ocamlfind(1) General Commands Manual ocamlfind(1)
NAME
ocamlfind - [Command-line interface of the Package manager]
SYNOPSIS
ocamlfind query [-help | other options] package_name ...
or: ocamlfind ocamlc [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamlcp [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamlmktop [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamlopt [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamldoc [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamldep [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamlmklib [-help | other options] file ...
or: ocamlfind ocamlbrowser [-help | other options]
or: ocamlfind install [-help | other options] package_name file ...
or: ocamlfind remove [-help | other options] package_name
or: ocamlfind lint META
or: ocamlfind list [-describe]
or: ocamlfind printppx [-help | other options] package_name ...
or: ocamlfind printconf [ variable ]
or: ocamlfind package/command arg ...
Optional toolchain selection by:
ocamlfind -toolchain name ...
THE 'query' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind query [ -predicates p |
-format f |
-long-format | -l |
-i-format |
-l-format |
-a-format |
-o-format |
-p-format |
-prefix p |
-separator s |
-suffix s |
-pp |
-descendants | -d |
-recursive | -r
-qe | -qo] package ...
Description
This command looks packages up, sorts them optionally, and prints at-
tributes of them. If the option -recursive (short: -r) is not speci-
fied, exactly the packages given on the command line are looked up; if
-recursive is present, the packages and all their ancestors, or if -de-
scendants (short: -d) is present, too, all their descendants are
printed.
Package lookup and the selection of the attributes of the packages can
be modified by specifying predicates; without a -predicates option the
empty set of predicates is used. Note that even the lookup is influ-
enced by the set of actual predicates as the "requires" variables may
be conditional.
What is printed about a package depends on the specified format; there
are a number of options that modify the format. Some formats denote
sets of values (such as -format %a), in which case multiple output
records are printed for every package. (It is even possible to specify
formats denoting the Cartesian product of sets, such as -format %a%o,
but this does not make sense.) Before the first output record the pre-
fix is printed, and the suffix after the last record. Between two
records the separator is printed.
Options
-predicates p
Sets the set of actual predicates. The argument p is a list of
predicate names separated by commas and/or whitespace. If mul-
tiple -predicates options are given, the union of all specified
sets is effectively used.
-format f
Sets the format to the string f. Characters preceded by a per-
cent sign are interpreted as placeholders; all other characters
mean themselves. The defined placeholders are listed below.
The default format is "%d".
-long-format or -l
Sets the format such that all relevant variables are printed.
-i-format
Same as -format "-I %d", i.e. directory options for ocamlc are
printed.
-l-format
Same as -format "-ccopt -L%d", i.e. directory options for the
linker backend are printed.
-a-format
Same as -format "%+a", i.e. archive file names are printed.
-o-format
Same as -format "%o", i.e. linker options are printed.
-p-format
Same as -format "%p", i.e. package names are printed.
-prefix p
Sets the prefix that is printed before the first output record
to the given string. The default prefix is the empty string.
-suffix s
Sets the suffix that is printed after the last output record to
the given string. The default suffix is the empty string.
-separator s
Sets the separator that is printed between output records to
the given string. The default separator is a linefeed character.
-recursive or -r
Not only the packages given on the command line are queried but
also all ancestors or descendants. If the option -descendants is
specified, too, the descendants are printed, otherwise the an-
cestors. The packages are topologically sorted.
-descendants -d
Instead of the ancestors the descendants of the given packages
are queried. This option implies -recursive.
-pp
Query preprocessor packages (camlp4 syntax extensions). Normally
it is not needed to set -predicates, except you need the ar-
chives (then add -predicates byte). This option implies -recur-
sive.
-qe
Do not print most errors to stderr, just set the exit code
-qo
Do not print the regular output.
Placeholders meaningful in the -format option
%%
Replaced by a single percent sign
%p
Replaced by the package name
%d
Replaced by the package directory
%m
Replaced by the path to the META file (new since findlib-1.6)
%D
Replaced by the package description
%v
Replaced by the version string
%a
Replaced by the archive filename. If there is more than one ar-
chive, a separate output record is printed for every archive.
