I like some of the new CMake features with Qt Creator 4, but it starts cmake again anytime the corresponding file changes. Is there any way to stop this? There seems to be no way to tell him to wait if I make a batch of changes or just save the file so as not to lose my job.
Yes, you can. It is called Autorun CMake.
In QtCreator, just go to Options → Build and Run and go to the CMake tab. Click one of the configured entries. The setting is at the bottom.
I tested this with version 4.1 on Linux.