cpp-best-practices · lefticus · Feb 4, 2026 · Jan 2, 2026 · Jan 31, 2026 · Feb 4, 2026
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.21)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.29)
+
+# Disable modules support, this is broken with clang-tidy at the moment
+cmake_policy(SET CMP0155 OLD) 
 
 # This template attempts to be "fetch_content"-able
 # so that it works well with tools like CPM or other
@@ -17,7 +20,7 @@ set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
 # Set the project name and language
 project(
   myproject
-  VERSION 0.0.1
+  VERSION 0.0.2
   DESCRIPTION ""
   HOMEPAGE_URL "%%myurl%%"
   LANGUAGES CXX C)

diff --git a/Dependencies.cmake b/Dependencies.cmake
@@ -9,31 +9,31 @@ function(myproject_setup_dependencies)
   # already been provided to us by a parent project
 
   if(NOT TARGET fmtlib::fmtlib)
-    cpmaddpackage("gh:fmtlib/fmt#11.1.4")
+    cpmaddpackage("gh:fmtlib/fmt#12.1.0")
   endif()
 
   if(NOT TARGET spdlog::spdlog)
     cpmaddpackage(
       NAME
       spdlog
       VERSION
-      1.15.2
+      1.17.0
       GITHUB_REPOSITORY
       "gabime/spdlog"
       OPTIONS
       "SPDLOG_FMT_EXTERNAL ON")
   endif()
 
   if(NOT TARGET Catch2::Catch2WithMain)
-    cpmaddpackage("gh:catchorg/Catch2@3.8.1")
+    cpmaddpackage("gh:catchorg/Catch2@3.12.0")
   endif()
 
   if(NOT TARGET CLI11::CLI11)
-    cpmaddpackage("gh:CLIUtils/CLI11@2.5.0")
+    cpmaddpackage("gh:CLIUtils/CLI11@2.6.1")
   endif()
 
   if(NOT TARGET ftxui::screen)
-    cpmaddpackage("gh:ArthurSonzogni/FTXUI@6.0.2")
+    cpmaddpackage("gh:ArthurSonzogni/FTXUI@6.1.9")
   endif()
 
   if(NOT TARGET tools::tools)

diff --git a/ProjectOptions.cmake b/ProjectOptions.cmake
@@ -73,7 +73,6 @@ macro(myproject_setup_options)
   if(NOT PROJECT_IS_TOP_LEVEL OR myproject_PACKAGING_MAINTAINER_MODE)
     option(myproject_ENABLE_IPO "Enable IPO/LTO" OFF)
     option(myproject_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS "Treat Warnings As Errors" OFF)
-    option(myproject_ENABLE_USER_LINKER "Enable user-selected linker" OFF)
     option(myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_ADDRESS "Enable address sanitizer" OFF)
     option(myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_LEAK "Enable leak sanitizer" OFF)
     option(myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_UNDEFINED "Enable undefined sanitizer" OFF)
@@ -87,7 +86,6 @@ macro(myproject_setup_options)
   else()
     option(myproject_ENABLE_IPO "Enable IPO/LTO" ON)
     option(myproject_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS "Treat Warnings As Errors" ON)
-    option(myproject_ENABLE_USER_LINKER "Enable user-selected linker" OFF)
     option(myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_ADDRESS "Enable address sanitizer" ${SUPPORTS_ASAN})
     option(myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_LEAK "Enable leak sanitizer" OFF)
     option(myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_UNDEFINED "Enable undefined sanitizer" ${SUPPORTS_UBSAN})
@@ -104,7 +102,6 @@ macro(myproject_setup_options)
     mark_as_advanced(
       myproject_ENABLE_IPO
       myproject_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS
-      myproject_ENABLE_USER_LINKER
       myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_ADDRESS
       myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_LEAK
       myproject_ENABLE_SANITIZER_UNDEFINED
@@ -170,13 +167,10 @@ macro(myproject_local_options)
     ""
     "")
 
-  # Linker and sanitizers not supported in Emscripten
-  if(NOT EMSCRIPTEN)
-    if(myproject_ENABLE_USER_LINKER)
-      include(cmake/Linker.cmake)
-      myproject_configure_linker(myproject_options)
-    endif()
+  include(cmake/Linker.cmake)
+  # Must configure each target with linker options, we're avoiding setting it globally for now
 
+  if(NOT EMSCRIPTEN)
     include(cmake/Sanitizers.cmake)
     myproject_enable_sanitizers(
       myproject_options

diff --git a/cmake/CPM.cmake b/cmake/CPM.cmake
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 #
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2019-2023 Lars Melchior and contributors
 