%+a
Like %a, but the filenames are converted to absolute paths ("+"
and "@" notations are resolved)
%A
Replaced by the list of archive filenames.
%+A
Like %A, but the filenames are converted to absolute paths ("+"
and "@" notations are resolved)
%o
Replaced by one linker option. If there is more than one op-
tion, a separate output record is printed for every option.
%O
Replaced by the list of linker options.
%(property)
Replaced by the value of the property named in parentheses, or
the empty string if not defined.
THE SUBCOMMANDS 'ocamlc', 'ocamlcp', 'ocamlopt', and 'ocamlmktop'
Synopsis
ocamlfind ( ocamlc | ocamlcp | ocamlopt | ocamlmktop )
[ -package package-name-list |
-linkpkg |
-predicates pred-name-list |
-dontlink package-name-list |
-syntax pred-name-list |
-ppopt camlp4-arg |
-ppxopt package,arg |
-dllpath-pkg package-name-list |
-dllpath-all |
-passopt arg |
-passrest arg... |
-only-show |
standard-option ]
file ...
Description
These subcommands are drivers for the compilers with the same names,
i.e. "ocamlfind ocamlc" is a driver for "ocamlc", and so on. The sub-
commands understand all documented options of the compilers (here
called standard-options), but also a few more options. If these subcom-
mands are invoked only with standard options, they behave as if the un-
derlying compiler had been called directly. The extra options modify
this.
Internally, these subcommands transform the given list of options and
file arguments into an invocation of the driven compiler. This trans-
formation only adds options and files, and the relative order of the
options and files passed directly is unchanged.
If there are -package options, additional directory search specifiers
will be included ("-I", and "-ccopt -I"), such that files of all named
packages and all ancestors can be found.
The -linkpkg option causes that the packages listed in the -package op-
tions and all necessary ancestors are linked in. This means that the
archive files implementing the packages are inserted into the list of
file arguments.
As the package database is queried a set of predicates is needed. Most
predicates are set automatically, see below, but additional predicates
can be given by a -predicates option.
If there is a -syntax option, the drivers assume that a preprocessor is
to be used. In this case, the preprocessor command is built first in a
preprocessor stage, and this command is passed to the compiler using
the -pp option. The set of predicates in the preprocessor stage is dif-
ferent from the set in the compiler/linker stage.
Options for compiling and linking
Here, only the additional options not interpreted by the compiler but
by the driver itself, and options with additional effects are ex-
plained. Some options are only meaningful for the preprocessor call,
and are explained below.
-package package-name-list
Adds the listed package names to the set of included packages.
The package names may be separated by commas and/or whitespace.
In the transformed command, for every package of the set of in-
cluded packages and for any ancestor a directory search option
is inserted after the already given options. This means that
"-I" and "-ccopt -I" options are added for every package direc-
tory.
-linkpkg
Causes that in the transformed command all archives of the
packages specified by -packages and all their ancestors are
added to the file arguments. More precisely, these archives are
inserted before the first given file argument. Furthermore,
"-ccopt -L" options for all package directories, and the linker
options of the selected packages are added, too. Note that the
archives are inserted in topological order while the linker op-
tions are added in reverse toplogical order.
-predicates pred-name-list
Adds the given predicates to the set of actual predicates. The
predicates must be separated by commas and/or whitespace.
-dontlink package-name-list
This option modifies the behaviour of -linkpkg. Packages speci-
fied here and all ancestors are not linked in. Again the pack-
ages are separated by commas and/or whitespace.
-dllpath-pkg package-name-list
For these packages -dllpath options are added to the compiler
command. This may be useful when the ld.conf file is not prop-
erly configured.
-dllpath-all
For all linked packages -dllpath options are added to the com-
piler command. This may be useful when the ld.conf file is not
properly configured.
-passopt arg
The argument arg is passed directly to the underlying compiler.
This is needed to specify undocumented compiler options.
-passrest arg...
All following arguments arg... are passed directly to the un-
derlying compiler. This is needed to specify undocumented com-
piler options.
