[R-SIG-Mac] cmake on build servers

[Jeff Newmiller]

What I got out of Simon's response is that users wanting to download/install R source packages cannot be expected to have access to your customized PATH from their R processes so there is no point in tuning (all of) the CRAN machines differently than the basic Mac user configuration or a common class of users won't be able to install your package from source once it is released.

But I am just a bystander... haven't worked on a Mac in many years now, so I don't intend to debate this myself. Just seemed like lines of understanding were crossed.


On July 26, 2026 4:32:59 PM PDT, Jeroen Ooms <jeroenooms using gmail.com> wrote:
>On Mon, Jul 27, 2026 at 12:53 AM Simon Urbanek
><simon.urbanek using r-project.org> wrote:
>>
>> Kevin,
>>
>>
>> > On 27 Jul 2026, at 10:13, Kevin Ushey <kevinushey using gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Hi Simon,
>> >
>> > Would you be willing to put cmake on the PATH by default on the macOS
>> > CRAN build servers? Or, if you wanted to be judicious, do so only for
>> > packages which declare SystemRequirements: CMake in their DESCRIPTION?
>> >
>>
>>
>> For the latter, the VM setup is not conditional, so we certainly don't want to mess with the setup as-hoc - it should stay reproducible.
>>
>> To the former, I'm a bit surprised this is even an issue, since this is the status quo for years and has been always documented, so it boils down to people not bothering to read the manuals. The main reason for cmake not being on the PATH is that CMake officially doesn't do that so we cannot expect users to mess with their PATH (it gets complicated since there is not a single place to change the PATH on macOS as R can be run from applications that don't use the profile), so the packages should be able to deal with that, otherwise they won't install for the users, either. I wouldn't want to make cmake part of recipes, because it is already maintained by Kitware, so we want to rely on official binaries where possible. This is not about CRAN machines, but the ability to install the package from sources at all.
>
>
>Afaik, all common ways to install cmake on MacOS either default to, or
>provide an option to add cmake to the path. If you installed cmake
>with macports/homebrew, it is always on the path. If you used the dmg
>installer from the cmake website, it is not, but there is an item in
>the top menu bar: "Tools > How to install for command line use", where
>it is explained what to do. I think users that install things from
>source will manage.
>
>OTOH it is quite difficult to write portable software if you have to
>search all possible locations on different systems where some command
>may reside if not on the path. It's not about "not bothering to read
>the manuals" but just something that catches us by surprise because it
>is unusual, and therefore goes unnoticed when testing on the standard
>environments, where cmake is always on the path.
>
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--
Sent from my phone. Please excuse my brevity.
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