-set(CPM_DOWNLOAD_VERSION 0.40.8)
-set(CPM_HASH_SUM "78ba32abdf798bc616bab7c73aac32a17bbd7b06ad9e26a6add69de8f3ae4791")
+set(CPM_DOWNLOAD_VERSION 0.42.1)
+set(CPM_HASH_SUM "f3a6dcc6a04ce9e7f51a127307fa4f699fb2bade357a8eb4c5b45df76e1dc6a5")
 
 if(CPM_SOURCE_CACHE)
   set(CPM_DOWNLOAD_LOCATION "${CPM_SOURCE_CACHE}/cpm/CPM_${CPM_DOWNLOAD_VERSION}.cmake")

diff --git a/cmake/Linker.cmake b/cmake/Linker.cmake
@@ -1,31 +1,20 @@
 macro(myproject_configure_linker project_name)
-  include(CheckCXXCompilerFlag)
-
-  set(USER_LINKER_OPTION
-      "lld"
+  set(myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION
+    "DEFAULT"
       CACHE STRING "Linker to be used")
-  set(USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES "lld" "gold" "bfd" "mold")
-  set_property(CACHE USER_LINKER_OPTION PROPERTY STRINGS ${USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES})
+    set(myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES "DEFAULT" "SYSTEM" "LLD" "GOLD" "BFD" "MOLD" "SOLD" "APPLE_CLASSIC" "MSVC")
+  set_property(CACHE myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION PROPERTY STRINGS ${myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES})
   list(
     FIND
-    USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES
-    ${USER_LINKER_OPTION}
-    USER_LINKER_OPTION_INDEX)
+    myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES
+    ${myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION}
+    myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION_INDEX)
 
-  if(${USER_LINKER_OPTION_INDEX} EQUAL -1)
+  if(${myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION_INDEX} EQUAL -1)
     message(
       STATUS
-        "Using custom linker: '${USER_LINKER_OPTION}', explicitly supported entries are ${USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES}")
-  endif()
-
-  if(NOT myproject_ENABLE_USER_LINKER)
-    return()
+        "Using custom linker: '${myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION}', explicitly supported entries are ${myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION_VALUES}")
   endif()
 
-  set(LINKER_FLAG "-fuse-ld=${USER_LINKER_OPTION}")
-
-  check_cxx_compiler_flag(${LINKER_FLAG} CXX_SUPPORTS_USER_LINKER)
-  if(CXX_SUPPORTS_USER_LINKER)
-    target_compile_options(${project_name} INTERFACE ${LINKER_FLAG})
-  endif()
+  set_target_properties(${project_name} PROPERTIES LINKER_TYPE "${myproject_USER_LINKER_OPTION}")
 endmacro()
diff --git a/cmake/StandardProjectSettings.cmake b/cmake/StandardProjectSettings.cmake
@@ -19,20 +19,10 @@ set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)
 
 # Enhance error reporting and compiler messages
 if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES ".*Clang")
-  if(WIN32)
-    # On Windows cuda nvcc uses cl and not clang
     add_compile_options($<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:C>:-fcolor-diagnostics> $<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>:-fcolor-diagnostics>)
-  else()
-    add_compile_options(-fcolor-diagnostics)
-  endif()
 elseif(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "GNU")
-  if(WIN32)
-    # On Windows cuda nvcc uses cl and not gcc
     add_compile_options($<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:C>:-fdiagnostics-color=always>
                         $<$<COMPILE_LANGUAGE:CXX>:-fdiagnostics-color=always>)
-  else()
-    add_compile_options(-fdiagnostics-color=always)
-  endif()
 elseif(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "MSVC" AND MSVC_VERSION GREATER 1900)
   add_compile_options(/diagnostics:column)
 else()
@@ -42,4 +32,4 @@ endif()
 
 # run vcvarsall when msvc is used
 include("${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/VCEnvironment.cmake")
-run_vcvarsall()
+myproject_run_vcvarsall()
diff --git a/cmake/StaticAnalyzers.cmake b/cmake/StaticAnalyzers.cmake
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ macro(myproject_enable_cppcheck WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS CPPCHECK_OPTIONS)
       list(APPEND CMAKE_CXX_CPPCHECK --error-exitcode=2)
     endif()
   else()
-    message(${WARNING_MESSAGE} "cppcheck requested but executable not found")
+    message(WARNING "cppcheck requested but executable not found")
   endif()
 endmacro()
 