-only-show
Only prints the constructed command (ocamlc/ocamlopt) to std-
out, but does not execute the command. (This is for the unlikely
event that you need a wrapper around ocamlfind.)
-verbose
This standard option is interpreted by the driver, too.
-thread
This standard option causes that the predicate "mt" is added to
the set of actual predicates. If POSIX threads are available,
the predicate "mt_posix" is selected, too. If only VM threads
are available, the predicate "mt_vm" is included into the set,
and the compiler switch is changed into -vmthread.
Note that the presence of the "mt" predicate triggers special
fixup of the dependency graph (see below).
-vmthread
This standard option causes that the predicates "mt" and
"mt_vm" are added to the set of actual predicates.
Note that the presence of the "mt" predicate triggers special
fixup of the dependency graph (see below).
-p
This standard option of "ocamlopt" causes that the predicate
"gprof" is added to the set of actual predicates.
Options for preprocessing
The options relevant for the preprocessor are the following:
-package package-name-list
These packages are considered while looking up the preprocessor
arguments. (It does not cause problems that the same -package
option is used for this purpose, because the set of predicates
is different.) It is recommended to mention at least camlp4
here if the preprocessor is going to be used.
-syntax pred-name-list
These predicates are assumed to be true in addition to the
standard preprocessor predicates. See below for a list.
-ppopt camlp4-arg
This argument is passed to the camlp4 call.
-ppxopt package,arg
Add arg to the ppx preprocessor invocation specified via the
"ppx" property in the META file of package.
Predicates for compiling and linking
byte
The "byte" predicate means that one of the bytecode compilers is
used. It is automatically included into the predicate set if the
"ocamlc", "ocamlcp", or "ocamlmktop" compiler is used.
native
The "native" predicate means that the native compiler is used.
It is automatically included into the predicate set if the
"ocamlopt" compiler is used.
toploop
The "toploop" predicate means that the toploop is available in
the linked program. This predicate is only set when the toploop
is actually being executed, not when the toploop is created
(this changed in version 1.0.4 of findlib).
create_toploop
This predicate means that a toploop is being created (using
ocamlmktop).
mt
The "mt" predicate means that the program is multi-threaded. It
is automatically included into the predicate set if the -thread
option is given.
mt_posix
The "mt_posix" predicate means that in the case "mt" is set,
too, the POSIX libraries are used to implement threads.
"mt_posix" is automatically included into the predicate set if
the variable "type_of_threads" in the META description of the
"threads" package has the value "posix". This is normally the
case if "findlib" is configured for POSIX threads.
mt_vm
The "mt_vm" predicate means that in the case "mt" is set, too,
the VM thread emulation is used to implement multi-threading.
gprof
The "gprof" predicate means that in the case "native" is set,
too, the program is compiled for profiling. It is automatically
included into the predicate set if "ocamlopt" is used and the -p
option is in effect.
autolink
The "autolink" predicate means that ocamlc is able to perform
automatic linking. It is automatically included into the predi-
cate set if ocamlc knows automatic linking (from version 3.00),
but it is not set if the -noautolink option is set.
syntax
This predicate is set if there is a -syntax option. It is set
both for the preprocessor and the compiler/linker stage, and it
can be used to find out whether the preprocessor is enabled or
not.
Predicates for preprocessing
preprocessor
This predicate is always set while looking up the preprocessor
arguments. It can be used to distinguish between the preproces-
sor stage and the compiler/linker stage.
syntax
This predicate is set if there is a -syntax option. It is set
both for the preprocessor and the compiler/linker stage, and it
can be used to find out whether the preprocessor is enabled or
not.
camlp4o
This is the reserved predicate for the standard OCaml syntax.
It can be used in the -syntax predicate list.
camlp4r
This is the reserved predicate for the revised OCaml syntax. It
can be used in the -syntax predicate list.
Special behaviour of 'ocamlmktop'
As there is a special module Topfind that supports loading of packages
in scripts, the "ocamlmktop" subcommand can add initialization code for
this module. This extra code is linked into the executable if "findlib"
is in the set of effectively linked packages.
