nasa/fprime

Catch uninitialized submodules and libraries in build system

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#5054 opened on Apr 23, 2026

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Easy First Issuecmakehelp wanted

Description
F´ Version
Affected Component

Feature Description

Users are often caught off-guard when cloning a project and submodules aren't initialized recursively. We have fprime-bootstrap clone to alleviate that, but still.

We could potentially catch these setups that have empty libraries / submodules, and throw warnings. Either in fprime-util, or preferably in CMake

Contributor guide

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
build systemdeveloper experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
CMakeF´ framework basics
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
65
Research direction
Investigate the CMakeLists.txt files and the fprime util script to detect uninitialized submodules. Look for existing CMake functions that check for submodule or library presence. Consider adding a CMake warning or error at configuration time when submodule directories are empty. The issue suggests implementing this in CMake, so focus on the build system files in the F´ repository.