CMP0169

.. versionadded:: 3.30

Calling :command:FetchContent_Populate with a single argument (the name of a declared dependency) is deprecated.

Prior to the introduction of :command:FetchContent_MakeAvailable, projects populated previously declared content (with :command:FetchContent_Declare) using the following pattern:

.. code-block:: cmake

FetchContent_GetProperties(depname) if(NOT depname_POPULATED) FetchContent_Populate(depname) add_subdirectory(${depname_SOURCE_DIR} ${depname_BINARY_DIR}) endif()

The above pattern does not support a number of features that have been added to :module:FetchContent over time. It ignores options like SYSTEM and EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL which may be given to :command:FetchContent_Declare, but can't be made known to the above project code. It also does not support :ref:dependency providers <dependency_providers_overview>. Projects should call :command:FetchContent_MakeAvailable instead of using the above pattern.

CMake 3.30 and above prefers to reject calls to :command:FetchContent_Populate with the name of a declared dependency. This policy provides compatibility for projects that have not been updated to call :command:FetchContent_MakeAvailable instead.

The OLD behavior of this policy allows :command:FetchContent_Populate to be called with the name of a declared dependency. The NEW behavior halts with a fatal error in such cases.

.. note:: Calling :command:FetchContent_Populate with the full population details as command arguments rather than just a dependency name remains fully supported. Only the form calling :command:FetchContent_Populate with a single argument (the name of a previously declared dependency) is deprecated with this policy.

.. |INTRODUCED_IN_CMAKE_VERSION| replace:: 3.30 .. |WARNS_OR_DOES_NOT_WARN| replace:: warns .. include:: include/STANDARD_ADVICE.rst

.. include:: include/DEPRECATED.rst