Fixup of the dependency graph for multi-threading
For a number of reasons the presence of the "mt" predicate triggers
that (1) the package "threads" is added to the list of required pack-
ages and (2) the package "threads" becomes prerequisite of all other
packages (except of itself and a few hardcoded exceptions). The effect
is that the options -thread and -vmthread automatically select the
"threads" package, and that "threads" is inserted at the right position
in the package list.
Extended file naming
At a number of places one can not only refer to files by absolute or
relative path names, but also by extended names. These have two major
forms: "+name" refers to the subdirectory name of the standard library
directory, and "@name" refers to the package directory of the package
name. Both forms can be continued by a path, e.g. "@netstring/net-
string_top.cma".
You can use extended names: (1) With -I options, (2) as normal file ar-
guments of the compiler, (3) in the "archive" property of packages.
How to set the names of the compiler executables
Normally, the OCaml bytecode compiler can be called under the name
ocamlc. However, this is not always true; sometimes a different name is
chosen.
You can instruct ocamlfind to call executables with other names than
ocamlc, ocamlopt, ocamlmktop, and ocamlcp. If present, the environment
variable OCAMLFIND_COMMANDS is interpreted as a mapping from the stan-
dard names to the actual names of the executables. It must have the
following format:
standardname1=actualname1 standardname2=actualname2 ...
Example: You may set OCAMLFIND_COMMANDS as follows:
OCAMLFIND_COMMANDS='ocamlc=ocamlc-3.00 ocamlopt=ocamlopt-3.00'
export OCAMLFIND_COMMANDS
Alternatively, you can change the configuration file findlib.conf.
THE SUBCOMMAND 'ocamlmklib'
Synopsis
ocamlfind ocamlmklib
[ -package package-name-list |
-predicates pred-name-list |
-dllpath-pkg package-name-list |
-dllpath-all |
-passopt arg |
-passrest arg... |
standard-option ]
file ...
Description
This is a wrapper around ocamlmklib, and creates library archives and
DLLs. In addition to the standard options, one can use -package to add
the search path of packages. Note that no predicates are set by default
- the wrapper does not know whether this is about byte or native code
linking.
This wrapper is mostly provided for completeness.
THE 'ocamldep' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind ocamldep [-package package-name-list |
-syntax pred-name-list |
-ppopt camlp4-arg |
-passopt arg |
-passrest arg... |
-verbose |
standard-option] file ...
Description
This command is a driver for the tool ocamldep of the OCaml distribu-
tion. This driver is only useful in conjunction with the preprocessor
camlp4; otherwise it does not provide more functions than ocamldep it-
self.
Options
Here, only the additional options not interpreted by ocamldep but by
the driver itself, and options with additional effects are explained.
-package package-name-list
The packages named here are only used to look up the preproces-
sor options. The package camlp4 should be specified anyway, but
further packages that add capabilities to the preprocessor can
also be passed.
-syntax pred-name-list
The predicates that are in effect during the look-up of the pre-
processor options. At least, either camlp4o (selecting the nor-
mal syntax), or camlp4r (selecting the revised syntax) should be
specified.
-ppopt camlp4-arg
An option that is passed through to the camlp4 call.
-passopt arg
An option that is passed through to the ocamldep call.
-passrest arg...
All further arguments are passed down to ocamldep unprocessed
-verbose
Displays the resulting ocamldep command (for debugging)
Example
A typical way of using this driver:
ocamlfind ocamldep -package camlp4,xstrp4 -syntax camlp4r file1.ml file2.ml
This command outputs the dependencies of file1.ml and file2.ml, al-
though these modules make use of the syntax extensions provided by
xstrp4 and are written in revised syntax.
THE 'ocamlbrowser' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind ocamlbrowser [-package package-name-list |
-all |
-passopt arg
-passrest ]
Description
This driver calls the ocamlbrowser with package options. With -package,
the specified packages are included into the search path of the
browser, and the modules of these packages become visible (in addition
to the standard library). The option -all causes that all packages are
selected that are managed by findlib.
As for other drivers, the options -passopt and -passrest can be used to
pass arguments directly to the ocamlbrowser program.
