usually, cmake needs to know source folder and build folder

and below are the most common cmake commands that you would use professionally.

• To config and generate your build folder from your CMakeLists.txt (CMakeLists.txt lives under your project source folder)

$cmake -S . -B build
or just
$cmake -B build

-S is where your project source is located so if you are already in your project source folder you simply typed -S . or just omitted it entirely like the second version so . (dot) mean current dir
-B is where your build output is located. if build folder does not exist cmake will automatically create one.

• by default, it sets build mode to Release mode so if you want to build debug so you can debug it you can simple tell cmake during build config as seen below

$cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug

• Last but not least, when you are ready to compile your project you simple tell cmake below

$cmake --buid build

where build is the build folder generated from earlier step

Note:

• you can add — -j8 to the compilation whcih mean you want it to use 8 compilation jobs in parallel. 8 also means usually 8 processors.

cmake --build build -- -j8

• if you want to compile specific targets (your binary, linked library etc) you can simple tell cmake

$cmake --build build --target myLib -- -j8
$cmake --build build --target net -- -j8

where myLib, net are what you target as linked libraries in your CMakeLists.txt
e.g:
add_library(mylib STATIC lib.cpp)
add_library(net SHARED net.cpp)

$cmake --build build --target myApp -- -j8

where myApp is what you target as your binary in your CMakeLists.txt
e.g:
add_executable(myapp main.cpp)

• To do cmake clean but keep build folder

cmake --build build --target clean

• To do a full cmake clean: you simply remove the build folder and regenerate it

$ rm -rf build
$ cmake -B build 

1. Open the Keyboard Shortcuts menu

Ctrl+K Ctrl+S

This opens the full keybinding editor.

Note: we can also go to File -> Preferences -> Keyboard shortcuts

2. Search for the command we want to change

Use the search bar at the top and type the command name, for example:

Graphviz: Show Preview

or any other command we want to rebind.

3. Click the pencil icon

On the right side of the command row, click the pencil icon to edit the shortcut.

4. Press the new keybinding

VS Code enters “listening mode.”

Press the shortcut you want to assign, such as: e.g

Ctrl+Alt+G

5. Confirm the overwrite

If the shortcut is already used, VS Code will show a conflict message.

Click Yes to overwrite the existing keybinding.

6. (Optional) Edit the JSON directly

If you prefer manual control:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
2. Search: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)
3. Add your override:

json

{
    "key": "ctrl+alt+g",
    "command": "graphviz.showPreview"
}

This always overrides the default.

CMake Graphviz Dependency Graph:

1. Generate the dependency graph

Run this inside our build directory:

cmake --graphviz=dependency.dot 

This creates:

• dependency.dot: the actual graph
• dep.* files: internal fragments (safe to delete anytime)

2. Install Graphviz (the rendering engine)

We need this in WSL:

sudo apt install graphviz

This provides the dot command that VS Code uses to render the graph.

3. Install Graphviz Preview extension (the viewer)

In VS Code:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+X
2. Search: Graphviz Preview
3. Click Install in WSL: Ubuntu

This registers the preview command inside WSL.

4. Open the .dot file in VS Code

Just open:

dependency.dot

5. Render the graph

Press:

Ctrl+Shift+P

Type:

Graphviz: Show Preview

Select it -> our.dot file renders as a graph.

⭐ That’s the entire working pipeline

• Generate DOT
• Install Graphviz
• Install Graphviz Preview
• Open DOT
• Run Graphviz Preview