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# CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM

Tool that can launch the native build system. The value may be the full path to an executable or just the tool name if it is expected to be in the `PATH`.

The tool selected depends on the `CMAKE_GENERATOR` used to configure the project:

- The Makefile generators set this to `make`, `gmake`, or a generator-specific tool (e.g. `nmake` for “NMake Makefiles”).

  These generators store `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` in the CMake cache so that it may be edited by the user.

- The Ninja generator sets this to `ninja`.

  This generator stores `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` in the CMake cache so that it may be edited by the user.

- The Xcode generator sets this to `xcodebuild` (or possibly an otherwise undocumented `cmakexbuild` wrapper implementing some workarounds).

  This generator prefers to lookup the build tool at build time rather than to store `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` in the CMake cache ahead of time. This is because `xcodebuild` is easy to find, the `cmakexbuild` wrapper is needed only for older Xcode versions, and the path to `cmakexbuild` may be outdated if CMake itself moves.

  For compatibility with versions of CMake prior to 3.2, if a user or project explicitly adds `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` to the CMake cache then CMake will use the specified value.

- The Visual Studio generators set this to the full path to `MSBuild.exe` (VS >= 10), `devenv.com` (VS 7,8,9), `VCExpress.exe` (VS Express 8,9), or `msdev.exe` (VS 6). (See also variables `CMAKE_VS_MSBUILD_COMMAND`, `CMAKE_VS_DEVENV_COMMAND`, and `CMAKE_VS_MSDEV_COMMAND`.)

  These generators prefer to lookup the build tool at build time rather than to store `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` in the CMake cache ahead of time. This is because the tools are version-specific and can be located using the Windows Registry. It is also necessary because the proper build tool may depend on the project content (e.g. the Intel Fortran plugin to VS 10 and 11 requires `devenv.com` to build its `.vfproj` project files even though `MSBuild.exe` is normally preferred to support the `CMAKE_GENERATOR_TOOLSET`).

  For compatibility with versions of CMake prior to 3.0, if a user or project explicitly adds `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` to the CMake cache then CMake will use the specified value if possible.

The `CMAKE_MAKE_PROGRAM` variable is set for use by project code. The value is also used by the `cmake(1)` `--build` and `ctest(1)` `--build-and-test` tools to launch the native build process.

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