conan create

$ conan create -h
WARN: Downgrading cache from Conan 2.3.2 to 2.0.17
usage: conan create [-h] [-v [V]] [-f FORMAT] [--name NAME]
                    [--version VERSION] [--user USER] [--channel CHANNEL]
                    [-l LOCKFILE] [--lockfile-partial]
                    [--lockfile-out LOCKFILE_OUT] [--lockfile-packages]
                    [--lockfile-clean]
                    [--lockfile-overrides LOCKFILE_OVERRIDES] [-b BUILD]
                    [-r REMOTE | -nr] [-u] [-pr PROFILE] [-pr:b PROFILE_BUILD]
                    [-pr:h PROFILE_HOST] [-pr:a PROFILE_ALL] [-o OPTIONS]
                    [-o:b OPTIONS_BUILD] [-o:h OPTIONS_HOST]
                    [-o:a OPTIONS_ALL] [-s SETTINGS] [-s:b SETTINGS_BUILD]
                    [-s:h SETTINGS_HOST] [-s:a SETTINGS_ALL] [-c CONF]
                    [-c:b CONF_BUILD] [-c:h CONF_HOST] [-c:a CONF_ALL]
                    [--build-require] [-tf TEST_FOLDER] [-bt BUILD_TEST]
                    path

Create a package.

positional arguments:
  path                  Path to a folder containing a recipe (conanfile.py)

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -v [V]                Level of detail of the output. Valid options from less
                        verbose to more verbose: -vquiet, -verror, -vwarning,
                        -vnotice, -vstatus, -v or -vverbose, -vv or -vdebug,
                        -vvv or -vtrace
  -f FORMAT, --format FORMAT
                        Select the output format: json
  --name NAME           Provide a package name if not specified in conanfile
  --version VERSION     Provide a package version if not specified in
                        conanfile
  --user USER           Provide a user if not specified in conanfile
  --channel CHANNEL     Provide a channel if not specified in conanfile
  -l LOCKFILE, --lockfile LOCKFILE
                        Path to a lockfile. Use --lockfile="" to avoid
                        automatic use of existing 'conan.lock' file
  --lockfile-partial    Do not raise an error if some dependency is not found
                        in lockfile
  --lockfile-out LOCKFILE_OUT
                        Filename of the updated lockfile
  --lockfile-packages   Lock package-id and package-revision information
  --lockfile-clean      Remove unused entries from the lockfile
  --lockfile-overrides LOCKFILE_OVERRIDES
                        Overwrite lockfile overrides
  -b BUILD, --build BUILD
                        Optional, specify which packages to build from source.
                        Combining multiple '--build' options on one command
                        line is allowed. Possible values: --build="*" Force
                        build from source for all packages. --build=never
                        Disallow build for all packages, use binary packages
                        or fail if a binary package is not found, it cannot be
                        combined with other '--build' options. --build=missing
                        Build packages from source whose binary package is not
                        found. --build=cascade Build packages from source that
                        have at least one dependency being built from source.
                        --build=[pattern] Build packages from source whose
                        package reference matches the pattern. The pattern
                        uses 'fnmatch' style wildcards. --build=~[pattern]
                        Excluded packages, which will not be built from the
                        source, whose package reference matches the pattern.
                        The pattern uses 'fnmatch' style wildcards.
                        --build=missing:[pattern] Build from source if a
                        compatible binary does not exist, only for packages
                        matching pattern.
  -r REMOTE, --remote REMOTE
                        Look in the specified remote or remotes server
  -nr, --no-remote      Do not use remote, resolve exclusively in the cache
  -u, --update          Will check the remote and in case a newer version
                        and/or revision of the dependencies exists there, it
                        will install those in the local cache. When using
                        version ranges, it will install the latest version
                        that satisfies the range. Also, if using revisions, it
                        will update to the latest revision for the resolved
                        version range.
  -pr PROFILE, --profile PROFILE
                        Apply the specified profile. By default, or if
                        specifying -pr:h (--profile:host), it applies to the
                        host context. Use -pr:b (--profile:build) to specify
                        the build context, or -pr:a (--profile:all) to specify
                        both contexts at once
  -pr:b PROFILE_BUILD, --profile:build PROFILE_BUILD
  -pr:h PROFILE_HOST, --profile:host PROFILE_HOST
  -pr:a PROFILE_ALL, --profile:all PROFILE_ALL
  -o OPTIONS, --options OPTIONS
                        Apply the specified options. By default, or if
                        specifying -o:h (--options:host), it applies to the
                        host context. Use -o:b (--options:build) to specify
                        the build context, or -o:a (--options:all) to specify
                        both contexts at once. Example: -o pkg:with_qt=true
  -o:b OPTIONS_BUILD, --options:build OPTIONS_BUILD
  -o:h OPTIONS_HOST, --options:host OPTIONS_HOST
  -o:a OPTIONS_ALL, --options:all OPTIONS_ALL
  -s SETTINGS, --settings SETTINGS
                        Apply the specified settings. By default, or if
                        specifying -s:h (--settings:host), it applies to the
                        host context. Use -s:b (--settings:build) to specify
                        the build context, or -s:a (--settings:all) to specify
                        both contexts at once. Example: -s compiler=gcc
  -s:b SETTINGS_BUILD, --settings:build SETTINGS_BUILD
  -s:h SETTINGS_HOST, --settings:host SETTINGS_HOST
  -s:a SETTINGS_ALL, --settings:all SETTINGS_ALL
  -c CONF, --conf CONF  Apply the specified conf. By default, or if specifying
                        -c:h (--conf:host), it applies to the host context.
                        Use -c:b (--conf:build) to specify the build context,
                        or -c:a (--conf:all) to specify both contexts at once.
                        Example: -c tools.cmake.cmaketoolchain:generator=Xcode
  -c:b CONF_BUILD, --conf:build CONF_BUILD
  -c:h CONF_HOST, --conf:host CONF_HOST
  -c:a CONF_ALL, --conf:all CONF_ALL
  --build-require       Whether the package being created is a build-require
                        (to be used as tool_requires() by other packages)
  -tf TEST_FOLDER, --test-folder TEST_FOLDER
                        Alternative test folder name. By default it is
                        "test_package". Use "" to skip the test stage
  -bt BUILD_TEST, --build-test BUILD_TEST
                        Same as '--build' but only for the test_package
                        requires. By default if not specified it will take the
                        '--build' value if specified

