FindKDE4 — CMake 4.4.20260621-gcc70e9e-dirty Documentation

# FindKDE4

Note

This module is specifically intended for KDE version 4, which is obsolete and no longer maintained. For modern application development using KDE technologies with CMake, use a newer version of KDE, and refer to the KDE documentation.

Finds the KDE 4 installation:

    find_package(KDE4 [...])

This module is a wrapper around the following upstream KDE 4 modules:

`FindKDE4Internal.cmake`

> Upstream internal module, which finds the KDE 4 include directories, libraries, and KDE-specific preprocessor tools. It provides usage requirements for building KDE 4 software and defines several helper commands to simplify working with KDE 4 in CMake.

`KDE4Macros.cmake`

  Upstream utility module that defines all additional KDE4-specific commands to use KDE 4 in CMake. For example: `kde4_automoc()`, `kde4_add_executable()`, `kde4_add_library()`, `kde4_add_ui_files()`, `kde4_add_ui3_files()`, `kde4_add_kcfg_files()`, `kde4_add_kdeinit_executable()`, etc.

Upstream KDE 4 modules are installed by the KDE 4 distribution package in `$KDEDIRS/share/apps/cmake/modules/`. This path is automatically appended to the `CMAKE_MODULE_PATH` variable when calling `find_package(KDE4)`, so any additional KDE 4 modules can be included in the project with `include()`. For example:

`KDE4Defaults.cmake`

  Upstream internal module that sets some CMake options which are useful, but not required for building KDE 4 software. If these settings should be used, include this module after finding KDE 4:

      find_package(KDE4)
      include(KDE4Defaults)

For usage details, refer to the upstream KDE 4 documentation. For example, at the top of the `FindKDE4Internal` module a complete documentation is available for all variables and commands these modules provide.

## Result Variables

This module defines the following variables:

`KDE4_FOUND`

  Boolean indicating whether KDE 4 was found. This variable is set by the upstream `FindKDE4Internal` module.

## Hints

This module accepts the following variables before calling the `find_package(KDE4)`:

`ENV{KDEDIRS}`

  Environment variable containing the path to the KDE 4 installation.

KDE 4 is searched in the following directories in the given order:

- `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX` variable

- `KDEDIRS` environment variable

- `/opt/kde4` path

## Examples

### Example: Basic Usage

Finding KDE 4 as required and using it in CMake:

    find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)

    set(sources main.cpp mywidget.cpp mypart.cpp)

    # The kde4_*() commands are provided by the KDE4Macros module, which is
    # included automatically by FindKDE4, if KDE4 is found:
    kde4_automoc(${sources})
    kde4_add_executable(example ${sources})

    target_include_directories(example PRIVATE ${KDE4_INCLUDES})
    target_link_libraries(example PRIVATE ${KDE4_KDEUI_LIBS} ${KDE4_KPARTS_LIBS})

    install(TARGETS example DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR})
    install(FILES kfoo.desktop DESTINATION ${XDG_APPS_DIR})

### Example: Full Featured Example

In the following example this module is used to find KDE 4 installation.

    project(kfoo)

    find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)

    # Append path from where to include local project modules if any:
    list(APPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake)

    include_directories(${KDE4_INCLUDE_DIRS})
    add_definitions(${KDE4_DEFINITIONS})

    set(sources main.cpp myappl.cpp view.cpp)

    # If Qt designer UI files version 3 or 4 are available add them to the
    # sources variable:
    kde4_add_ui_files(sources maindialog.ui logindialog.ui)
    kde4_add_ui3_files(sources printerdlg.ui previewdlg.ui)

    # If there are files for the kconfig_compiler add them this way:
    kde4_add_kcfg_files(sources settings.kcfg)

    # When everything is listed, probably automoc is wanted:
    kde4_automoc(${sources})

    # Finally, specify what to build:
    kde4_add_executable(kfoo ${sources})

The `kde4_add_executable()` command is a slightly extended version of the CMake command `add_executable()`. Additionally, it does some more `RPATH` handling and supports the `KDE4_ENABLE_FINAL` variable. The first argument is the name of the executable followed by a list of source files. If a library needs to be created instead of an executable, the `kde4_add_library()` can be used. It is an extended version of the `add_library()` command. It adds support for the `KDE4_ENABLE_FINAL` variable and under Windows it adds the `-DMAKE_KFOO_LIB` to the compile flags.

    find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)

    # ...

    kde4_add_library(kfoo ${sources})

    # Optionally, set the library version number if needed:
    set_target_properties(kfoo PROPERTIES VERSION 5.0.0 SOVERSION 5)

KDE is very modular, so if a KPart, a control center module, or an ioslave needs to be created, here's how to do it:

    find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)
    # ...
    kde4_add_plugin(kfoo ${sources})

Now, the application/library/plugin probably needs to link to some libraries. For this use the standard `target_link_libraries()` command. For every KDE library there are variables available in the form of `KDE4_FOO_LIBS`. Use them to get also all depending libraries:

    target_link_libraries(kfoo ${KDE4_KDEUI_LIBS} ${KDE4_KIO_LIBS})

### Example: The kdeinit Executable

In the following example, the so called kdeinit executable is created. The `kde4_add_kdeinit_executable()` command creates both an executable with the given name and a library with the given name prefixed with `kdeinit_`. The `target_link_libraries()` command adds all required libraries to the `kdeinit_kbar` library, and then links the `kbar` against the `kdeinit_kbar`:

    find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)

    # ...

    kde4_add_kdeinit_executable(kbar ${kbarSources})
    target_link_libraries(kdeinit_kbar ${KDE4_KIO_LIBS})
    target_link_libraries(kbar kdeinit_kbar)

    install(TARGETS kbar DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR})
    install(TARGETS kdeinit_kbar DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR})

### Example: Removing Compile Definitions

Sometimes, a default compile definition passed to the compiler needs to be removed. The `remove_definitions()` command can be used. For example, by default, the KDE4 build system sets the `-DQT_NO_STL` flag. If the project code uses some of the Qt STL compatibility layer, this flag should be removed:

    find_package(KDE4 REQUIRED)

    add_definitions(${KDE4_DEFINITIONS})

    # ...

    remove_definitions(-DQT_NO_STL)