Should I include scala-compiler as a dependency in build.sbt?

Question

I'm trying to build a project with scala 2.11.7 in intellij. I've set the scalaVersion to 2.11.7, but when I check the external libraries, I can see scala-compiler:2.11.0.

Do I need to declare scala-compiler:2.11.7 as a dependency in build.sbt? The docs are confusing, seemingly saying that I do need to and then not to in consecutive paragraphs:

When using a Scala dependency other than the standard library, add it as a normal managed dependency. For example, to depend on the Scala compiler,

libraryDependencies += "org.scala-lang" % "scala-compiler" % scalaVersion.value

and

In order to compile Scala code, run scaladoc, and provide a Scala REPL, sbt needs the scala-compiler jar. This should not be a normal dependency of the project, so sbt adds a dependency on scala-compiler in the special, private scala-tool configuration.

So... should I add it or not?

Answer 1

If your project's code uses scala-compiler (e.g. to parse or compile Scala code, to run a REPL, etc.), add it. Otherwise, don't. That's why the first quote says "When using a Scala dependency other than the standard library..."

scala-compiler shown in External Libraries is probably there because one of your other dependencies depends on it (and that version was compiled with Scala 2.11.0).