Implementation:Duckdb Duckdb Add Executable Targets

Overview

Concrete tool for building DuckDB CLI, test runner, and benchmark runner executables provided by the CMake build system.

This implementation defines the executable targets that link the compiled duckdb_static library and third-party dependencies into runnable binaries. Each target is conditionally included based on CMake build options.

Code Reference

Source Locations

Component	Location
CLI shell executable	tools/shell/CMakeLists.txt:L1-50
Test runner executable	test/CMakeLists.txt:L1-58
Benchmark runner executable	benchmark/CMakeLists.txt:L1-32
Subdirectory inclusion logic	CMakeLists.txt:L796-847

Subdirectory Inclusion (Root CMakeLists.txt)

# CLI shell
if(BUILD_SHELL)
  add_subdirectory(tools/shell)
endif()

# Test runner and benchmarks
if(BUILD_UNITTESTS)
  add_subdirectory(test)
endif()

if(BUILD_BENCHMARKS)
  add_subdirectory(benchmark)
endif()

CLI Shell Target (tools/shell/CMakeLists.txt)

add_executable(duckdb_cli
  shell.c
  linenoise.cpp
  # additional shell source files
)

target_link_libraries(duckdb_cli
  duckdb_static
  ${READLINE_LIBRARIES}  # optional readline support
)

set_target_properties(duckdb_cli PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME duckdb)

Test Runner Target (test/CMakeLists.txt)

add_executable(unittest
  unittest.cpp
  # test source files from test/ subdirectories
)

target_link_libraries(unittest
  duckdb_static
  test_helpers
)

Benchmark Runner Target (benchmark/CMakeLists.txt)

add_executable(benchmark_runner
  benchmark_runner.cpp
  # benchmark definition files
)

target_link_libraries(benchmark_runner
  duckdb_static
)

Parameters

CMake Option	Default	Description
BUILD_SHELL	TRUE	Build the interactive CLI shell executable
BUILD_UNITTESTS	FALSE	Build the test runner executable (also gates benchmark inclusion)
BUILD_BENCHMARKS	FALSE	Build the benchmark runner executable

I/O Contract

Inputs

Input	Description
duckdb_static	Compiled static library containing all DuckDB core modules and third-party dependencies
Shell source files	tools/shell/shell.c, tools/shell/linenoise.cpp, and related files
Test source files	test/unittest.cpp and test case files under test/
Benchmark source files	benchmark/benchmark_runner.cpp and benchmark definitions under benchmark/
readline (optional)	System library for enhanced CLI line editing; detected at configure time

Outputs

Output Path	Description
build/release/duckdb	CLI shell executable (interactive SQL REPL)
build/release/test/unittest	Test runner executable for automated verification
build/release/benchmark/benchmark_runner	Benchmark runner executable for performance testing

Usage Examples

Build All Executables

mkdir -p build/release
cd build/release
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
      -DBUILD_UNITTESTS=TRUE \
      -DBUILD_BENCHMARKS=TRUE \
      ../..
make -j$(nproc)

This produces all three executables: duckdb, unittest, and benchmark_runner.

Build CLI Shell Only

cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
      -DBUILD_UNITTESTS=FALSE \
      ../..
make -j$(nproc)

Produces only the duckdb CLI executable, skipping test and benchmark targets.

Build With Readline Support

# Ensure readline development headers are installed
sudo apt-get install libreadline-dev

cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ../..
make -j$(nproc)

CMake auto-detects readline at configure time. When found, the CLI shell is built with enhanced line editing, history, and tab completion.

Using Makefile Convenience Targets

# Build release CLI
make release

# Build debug with tests
make debug

# Build only the test runner
make unit

Related

• Principle:Duckdb_Duckdb_Executable_Building
• Environment:Duckdb_Duckdb_CMake_Build_Toolchain