The conan create command creates a package from the recipe specified in path.

This command will first export the recipe to the local cache and then build and create the package. If a test_package folder (you can change the folder name with the -tf argument) is found, the command will run the consumer project to ensure that the package has been created correctly. Check testing Conan packages section to know more about how to test your Conan packages.

Tip

Sometimes you want to skip/disable the test stage. In that case you can skip/disable the test package stage by passing an empty value as the -tf argument:

$ conan create . --test-folder=

Using conan create with build requirements

The --build-require argument allows to create the package using the configuration and settings of the “build” context, as it was a build_require. This feature allows to create packages in a way that is consistent with the way they will be used later.

$ conan create . --name=cmake --version=3.23.1 --build-require

Conan create output

The conan create ... --format=json creates a json output containing the full dependency graph information. This json is the same as the one created with conan graph info (see the graph info json format) with extended information about the binaries, like a more complete cpp_info field. This resulting json is the dependency graph of the package recipe being created, excluding all the test_package and other possible dependencies of the test_package/conanfile.py. These dependencies only exist in the test_package functionality, and as such, are not part of the “main” product or package. If you are interested in capturing the dependency graph including the test_package (most likely not necessary in most cases), then you can do it running the conan test command separately.

The same happens for lockfiles created with --lockfile-out argument. The lockfile will only contain the created package and its transitive dependencies versions, but it will not contain the test_package or the transitive dependencies of the test_package/conanfile.py. It is possible to capture a lockfile which includes those with the conan test command (though again, this might not be really necessary)

Note

Best practice

In general, having test_package/conanfile.py with dependencies other than the tested one should be avoided. The test_package functionality should serve as a simple check to ensure the package is correctly created. Adding extra dependencies to test_package might indicate that the check is not straightforward or that its functionality is being misused. If, for any reason, your test_package has additional dependencies, you can control their build using the --build-test argument.

See also