CMake "Could not find a package configuration file provided by X" in CI

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

A find_package() in CONFIG mode looked for X-config.cmake or XConfig.cmake and found none in any searched prefix. The package is not installed or not on CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH.

What this error means

Configure aborts naming the package and listing the directories CMake searched for its config file, on a CI image where the dependency is absent.

CMake Error at CMakeLists.txt:6 (find_package):
  Could not find a package configuration file provided by "fmt" with any of
  the following names:
    fmtConfig.cmake
    fmt-config.cmake

Common causes

How to fix it

Install the package and point CMake at it

1. Install the dependency (and its -dev package) that ships the config file.
2. Pass CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH for packages in a custom prefix.

apt-get install -y libfmt-dev
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/fmt

How to prevent it

• Provision all find_package dependencies in the runner image and pass CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH for any in a non-standard prefix.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• CMake documentation
• GitHub Actions documentation