conan list

$ conan list -h
WARN: Downgrading cache from Conan 2.2.3 to 2.0.17
usage: conan list [-h] [-v [V]] [-f FORMAT] [-p PACKAGE_QUERY] [-r REMOTE]
                  [-c] [-g GRAPH] [-gb GRAPH_BINARIES] [-gr GRAPH_RECIPES]
                  [--lru LRU]
                  [pattern]

List existing recipes, revisions, or packages in the cache (by default) or the remotes.

positional arguments:
  pattern               A pattern in the form
                        'pkg/version#revision:package_id#revision', e.g:
                        zlib/1.2.13:* means all binaries for zlib/1.2.13. If
                        revision is not specified, it is assumed latest one.

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, html, compact
  -p PACKAGE_QUERY, --package-query PACKAGE_QUERY
                        List only the packages matching a specific query, e.g,
                        os=Windows AND (arch=x86 OR compiler=gcc)
  -r REMOTE, --remote REMOTE
                        Remote names. Accepts wildcards ('*' means all the
                        remotes available)
  -c, --cache           Search in the local cache
  -g GRAPH, --graph GRAPH
                        Graph json file
  -gb GRAPH_BINARIES, --graph-binaries GRAPH_BINARIES
                        Which binaries are listed
  -gr GRAPH_RECIPES, --graph-recipes GRAPH_RECIPES
                        Which recipes are listed
  --lru LRU             List recipes and binaries that have not been recently
                        used. Use a time limit like --lru=5d (days) or
                        --lru=4w (weeks), h (hours), m(minutes)

The conan list command can list recipes and packages from the local cache, from the specified remotes or from both. This command uses a reference pattern as input. The structure of this pattern is based on a complete Conan reference that looks like:

name/version@user/channel#rrev:pkgid#prev

This pattern supports using * as wildcard as well as #latest to specify the latest revision (though that might not be necessary in most cases, by default Conan will be listing the latest revisions).

Using it you can list:

  • Recipe references (name/version@user/channel).

  • Recipe revisions (name/version@user/channel#rrev).

  • Package IDs and their configurations (name/version@user/channel#rrev:pkgids).

  • Package revisions (name/version@user/channel#rrev:pkgids#prev).

Warning

The json output of the conan list --format=json is in preview. See the Conan stability section for more information.

Let’s see some examples on how to use this pattern:

Listing recipe references

list all references on local cache
  # Make sure to quote the argument
  $ conan list "*"
  Local Cache
    hello
      hello/2.26.1@mycompany/testing
      hello/2.20.2@mycompany/testing
      hello/1.0.4@mycompany/testing
      hello/2.3.2@mycompany/stable
      hello/1.0.4@mycompany/stable
    string-view-lite
      string-view-lite/1.6.0
    zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
list all versions of a reference
  $ conan list zlib
  Local Cache
    zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
      zlib/1.2.12

As we commented, you can also use the * wildcard inside the reference you want to search.

list all versions of a reference, equivalent to the previous one
# Make sure to quote the argument
$ conan list "zlib/*"
Local Cache
  zlib
    zlib/1.2.11
    zlib/1.2.12

You can also use version ranges in the version field to define the versions you want:

list version ranges
# Make sure to quote the argument
$ conan list "zlib/[<1.2.12]" -r=conancenter
Local Cache
  zlib
    zlib/1.2.11
$ conan list "zlib/[>1.2.11]" -r=conancenter
Local Cache
  zlib
    zlib/1.2.12
    zlib/1.2.13

Use the pattern for searching only references matching a specific channel:

list references with ‘stable’ channel
$ conan list "*/*@*/stable"
Local Cache
  hello
    hello/2.3.2@mycompany/stable
    hello/1.0.4@mycompany/stable

Use the ...@ pattern for searching only references that don’t have user and channel:

list references without user and channel
$ conan list "*/*@"
Local Cache
  string-view-lite
    string-view-lite/1.6.0
  zlib
    zlib/1.2.11

Listing recipe revisions

The shortest way of listing the latest recipe revision for a recipe is using the name/version@user/channel as the pattern:

list latest recipe revision
$ conan list zlib/1.2.11
Local Cache
  zlib
    zlib/1.2.11
      revisions
        ffa77daf83a57094149707928bdce823 (2022-11-02 13:46:53 UTC)

This is equivalent to specify explicitly that you want to list the latest recipe revision using the #latest placeholder:

list latest recipe revision
$ conan list zlib/1.2.11#latest
Local Cache
  zlib
    zlib/1.2.11
      revisions
        ffa77daf83a57094149707928bdce823 (2022-11-02 13:46:53 UTC)

To list all recipe revisions use the * wildcard:

list all recipe revisions
  $ conan list "zlib/1.2.11#*""
  Local Cache
    zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
        revisions
          ffa77daf83a57094149707928bdce823 (2022-11-02 13:46:53 UTC)
          8b23adc7acd6f1d6e220338a78e3a19e (2022-10-19 09:19:10 UTC)
          ce3665ce19f82598aa0f7ac0b71ee966 (2022-10-14 11:42:21 UTC)
          31ee767cb2828e539c42913a471e821a (2022-10-12 05:49:39 UTC)
          d77ee68739fcbe5bf37b8a4690eea6ea (2022-08-05 17:17:30 UTC)

