderr in test logs
--strip Strip targets on install
--unity {on,off,subprojects} Unity build (default: off).
--unity-size UNITY_SIZE Unity block size (default: (2, None,
4)).
--warnlevel {0,1,2,3} Compiler warning level to use (default:
1).
--werror Treat warnings as errors
--wrap-mode {default,nofallback,nodownload,forcefallback,nopromote}
Wrap mode (default: default).
--force-fallback-for FORCE_FALLBACK_FOR
Force fallback for those subprojects
(default: []).
--pkg-config-path PKG_CONFIG_PATH List of additional paths for pkg-config
to search (default: []). (just for host
machine)
--build.pkg-config-path BUILD.PKG_CONFIG_PATH
List of additional paths for pkg-config
to search (default: []). (just for build
machine)
--cmake-prefix-path CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH
List of additional prefixes for cmake to
search (default: []). (just for host
machine)
--build.cmake-prefix-path BUILD.CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH
List of additional prefixes for cmake to
search (default: []). (just for build
machine)
-D option Set the value of an option, can be used
several times to set multiple options.
--native-file NATIVE_FILE File containing overrides for native
compilation environment.
--cross-file CROSS_FILE File describing cross compilation
environment.
-v, --version show program's version number and exit
--fatal-meson-warnings Make all Meson warnings fatal
--reconfigure Set options and reconfigure the project.
Useful when new options have been added
to the project and the default value is
not working.
--wipe Wipe build directory and reconfigure
using previous command line options.
Useful when build directory got
corrupted, or when rebuilding with a
newer version of meson.
See Meson introduction page for more info.
Examples:
Configures builddir with default values:
meson setup builddir
subprojects
(since 0.49.0)
$ meson subprojects [-h] {update,checkout,download,foreach,purge} ...
Manages subprojects of the Meson project. Since 0.59.0 commands are run on
multiple subprojects in parallel by default, use --num-processes=1 if it is
not desired.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
Commands:
{update,checkout,download,foreach,purge}
update Update all subprojects from wrap files
checkout Checkout a branch (git only)
download Ensure subprojects are fetched, even if
not in use. Already downloaded
subprojects are not modified. This can
be used to pre-fetch all subprojects and
avoid downloads during configure.
foreach Execute a command in each subproject
directory.
purge Remove all wrap-based subproject
artifacts
test
$ meson test [-h] [--repeat REPEAT] [--no-rebuild] [--gdb]
[--gdb-path GDB_PATH] [--list] [--wrapper WRAPPER] [-C WD]
[--suite SUITE] [--no-suite SUITE] [--no-stdsplit]
[--print-errorlogs] [--benchmark] [--logbase LOGBASE]
[--num-processes NUM_PROCESSES] [-v] [-q]
[-t TIMEOUT_MULTIPLIER] [--setup SETUP]
[--test-args TEST_ARGS]
[args ...]
Run tests for the configure Meson project.
positional arguments:
args Optional list of test names to run.
"testname" to run all tests with that
name, "subprojname:testname" to
specifically run "testname" from
"subprojname", "subprojname:" to run all
tests defined by "subprojname".
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--repeat REPEAT Number of times to run the tests.
--no-rebuild Do not rebuild before running tests.
--gdb Run test under gdb.
--gdb-path GDB_PATH Path to the gdb binary (default: gdb).
--list List available tests.
--wrapper WRAPPER wrapper to run tests with (e.g.
Valgrind)
-C WD directory to cd into before running
--suite SUITE Only run tests belonging to the given
suite.
--no-suite SUITE Do not run tests belonging to the given
suite.
--no-stdsplit Do not split stderr and stdout in test
logs.
--print-errorlogs Whether to print failing tests' logs.
--benchmark Run benchmarks instead of tests.
--logbase LOGBASE Base name for log file.
--num-processes NUM_PROCESSES How many parallel processes to use.
-v, --verbose Do not redirect stdout and stderr
-q, --quiet Produce less output to the terminal.
-t TIMEOUT_MULTIPLIER, --timeout-multiplier TIMEOUT_MULTIPLIER
Define a multiplier for test timeout,
for example when running tests in
particular conditions they might take
more time to execute. (<= 0 to disable
timeout)
--setup SETUP Which test setup to use.
--test-args TEST_ARGS Arguments to pass to the specified
test(s) or all tests
See the unit test documentation for more info.
Examples:
Run tests for the project:
meson test -C builddir
Run only specific_test_1 and specific_test_2:
meson test -C builddir specific_test_1 specific_test_2
wrap
$ meson wrap [-h] {list,search,install,update,info,status,promote} ...
An utility to manage WrapDB dependencies.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
Commands:
{list,search,install,update,info,status,promote}
list show all available projects
search search the db by name
install install the specified project
update update the project to its newest
available release
info show available versions of a project
status show installed and available versions of
your projects
promote bring a subsubproject up to the master
project
See the WrapDB tool documentation for more info.
devenv
(since 0.58.0)
$ meson devenv [-h] [-C WD] ...
Runs a command, or open interactive shell if no command is provided, with environment setup to run project from the build directory, without installation.
We automatically handle bash and set $PS1 accordingly. If the automatic $PS1
override is not desired (maybe you have a fancy custom prompt), set the
$MESON_DISABLE_PS1_OVERRIDE environment variable and use $MESON_PROJECT_NAME
when setting the custom prompt, for example with a snippet like the following:
...
if [[ -n "${MESON_PROJECT_NAME-}" ]];
then
PS1+="[ ${MESON_PROJECT_NAME} ]"
fi
...
These variables are set in environment in addition to those set using meson.add_devenv():
-
MESON_DEVENVis defined to'1'. -
MESON_PROJECT_NAMEis defined to the main project's name. -
PKG_CONFIG_PATHincludes the directory where Meson generates-uninstalled.pcfiles. -
PATHincludes every directory where there is an executable that would be installed intobindir. On windows it also includes every directory where there is a DLL needed to run those executables. -
LD_LIBRARY_PATHincludes every directory where there is a shared library that would be installed intolibdir. This allows to run system application using custom build of some libraries. For example running system GEdit when building GTK from git. On OSX the environment variable isDYLD_LIBRARY_PATHandPATHon Windows. -
GI_TYPELIB_PATHincludes every directory where a GObject Introspection typelib is built. This is automatically set when usinggnome.generate_gir(). -
GSETTINGS_SCHEMA_DIRSince 0.59.0 includes every directory where a GSettings schemas is compiled. This is automatically set when usinggnome.compile_schemas(). Note that this requires GLib >= 2.64 whengnome.compile_schemas()is used in more than one directory.
positional arguments:
command Command to run in developer environment (default: interactive
shell)
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-C WD directory to cd into before running
The results of the search are