How to register a local Julia package in a local registry?

Question

I have a Julia package in my home directory under the name Foo. Foo is a directory with Project.toml file that describes the package dependences, name, etc. I want to be able to use this package from another folder in a particular manner as follows.

1. Build the package Foo
2. Register Foo in a local Julia repository
3. Run Pkg.add("Foo") from anywhere on the system, such as script.jl which would have the following:

using Pkg
Pkg.add("Foo")
using Foo

# Now use Foo
Foo.bar()

Here is what I've tried so far.

• Navigate to Baz directory where I want to run Baz/script.jl
• Use repl, hit ] and run dev --local PATH_TO_FOO
• From repl, run using Foo
• Foo is now accessible in the current repl session (or script)
• Summary: I have managed to import a package Foo in another directory Baz.

Basically, I want to be able to write a script.jl that can make use of the local registry instead of this dev --local . method.

Answer 1

I assume that this is for personal use and you are not a system administrator for a large group.

Maintaining a registry is hard work. I would avoid creating a registry if at all possible. If your goal is to make the use of scripts less painful, a lighter solution exists: shared environments.

A shared environment is a regular environment, created in a canonical location. This means that Pkg will be able to locate it by name: you do not have to specify an explicit path.

To set up a shared environment:

• give it a name: Pkg.activate("ScriptEnvironment"; shared=true)
• populate it: Pkg.add(Pkg.PackageSpec(; path="/path/to/Foo")) (depending on your use case, you can also use Pkg.develop, add registered packages, etc)
• that's all!

Now all your scripts can use the shared environment:

using Pkg
Pkg.activate("ScriptEnvironment"; shared=true)
using Foo

If other sets of scripts require different sets of packages, repeat the procedure with a different shared name. Pkg environments are really cheap so feel free to make liberal use of this approach.

---

Note: I would discourage beginning scripts with Pkg.add("Foo") because this carries the risk of inadvertently polluting the active environment.

Answer 2

There are some instructions on registry creation and maintenance at https://github.com/HolyLab/HolyLabRegistry.