THE SUBCOMMAND 'ocamldoc'
Synopsis
ocamlfind ocamldoc
[ -package package-name-list |
-predicates pred-name-list |
-syntax pred-name-list |
-ppopt camlp4-arg |
standard-option ]
file ...
Description
This subcommand is a driver for ocamldoc. It undestands all options
ocamldoc supports plus the mentioned findlib options. Basically, the
-package options are translated into -I options, and the selected syn-
tax options are translated into camlp4 options.
Options
Here, only the additional options not interpreted by ocamldep but by
the driver itself, and options with additional effects are explained.
-package package-name-list
Adds the listed package names to the set of included packages.
The package names may be separated by commas and/or whitespace.
In the transformed command, for every package of the set of in-
cluded packages and for any ancestor a directory search option
is inserted after the already given options. This means that
"-I" options are added for every package directory.
-predicates pred-name-list
Adds the given predicates to the set of actual predicates. The
predicates must be separated by commas and/or whitespace.
-syntax pred-name-list
The predicates that are in effect during the look-up of the pre-
processor options. At least, either camlp4o (selecting the nor-
mal syntax), or camlp4r (selecting the revised syntax) should be
specified.
-ppopt camlp4-arg
An option that is passed through to the camlp4 call.
THE 'install' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind install [ -destdir directory ]
[ -metadir directory ]
[ -ldconf path ]
[ -dont-add-directory-directive ]
[ -patch-version string ]
[ -patch-rmpkg name ]
[ -patch-archives ]
[ -dll ] [ -nodll ] [ -optional ] [ -add ]
package_name file ...
Description
This subcommand installs a new package either at the default location
(see the variable destdir of findlib.conf), or in the directory speci-
fied by the -destdir option. This means that a new package directory is
created and that the files on the command line are copied to this di-
rectory. It is required that a META file is one of the files copied to
the target directory.
Note that package directories should be flat (no subdirectories). Ex-
isting packages are never overwritten.
It is possible to have a separate directory for all the META files. If
you want that, you have either to set the variable metadir of find-
lib.conf, or to specify the -metadir option. In this case, the file
called META is copied to the specified directory and renamed to META.p
(where p is the package name), while all the other files are copied to
the package directory as usual. Furthermore, the META file is modified
such that the directory variable contains the path of the package di-
rectory.
The option -dont-add-directory-directive prevents the installer from
adding a directory variable.
If there are files ending in the suffixes .so or .dll, the package di-
rectory will be added to the DLL configuration file ld.conf, such that
the dynamic loader can find the DLL. The location of this file can be
overriden by the -ldconf option. To turn this feature off, use "-ldconf
ignore"; this causes that the ld.conf file is not modified.
However, if there is a stublibs directory in site-lib, the DLLs are not
installed in the package directory, but in this directory that is
shared by all packages that are installed at the same location. In this
case, the configuration file ld.conf is not modified, so you do not
need to say "-ldconf ignore" if you prefer this style of installation.
The options -dll and -nodll can be used to control exactly which files
are considered as DLLs and which not. By default, the mentioned suffix
rule is in effect: files ending in ".so" (Unix) or ".dll" (Windows) are
DLLs. The switch -dll changes this, and all following files are consid-
ered as DLLs, regardless of their suffix. The switch -nodll expresses
that the following files are not DLLs, even if they have a DLL-like
suffix. For example, in the following call the files f1 and f2 are han-
dled by the suffix rule; f3 and f4 are DLLs anyway; and f5 and f6 are
not DLLs:
ocamlfind install p f1 f2 -dll f3 f4 -nodll f5 f6
The switch -optional declares that all following files are optional,
i.e. the command will not fail if files do not exist.
The -patch options may be used to change the contents of the META files
while it is being installed. The option -patch-version changes the con-
tents of the top-level "version" variable. The option -patch-rmpkg re-
moves the given subpackage. The option -patch-archives is experimental,
in particular it removes all non-existing files from "archive" vari-
ables, and even whole subpackages if the archives are missing.
The effect of -add is to add further files to an already installed
packages.