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ macro(myproject_enable_clang_tidy target WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS)
     message("Also setting clang-tidy globally")
     set(CMAKE_CXX_CLANG_TIDY ${CLANG_TIDY_OPTIONS})
   else()
-    message(${WARNING_MESSAGE} "clang-tidy requested but executable not found")
+    message(WARNING "clang-tidy requested but executable not found")
   endif()
 endmacro()
 
@@ -109,6 +109,6 @@ macro(myproject_enable_include_what_you_use)
   if(INCLUDE_WHAT_YOU_USE)
     set(CMAKE_CXX_INCLUDE_WHAT_YOU_USE ${INCLUDE_WHAT_YOU_USE})
   else()
-    message(${WARNING_MESSAGE} "include-what-you-use requested but executable not found")
+    message(WARNING "include-what-you-use requested but executable not found")
   endif()
 endmacro()
diff --git a/cmake/Tests.cmake b/cmake/Tests.cmake
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 function(myproject_enable_coverage project_name)
   if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "GNU" OR CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID MATCHES ".*Clang")
-    target_compile_options(${project_name} INTERFACE --coverage -O0 -g)
+    target_compile_options(${project_name} INTERFACE --coverage -g)
     target_link_libraries(${project_name} INTERFACE --coverage)
   endif()
 endfunction()
diff --git a/cmake/VCEnvironment.cmake b/cmake/VCEnvironment.cmake
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 include("${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/Utilities.cmake")
 
-macro(detect_architecture)
+macro(myproject_detect_architecture)
   # detect the architecture
   string(TOLOWER "${CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR}" CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR_LOWER)
   if(CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR_LOWER STREQUAL x86 OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR_LOWER MATCHES "^i[3456]86$")
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ macro(detect_architecture)
 endmacro()
 
 # Run vcvarsall.bat and set CMake environment variables
-function(run_vcvarsall)
+function(myproject_run_vcvarsall)
   # if MSVC but VSCMD_VER is not set, which means vcvarsall has not run
   if(MSVC AND "$ENV{VSCMD_VER}" STREQUAL "")
 
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ function(run_vcvarsall)
 
     if(EXISTS ${VCVARSALL_FILE})
       # detect the architecture
-      detect_architecture()
+      myproject_detect_architecture()
 
       # run vcvarsall and print the environment variables
       message(STATUS "Running `${VCVARSALL_FILE} ${VCVARSALL_ARCH}` to set up the MSVC environment")

diff --git a/fuzz_test/CMakeLists.txt b/fuzz_test/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ target_link_libraries(
           -fsanitize=fuzzer)
 target_compile_options(fuzz_tester PRIVATE -fsanitize=fuzzer)
 
+
+myproject_configure_linker(fuzz_tester)
+
 # Allow short runs during automated testing to see if something new breaks
 set(FUZZ_RUNTIME
     10

diff --git a/src/ftxui_sample/CMakeLists.txt b/src/ftxui_sample/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ target_link_system_libraries(
           ftxui::dom
           ftxui::component)
 
+
+myproject_configure_linker(intro)
+
 target_include_directories(intro PRIVATE "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/configured_files/include")
 
 # Apply WASM-specific configuration

diff --git a/src/sample_library/CMakeLists.txt b/src/sample_library/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ endif()
 
 target_compile_features(sample_library PUBLIC cxx_std_${CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD})
 
+myproject_configure_linker(sample_library)
+
 set_target_properties(
   sample_library
   PROPERTIES VERSION ${PROJECT_VERSION}

diff --git a/test/CMakeLists.txt b/test/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.15...3.23)
 
-project(CmakeConfigPackageTests LANGUAGES CXX)
+project(CmakeConfigPackageTests 
+  VERSION ${PROJECT_VERSION}
+  LANGUAGES CXX)
 
 # ---- Test as standalone project the exported config package ----
 
@@ -37,6 +39,8 @@ target_link_libraries(
           myproject::sample_library
           Catch2::Catch2WithMain)
 
+myproject_configure_linker(tests)
+
 if(WIN32 AND BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
   add_custom_command(
     TARGET tests
@@ -69,6 +73,8 @@ target_link_libraries(
           myproject::sample_library
           Catch2::Catch2WithMain)
 
+myproject_configure_linker(constexpr_tests)
+
 catch_discover_tests(
   constexpr_tests
   TEST_PREFIX
@@ -93,6 +99,9 @@ target_link_libraries(
           Catch2::Catch2WithMain)
 target_compile_definitions(relaxed_constexpr_tests PRIVATE -DCATCH_CONFIG_RUNTIME_STATIC_REQUIRE)
 
+myproject_configure_linker(relaxed_constexpr_tests)
+
+
 catch_discover_tests(
   relaxed_constexpr_tests
   TEST_PREFIX