Installed CMake target references missing fkYAML.natvis via INTERFACE_SOURCES in Ninja Builds

[rioki]

Description

When consuming fkYAML via CMake (installed through vcpkg), the imported target fkYAML::fkYAML references a .natvis file through its INTERFACE_SOURCES property.

However, the referenced file fkYAML.natvis is not present in the installed package layout. As a result, CMake fails during configuration with:

Cannot find source file:
  .../vcpkg_installed/<triplet>/fkYAML.natvis

This occurs even when using non-Visual Studio generators such as Ninja. Since INTERFACE_SOURCES is evaluated during configure time, the missing file causes a hard configuration error.

From a consumer perspective, an imported CMake target should not reference files that are not installed, and .natvis files should either:

• Be installed alongside the package and referenced with a correct path, or
• Be conditionally added only when using MSVC/Visual Studio generators, or
• Not be added to INTERFACE_SOURCES at all

Currently, the exported target references a file that does not exist in the installed layout, which breaks downstream consumers.

Reproduction steps

1. Create a minimal CMake project:

CMakeLists.txt:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.21)
project(repro LANGUAGES CXX)

find_package(fkYAML CONFIG REQUIRED)

add_executable(test test.cpp)
target_link_libraries(test PRIVATE fkYAML::fkYAML)

test.cpp:

int main() {}

2. Install fkYAML via vcpkg (manifest or classic mode).

3. Configure with CMake (example using Ninja):

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja ^
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=C:\path\to\vcpkg\scripts\buildsystems\vcpkg.cmake ^
  -DVCPKG_TARGET_TRIPLET=x64-windows

4. Observe that CMake fails during configuration.

Expected vs. actual results

Expected result:

Configuration succeeds, and the project builds normally.

Actual result:

CMake fails during configuration with:

Cannot find source file:
  .../vcpkg_installed/x64-windows/fkYAML.natvis

The failure happens before any build step.

Minimal code example

# CMakeLists.txt
cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.21)
project(repro LANGUAGES CXX)

find_package(fkYAML CONFIG REQUIRED)

add_executable(test test.cpp)
target_link_libraries(test PRIVATE fkYAML::fkYAML)

# test.cpp
int main() {}

see https://github.com/rioki/fkyaml-natvis-test for a fully functional test project.

Error messages

CMake Error:
  Cannot find source file:

    D:/.../vcpkg_installed/x64-windows/fkYAML.natvis


Configuration stops immediately after this error.

Compiler and operating system

Windows 11 x64 / CMake 3.27+ / MSVC 2022 / Ninja generator / vcpkg toolchain integration

Library version

0.4.2

Validation

• The bug also occurs if the latest version from the develop branch is used.
• I can successfully compile and run the unit tests.