cmake --version # ensure that you have >= 2.8.8 mkdir build cd build cmake .. make If you see an error about "Cannot find source file: OBJECT" then your version of CMake is too old. Note that the default build flags in the top-leve CMakeLists.txt are for debugging - optimisation isn't enabled. If you'll be building a lot, then installing Ninja[1] is highly recommended. Wipe out the build directory and recreate it, but using: cmake -GNinja .. ninja If you want to cross-compile then there are example toolchain files for 32-bit Intel and ARM in util/. Wipe out the build directory, recreate it and run cmake like this: cmake -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=../util/arm-toolchain.cmake -GNinja .. [1] http://martine.github.io/ninja/