How to prevent toml11 from cloning submodules if not required?

[IAmNotHanni]

Hello

I am using toml11 in our CMake setup like this:

FetchContent_Declare(toml
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/ToruNiina/toml11.git
    GIT_TAG v4.0.3
    GIT_SHALLOW ON
    GIT_PROGRESS ON
    FIND_PACKAGE_ARGS 4.0.3)

And then later when I need it I FetchContent_MakeAvailable(toml).

When doing so, it takes a comparably long time to clone the submodules:

Can I disable this somehow? I really don't need to run the toml11 tests locally.

best regards
Johannes

[IAmNotHanni]

Ah it would really be better to replace the submodules with CMake FetchContent_Declare and FetchContent_MakeAvailable because the submodules must be cloned, even if I am not interested in building the tests. By doing this in CMake, I can avoid cloning them if I do not enable building the tests.

[ToruNiina]

You are right.

The decision to use submodules was made before I adopted FetchContent. I would now use FetchContent or CPM instead.
Actually, there are a few outdated sections in the current CMakeLists, but it is a bit complicated, so I have been putting it off.

Are you (still) interested in adding this change? I haven't had much time to work on it recently, so it might still be a while before I can address it (though it could also get done soon - I can't make any promises).

[IAmNotHanni]

Hey

I think I could have some time in January 2026 to work on it

best regards
Johannes