CMake Error at thirdparty/level_zero/level-zero/CMakeLists.txt:224 (add_subdirectory):

[ArthurPeabody]

When trying to build openvino I get:

CMake Error at thirdparty/level_zero/level-zero/CMakeLists.txt:224 (add_subdirectory):
add_subdirectory given source "source" which is not an existing directory.

CMake Error at thirdparty/level_zero/level-zero/CMakeLists.txt:225 (add_subdirectory):
add_subdirectory given source "samples" which is not an existing directory.

CMake Error at thirdparty/level_zero/level-zero/CMakeLists.txt:232 (include):
include could not find requested file:

os_release_info.cmake

CMake Error at thirdparty/level_zero/level-zero/CMakeLists.txt:233 (get_os_release_info):
Unknown CMake command "get_os_release_info".

-- Configuring incomplete, errors occurred!

source and samples are existing subdirectories. I have built and installed level_zero. Why can't openvino use the one I have installed?

[Ganesh-403]

@ArthurPeabody From the errors, it doesn't look like CMake is trying to use your system-installed Level Zero. Instead, it's configuring the vendored thirdparty/level_zero source that ships with the OpenVINO repository.

The failing lines:

add_subdirectory(source)
add_subdirectory(samples)
include(os_release_info.cmake)

are all referring to files inside the Level Zero source tree, not an installed Level Zero SDK. That suggests the bundled Level Zero source is incomplete or out of sync rather than CMake failing to find your installed package. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

A few things I'd check:

1. Was the repository cloned with submodules?

   If not, try:

   git submodule update --init --recursive

   Missing or partially initialized submodules are a common cause of errors where CMake can't find directories that should exist in thirdparty.

2. Is your OpenVINO checkout clean?

   Since you mentioned that source and samples exist, could you also verify whether:

   thirdparty/level_zero/level-zero/os_release_info.cmake
   

   exists?

   Your error indicates that CMake is trying to include(os_release_info.cmake) but cannot find it, even though that file is normally part of the Level Zero source tree. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

3. Which OpenVINO branch/tag are you building?

   Could you share:

   git rev-parse HEAD
   git submodule status

   It's possible the main repository and the Level Zero submodule are at incompatible revisions.

Regarding your last question:

"Why can't OpenVINO use the one I have installed?"

From what I can tell, OpenVINO's build system vendors and builds several third-party dependencies from source to ensure a consistent build environment, rather than automatically linking against arbitrary system installations. I couldn't find documentation indicating that an already-installed Level Zero SDK is used in place of the bundled source during a normal OpenVINO build. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

The outputs of git submodule status and whether os_release_info.cmake exists would help determine whether this is a corrupted submodule checkout or a build-system issue.

If this solves your problem, feel free to mark it as the accepted answer so others can find it easily.