Installing and Using Packages Example: SQLite
Note
This old example uses Classic mode, but most developers will be happier with Manifest mode. See Manifest mode: CMake Example for an example of converting to Manifest mode.
Step 1: Install
First, we need to know what name SQLite goes by in the ports tree. To do that, we'll run the search command and inspect the output:
PS D:\src\vcpkg> .\vcpkg search sqlite
libodb-sqlite 2.4.0 Sqlite support for the ODB ORM library
sqlite3 3.32.1 SQLite is a software library that implements a se...
If your library is not listed, please open an issue at:
https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg/issues
Looking at the list, we can see that the port is named "sqlite3". You can also run the search command without arguments to see the full list of packages.
Installing is then as simple as using the install command.
PS D:\src\vcpkg> .\vcpkg install sqlite3
Computing installation plan...
The following packages will be built and installed:
sqlite3[core]:x86-windows
Starting package 1/1: sqlite3:x86-windows
Building package sqlite3[core]:x86-windows...
-- Downloading https://sqlite.org/2020/sqlite-amalgamation-3320100.zip...
-- Extracting source C:/src/vcpkg/downloads/sqlite-amalgamation-3320100.zip
-- Applying patch fix-arm-uwp.patch
-- Using source at C:/src/vcpkg/buildtrees/sqlite3/src/3320100-15aeda126a.clean
-- Configuring x86-windows
-- Building x86-windows-dbg
-- Building x86-windows-rel
-- Performing post-build validation
-- Performing post-build validation done
Building package sqlite3[core]:x86-windows... done
Installing package sqlite3[core]:x86-windows...
Installing package sqlite3[core]:x86-windows... done
Elapsed time for package sqlite3:x86-windows: 12 s
Total elapsed time: 12.04 s
The package sqlite3:x86-windows provides CMake targets:
find_package(unofficial-sqlite3 CONFIG REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(main PRIVATE unofficial::sqlite3::sqlite3))
We can check that sqlite3 was successfully installed for x86 Windows desktop by running the list command.
PS D:\src\vcpkg> .\vcpkg list
sqlite3:x86-windows 3.32.1 SQLite is a software library that implements a se...
To install for other architectures and platforms such as Universal Windows Platform or x64 Desktop, you can suffix the package name with :<target>.
PS D:\src\vcpkg> .\vcpkg install sqlite3:x86-uwp zlib:x64-windows
See .\vcpkg help triplet for all supported targets.
Step 2: Use
VS/MSBuild Project (User-wide integration)
The recommended and most productive way to use vcpkg is via user-wide integration, making the system available for all projects you build. The user-wide integration will prompt for administrator access the first time it is used on a given machine, but afterwards is no longer required and the integration is configured on a per-user basis.
PS D:\src\vcpkg> .\vcpkg integrate install
Applied user-wide integration for this vcpkg root.
All C++ projects can now #include any installed libraries.
Linking will be handled automatically.
Installing new libraries will make them instantly available.
Note
You will need to restart Visual Studio or perform a Build to update intellisense with the changes.
You can now simply use File -> New Project in Visual Studio and the library will be automatically available. For SQLite, you can try out their C/C++ sample.
To remove the integration for your user, you can use .\vcpkg integrate remove.
CMake (Toolchain File)
The best way to use installed libraries with cmake is via the toolchain file scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake. To use this file, you simply need to add it onto your CMake command line as:
-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=D:\src\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake.
If you are using CMake through Open Folder with Visual Studio you can define CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE by adding a "variables" section to each of your CMakeSettings.json configurations:
{
"configurations": [{
"name": "x86-Debug",
"generator": "Visual Studio 15 2017",
"configurationType" : "Debug",
"buildRoot": "${env.LOCALAPPDATA}\\CMakeBuild\\${workspaceHash}\\build\\${name}",
"cmakeCommandArgs": "",
"buildCommandArgs": "-m -v:minimal",
"variables": [{
"name": "CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE",
"value": "D:\\src\\vcpkg\\scripts\\buildsystems\\vcpkg.cmake"
}]
}]
}
Note
It might be necessary to delete the CMake cache folder of each modified configuration, to force a full regeneration. In the CMake menu, under Cache (<configuration name>) you'll find Delete Cache Folders.
Now let's make a simple CMake project with a main file.
# CMakeLists.txt
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0)
project(test)
find_package(unofficial-sqlite3 CONFIG REQUIRED)
add_executable(main main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(main PRIVATE unofficial::sqlite3::sqlite3)
// main.cpp
#include <sqlite3.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
printf("%s\n", sqlite3_libversion());
return 0;
}
Then, we build our project in the normal CMake way:
PS D:\src\cmake-test> mkdir build
PS D:\src\cmake-test> cd build
PS D:\src\cmake-test\build> cmake .. "-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=D:\src\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake"
// omitted CMake output here //
-- Build files have been written to: D:/src/cmake-test/build
PS D:\src\cmake-test\build> cmake --build .
// omitted MSBuild output here //
Build succeeded.
0 Warning(s)
0 Error(s)
Time Elapsed 00:00:02.38
PS D:\src\cmake-test\build> .\Debug\main.exe
3.15.0
Note
The correct sqlite3.dll is automatically copied to the output folder when building for x86-windows. You will need to distribute this along with your application.
Handling libraries without native cmake support
Unlike other platforms, we do not automatically add the include\ directory to your compilation line by default. If you're using a library that does not provide CMake integration, you will need to explicitly search for the files and add them yourself using find_path() and find_library().
# To find and use catch
find_path(CATCH_INCLUDE_DIR catch.hpp)
target_include_directories(main PRIVATE ${CATCH_INCLUDE_DIR})
# To find and use azure-storage-cpp
find_path(WASTORAGE_INCLUDE_DIR was/blob.h)
find_library(WASTORAGE_LIBRARY wastorage)
target_include_directories(main PRIVATE ${WASTORAGE_INCLUDE_DIR})
target_link_libraries(main PRIVATE ${WASTORAGE_LIBRARY})