enable_testing

Enables testing for the current directory and below:

.. code-block:: cmake

enable_testing()

This command should be invoked in the top-level source directory because :manual:ctest(1) expects to find a test file in the top-level build directory.

This command is also automatically invoked when the :module:CTest module is included, except if the :variable:BUILD_TESTING option is turned off.

The following restrictions apply to where enable_testing() may be called:

It must be called in file scope, not in a :command:function call nor inside a :command:block.

Examples ^^^^^^^^

In the following example, this command is conditionally called depending on how the project is used. For instance, when the Example project is added via the :module:FetchContent module as a subdirectory of a parent project that defines its own tests, testing for the Example project is disabled.

.. code-block:: cmake :caption: CMakeLists.txt

project(Example)

option(Example_ENABLE_TESTING "Enable testing" ${PROJECT_IS_TOP_LEVEL})

if(Example_ENABLE_TESTING) enable_testing() endif()

...

if(Example_ENABLE_TESTING) add_test(...) endif()