# LINK_WHAT_YOU_USE

Added in version 3.7.

This is a boolean option that, when set to `TRUE`, adds a link-time check to print a list of shared libraries that are being linked but provide no symbols used by the target. This is intended as a lint.

The flag specified by `CMAKE_<LANG>_LINK_WHAT_YOU_USE_FLAG` will be passed to the linker so that all libraries specified on the command line will be linked into the target. Then the command specified by `CMAKE_LINK_WHAT_YOU_USE_CHECK` will run after the target is linked to check the binary for unnecessarily-linked shared libraries.

Note

For now, it is only supported for `ELF` platforms and is only applicable to executable and shared or module library targets. This property will be ignored for any other targets and configurations.

This property is initialized by the value of the `CMAKE_LINK_WHAT_YOU_USE` variable if it is set when a target is created.