LIBRA (Luigi Build Reusable Automation)

LIBRA is a reusable build framework for C/C++ projects built on top of CMake. It transforms the build process from manual scripting into a declarative workflow, providing compiler abstraction and near-zero boilerplate configuration.

Important

Core Goal: To make building complex C++ projects as simple as declaring intent (e.g., “I want a library with coverage”) rather than writing imperative CMake logic.

Who Should Use LIBRA

  • Platform Engineers looking to standardize build quality across multiple repositories.

  • C++ Developers who want to focus on code rather than debugging .cmake modules.

  • Teams requiring consistent “push-button” integration for Sanitizers, Static Analysis, and Documentation.

Design Philosophy

  • Convention over Configuration: Standardized project layouts mean zero setup for new repos.

  • Declarative Intent: Focus on what to build (e.g., libra_add_library()), not how to set compiler flags.

  • Toolchain Agnostic: A single configuration should work across GCC, Clang, and Intel LLVM without if(MSVC) blocks.

Architecture Overview

This diagram shows which parts of LIBRA are active during CMake configuration and which parts are active when build targets are executed.

_images/arch.png

Features & Capabilities

Configure Time (Setup Logic)

During the cmake .. phase, LIBRA automates the heavy lifting:

  • Security & Hardening: Automatic injection of stack protectors, fortify-source, and control-flow integrity flags.

  • Quality Gates: Seamless setup for Clang-Tidy, Cppcheck, and custom linters.

  • Dependency Orchestration: Smart globbing for source discovery that respects build-system boundaries.

  • Environment Discovery: Automatic detection and registration of tests and source files.

Build Time (Execution Targets)

LIBRA injects standardized targets into your build system (Ninja/Make):

  • make analyze: Run the full suite of configured static analyzers.

  • make format: Apply project-wide formatting via Clang-Format.

  • make docs: Generate API documentation (Doxygen/Sphinx).

  • make coverage: Generate HTML/XML coverage reports (LCOV/Gcovr).

Integration Modes

LIBRA scales with your project’s complexity. Choose the mode that fits your infrastructure:

  1. Conan Middleware (Recommended): The most robust path. LIBRA acts as a Conan build helper.

  2. Standard CMake Package: Integrated via find_package(libra).

  3. In-Situ (Submodule): Drop LIBRA directly into your source tree.

How to Use These Docs

Getting Started

LIBRA Feature Reference

LIBRA Design And Customization