C++ and Bazel
This page contains resources that help you use Bazel with C++ projects. It links to a tutorial, build rules, and other information specific to building C++ projects with Bazel.
Working with Bazel
The following resources will help you work with Bazel on C++ projects:
- Tutorial: Building a C++ project
- C++ common use cases
- C/C++ rules
- C++ toolchain configuration
- Tutorial: Configuring C++ toolchains
- Integrating with C++ rules
Best practices
In addition to general Bazel best practices, below are best practices specific to C++ projects.
BUILD files
Follow the guidelines below when creating your BUILD files:
-
Each BUILD file should contain one
cc_library
rule target per compilation unit in the directory. -
We recommend that you granularize your C++ libraries as much as possible to maximize incrementality and parallelize the build.
-
If there is a single source file in
srcs
, name the library the same as that C++ file’s name. This library should contain C++ file(s), any matching header file(s), and the library’s direct dependencies. For example:cc_library( name = "mylib", srcs = ["mylib.cc"], hdrs = ["mylib.h"], deps = [":lower-level-lib"] )
-
Use one
cc_test
rule target percc_library
target in the file. Name the target[library-name]_test
and the source file[library-name]_test.cc
. For example, a test target for themylib
library target shown above would look like this:cc_test( name = "mylib_test", srcs = ["mylib_test.cc"], deps = [":mylib"] )
Include paths
Follow these guidelines for include paths:
-
Make all include paths relative to the workspace directory.
-
Use quoted includes (
#include "foo/bar/baz.h"
) for non-system headers, not angle-brackets (#include <foo/bar/baz.h>
). -
Avoid using UNIX directory shortcuts, such as
.
(current directory) or..
(parent directory). -
For legacy or
third_party
code that requires includes pointing outside the project repository, such as external repository includes requiring a prefix, use theinclude_prefix
andstrip_include_prefix
arguments on thecc_library
rule target.