I’m developing a C++ bases software for Linux using CMake 3.29.3.

In my CMake based project, I’ve the following CMakePresets.json:

{
  "version": 6,
  "cmakeMinimumRequired": {
    <snip>
  },
  "configurePresets": [
    {
      "name": "debug",
      "binaryDir": "out/debug",
      "installDir": "out/debug/bin",
      <snip>
    },
    {
      "name": "release",
      "binaryDir": "out/release",
      "installDir": "out/release/bin",
      <snip>
    }
  ],
  "buildPresets": [
    {
      "name": "debug",
      "configurePreset": "debug"
    },
    {
      "name": "release",
      "configurePreset": "release"
    }
  ]
}

Now I can build the debug preset as follows:

cmake --preset=debug -S .

cmake --build --preset=debug --parallel $(nproc)

So far this looks good. I don’t need to specify any directory other than ..

But if I try to install files, there seems to be the only way like this:

cmake --install out/debug/

The build directory must be specified explicitly to find the install script. If I need to change it, I need to change it in both CMakePresets.json and my build script, which seems counterintuitive.

I can parse the json file and extract the build directory. Other than that, does CMake provide any way to find the build directory automatically?