CheckVariableExists — CMake 4.3.3 Documentation

# CheckVariableExists

This module provides a command to check whether a C variable exists.

Load this module in a CMake project with:

    include(CheckVariableExists)

## Commands

This module provides the following command:

check_variable_exists

  Checks once if a C variable exists:

      check_variable_exists(<var> <variable>)

  This command attempts to compile and link a test C program that references the specified C variable `<var>`. A boolean result of whether the check was successful is stored in an internal cache variable `<variable>`.

  Note

  Prefer using `CheckSymbolExists` or `CheckSourceCompiles` instead of this command for more robust detection. This command performs a link-only check and doesn't detect whether a variable is also declared in system or library headers. Neither can it detect variables that might be defined as preprocessor macros.

  Variables Affecting the Check

  The following variables may be set before calling this command to modify the way the check is run:

  `CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS`

    A space-separated string of additional flags to pass to the compiler. A semicolon-separated list will not work. The contents of `CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS` and its associated configuration-specific `CMAKE_<LANG>_FLAGS_<CONFIG>` variables are automatically prepended to the compiler command before the contents of this variable.

  `CMAKE_REQUIRED_DEFINITIONS`

    A semicolon-separated list of compiler definitions, each of the form `-DFOO` or `-DFOO=bar`. A definition for the name specified by the result variable argument of the check command is also added automatically.

  `CMAKE_REQUIRED_LINK_OPTIONS`

    Added in version 3.14.

    A semicolon-separated list of options to add to the link command (see `try_compile()` for further details).

  `CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES`

    A semicolon-separated list of libraries to add to the link command. These can be the names of system libraries, or they can be Imported Targets (see `try_compile()` for further details).

  `CMAKE_REQUIRED_LINK_DIRECTORIES`

    Added in version 3.31.

    A semicolon-separated list of library search paths to pass to the linker (see `try_compile()` for further details).

  `CMAKE_REQUIRED_QUIET`

    Added in version 3.1.

    If this variable evaluates to a boolean true value, all status messages associated with the check will be suppressed.

## Examples

### Example: Basic Usage

In the following example, a check is performed whether the linker sees the C variable `tzname` and stores the check result in the `PROJECT_HAVE_TZNAME` internal cache variable:

    include(CheckVariableExists)

    check_variable_exists(tzname PROJECT_HAVE_TZNAME)

### Example: Isolated Check With Linked Libraries

In the following example, this module is used in combination with the `CMakePushCheckState` module to link additional required library using the `CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES` variable. For example, in a find module, to check whether the Net-SNMP library has the `usmHMAC192SHA256AuthProtocol` array:

    include(CheckVariableExists)
    include(CMakePushCheckState)

    find_library(SNMP_LIBRARY NAMES netsnmp)

    if(SNMP_LIBRARY)
      cmake_push_check_state(RESET)

      set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_LIBRARIES ${SNMP_LIBRARY})

      check_variable_exists(usmHMAC192SHA256AuthProtocol SNMP_HAVE_SHA256)

      cmake_pop_check_state()
    endif()

## See Also

- The `CheckSymbolExists` module to check whether a C symbol exists.