THE 'remove' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind remove [ -destdir directory ]
[ -metadir directory ]
[ -ldconf path ]
package_name
Description
The package will removed if it is installed at the default location
(see the variable destdir of findlib.conf). If the package resides at a
different location, it will not be removed by default; however, you can
pass an alternate directory for packages by the -destdir option. (This
must be the same directory as specified at installation time.)
Note that package directories should be flat (no subdirectories); this
subcommand cannot remove deep package directories.
If you have a separate directory for META files, you must either con-
figure this directory by the metadir variable of findlib.conf, or by
specifying the -metadir option.
The command does not fail if the package and/or the META file cannot be
located. You will get a warning only in this case.
If the package directory is mentioned in the ld.conf configuration file
for DLLs, it will be tried to remove this entry from the file. The lo-
cation of this file can be overriden by the -ldconf option. To turn
this feature off, use "-ldconf ignore"; this causes that the ld.conf
file is not modified.
If there is a stublibs directory, it is checked whether the package
owns any of the files in this directory, and the owned files will be
deleted.
THE 'list' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind list [-describe]
Description
This command lists all packages in the search path. The option -de-
scribe outputs the package descriptions, too.
THE 'printppx' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind printppx
[ -predicates pred-name-list ]
[ -ppxopt package,arg ]
package ...
Description
This command prints the ppx preprocessor options as they would occur in
an OCaml compiler invocation for the packages listed in the command.
The output includes one "-ppx" option for each preprocessor. The possi-
ble options have the same meaning as for "ocamlfind ocamlc". The option
"-predicates" adds assumed predicates and "-ppxopt package,arg" adds
"arg" to the ppx invocation of package package.
The output of "ocamlfind printppx" will contain quotes """ for ppx com-
mands that contain space-separated arguments. In this case $(ocamlfind
printppx ...) won't work as naively expected, because many shells (in-
cluding bash and dash) perform field splitting on the result of command
substitutions without honoring quotes.
THE 'lint' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind lint file
Description
Checks the META file, and reports possible problems.
THE 'printconf' SUBCOMMAND
Synopsis
ocamlfind printconf [ conf | path | destdir | metadir | metapath | stdlib | ldconf ]
Description
This command prints the effective configuration after reading the con-
figuration file, and after applying the various environment variables
overriding settings. When called without arguments, the command prints
all configuration options in a human-readable form. When called with an
argument, only the value of the requested option is printed without ex-
plaining texts:
conf
Prints the location of the configuration file findlib.conf
path
Prints the search path for packages. The members of the path
are separated by linefeeds.
destdir
Prints the location where package are installed and removed by
default.
metadir
Prints the location where META files are installed and removed
(if the alternative layout is used).
metapath
Prints the path where the META file is installed for a fictive
package. The name of the package is marked with '%s' in the
path. For instance, this command could output
"/some/path/%s/META" or "/some/path/META.%s", depending on the
layout.
stdlib
Prints the location of the standard library.
ldconf
Prints the location of the ld.conf file
THE SUBCOMMAND CALLING PACKAGE PROGRAMS
Synopsis
ocamlfind pkg/cmd argument ...
Description
This subcommand is useful to call programs that are installed in pack-
age directories. It looks up the directory for pkg and calls the com-
mand named cmd in this directory. The remaining arguments are passed to
this command.
argv(0) contains the absolute path to the command, and argv(1) and the
following argv entries contain the arguments. The working directory is
not changed.
Example: To call the program "x" that is installed in package "p", with
arguments "y" and "z", run:
ocamlfind p/x y z
CONFIGURATION FILE, ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The configuration file and environment variables are documented in the
manual page for findlib.conf.
HOW TO SET THE TOOLCHAIN
Synopsis
ocamlfind -toolchain name ...
Description
The -toolchain option can be given before any other command, e.g.
ocamlfind -toolchain foo ocamlc -c file.ml
compiles file.ml with toolchain "foo". By selecting toolchains one can
switch to different command sets. For instance, the toolchain "foo" may
consist of a patched ocamlc compiler. See findlib.conf how to config-
ure toolchains.
User Manual The findlib package manager for OCaml ocamlfind(1)
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