Extract text from CMake build scripts (CMAKE)
To convert CMAKE build scripts to another format, you need CMake or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Build Script" file type, you need software like CMake or a similar tool.
.cmake files are plain text configuration scripts used by the CMake open-source build system. They contain macros, variables, and commands that dictate how software source code should be compiled and tested across different operating systems.
These files are primarily processed by the CMake software suite, originally developed by Kitware, to generate standard build files such as Makefiles or Visual Studio projects. Developers typically read and edit them using standard code editors like Visual Studio Code or Notepad++.
Because this format is highly specific to the CMake ecosystem, it presents major disadvantages for general users. The file cannot be executed natively by an operating system, requires a dedicated environment to run, and features a complex, arcane syntax. Opening a .cmake file without the right tools often leaves users confused by blocks of programming logic.
If you need to share the contents of a build script with non-developers or preserve it for documentation, the best target formats are TXT, MD, or PDF. Converting to these text-based formats keeps the code readable but permanently removes the ability to execute the script in a build pipeline.
Because a .cmake file is a set of instructions rather than a standard media file, it is difficult to convert. Only the original CMake software can properly process and execute the data.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CMAKE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted TXT, JSM, PYW, SAGE, MAKEFILE, SLN and ZIG files.
If you want to convert CMAKE file to MAKEFILE, SLN, ZIG, JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP or RB, you can use CMake or similar software from the "Software Build Automation" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to CMAKE, try CMake or another comparable tool in the "Software Build Automation" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our CMAKE converter.