How to use CMake kits with a code-workspace

[chrisjaquet]

Referring to the docs here I am able to define CMake kits for the user (cmake-tool-kits.json) or for a folder (.vscode/cmake-kits.json) but I am having trouble figuring out how to define kits for a VSCode .code-workspace. I feel I am missing something obvious here.

Some context: My .code-workspace is set include a few projects from a larger selection within a particular folder. I am unable to use the user kits since there is a ${workspaceFolder} substitution being done in there to find a toolchain file that is project specific, e.g.

"toolchainFile": "${workspaceFolder}/BuildSystem/Toolchains/Windows.cmake",

The BuildSystem folder is added as one of the folders within the .code-workspace but ${workspace} does not resolve (which I think is expected behaviour). I have a temporary workaround by adding another user kit which references ${workspace:BuildSystem}/Toolchains/Windows.cmake but ideally I would like to specify the kit arguments in the .code-workspace file itself so that I can commit to VCS.

Am I missing something simple? Any advice?

[gcampbell-msft]

I'll start with suggesting that if you migrate to CMakePresets.json, you'd be able to have more control over it because it is based on the presence of the file in the folder.

For kits, to my knowledge, in the .code-workspace file, you can specify which folders are opened when you open the workspace file. In that case, you should be able to use the folder .vscode/cmake-kits.json. As for specifying a kit (or even a preset for that matter) for an entire workspace is not explicitly supported.

I think the only other possible option is to define various cmake settings in the code-workspace file to help with this (for example, you could set cmake.sourceDirectory to the folders that are opened with the code-workspace), but we don't have any explicit support.