Listing package IDs

The shortest way of listing all the package IDs belonging to the latest recipe revision is using name/version@user/channel:* as the pattern:

list all package IDs for latest recipe revision
  # Make sure to quote the argument
  $ conan list "zlib/1.2.11:*"
  Local Cache
    zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
        revisions
          d77ee68739fcbe5bf37b8a4690eea6ea (2022-08-05 17:17:30 UTC)
          packages
            d0599452a426a161e02a297c6e0c5070f99b4909
              info
                settings
                  arch: x86_64
                  build_type: Release
                  compiler: apple-clang
                  compiler.version: 12.0
                  os: Macos
                options
                  fPIC: True
                  shared: False
            ebec3dc6d7f6b907b3ada0c3d3cdc83613a2b715
              info
                settings
                  arch: x86_64
                  build_type: Release
                  compiler: gcc
                  compiler.version: 11
                  os: Linux
                options
                  fPIC: True
                  shared: False

Note

Here the #latest for the recipe revision is implicit, i.e., that pattern is equivalent to zlib/1.2.11#latest:*

To list all the package IDs for all the recipe revisions use the * wildcard in the revision # part:

list all the package IDs for all the recipe revisions
  # Make sure to quote the argument
  $ conan list "zlib/1.2.11#*:*"
  zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
        revisions
          d77ee68739fcbe5bf37b8a4690eea6ea (2022-08-05 17:17:30 UTC)
            packages
              d0599452a426a161e02a297c6e0c5070f99b4909
                info
                  settings
                    arch: x86_64
                    build_type: Release
                    compiler: apple-clang
                    compiler.version: 12.0
                    os: Macos
                  options
                    fPIC: True
                    shared: False
          e4e1703f72ed07c15d73a555ec3a2fa1 (2022-07-04 21:21:45 UTC)
            packages
              d0599452a426a161e02a297c6e0c5070f99b4909
                info
                  settings
                    arch: x86_64
                    build_type: Release
                    compiler: apple-clang
                    compiler.version: 12.0
                    os: Macos
                  options
                    fPIC: True
                    shared: False

Listing package revisions

The shortest way of listing the latest package revision for a specific recipe revision and package ID is using the pattern name/version@user/channel#rrev:pkgid

list latest package revision for a specific recipe revision and package ID
  $ conan list zlib/1.2.11#8b23adc7acd6f1d6e220338a78e3a19e:fdb823f07bc228621617c6397210a5c6c4c8807b
  Local Cache
    zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
        revisions
          8b23adc7acd6f1d6e220338a78e3a19e (2022-08-05 17:17:30 UTC)
          packages
            fdb823f07bc228621617c6397210a5c6c4c8807b
              revisions
                4834a9b0d050d7cf58c3ab391fe32e25 (2022-11-18 12:33:31 UTC)

To list all the package revisions for for the latest recipe revision:

list all the package revisions for all package-ids the latest recipe revision
  # Make sure to quote the argument
  $ conan list "zlib/1.2.11:*#*"
  Local Cache
    zlib
      zlib/1.2.11
        revisions
          6a6451bbfcb0e591333827e9784d7dfa (2022-12-29 11:51:39 UTC)
          packages
            b1d267f77ddd5d10d06d2ecf5a6bc433fbb7eeed
              revisions
                67bb089d9d968cbc4ef69e657a03de84 (2022-12-29 11:47:36 UTC)
                5e196dbea832f1efee1e70e058a7eead (2022-12-29 11:47:26 UTC)
                26475a416fa5b61cb962041623748d73 (2022-12-29 11:02:14 UTC)
            d15c4f81b5de757b13ca26b636246edff7bdbf24
              revisions
                a2eb7f4c8f2243b6e80ec9e7ee0e1b25 (2022-12-29 11:51:40 UTC)

Note

Here the #latest for the recipe revision is implicit, i.e., that pattern is equivalent to zlib/1.2.11#latest:*#*

Listing graph artifacts

When the conan list --graph=<graph.json> graph json file is provided, the command will list the binaries in it. By default, it will list all recipes and binaries included in the dependency graph. But the --graph-recipes=<recipe-mode> and --graph-binaries=<binary-mode> allow specifying what artifacts have to be listed in the final result, some examples:

  • conan list --graph=graph.json --graph-binaries=build list exclusively the recipes and binaries that have been built from sources

  • conan list --graph=graph.json --graph-recipes=* list exclusively the recipes, all recipes, but no binaries

  • conan list --graph=graph.json --graph-binaries=download list exclusively the binaries that have been downloaded in the last conan create or conan install

List json output format

Note

Best practices

The text output in the terminal should never be parsed or relied on for automation, and it is intended for human reading only. For any automation, the recommended way is using the formatted output as json

The conan list ... --format=json will return a json output in stdout (which can be redirected to a file) with the following structure:

# Make sure to quote the argument
$ conan list "zlib/1.2.11:*#*" --format=json
{
  "Local Cache": {
    "zli/1.0.0": {
      "revisions": {
        "b58eeddfe2fd25ac3a105f72836b3360": {
          "timestamp": "2023-01-10 16:30:27 UTC",
          "packages": {
            "9a4eb3c8701508aa9458b1a73d0633783ecc2270": {
              "revisions": {
                "d9b1e9044ee265092e81db7028ae10e0": {
                  "timestamp": "2023-01-10 22:45:49 UTC"
                }
              },
              "info": {
                "settings": {
                   "os": "Linux"
                }
              }
            },
            "ebec3dc6d7f6b907b3ada0c3d3cdc83613a2b715": {
              "revisions": {
                "d9b1e9044ee265092e81db7028ae10e0": {
                  "timestamp": "2023-01-10 22:45:49 UTC"
                }
              },
              "info": {
                "settings": {
                  "os": "Windows"
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

List html output format

The conan list ... --format=html will return a html output in stdout (which can be redirected to a file) with the following structure:

$ conan list "zlib/1.2.13#*:*#*" --format=html -c > list.html

Here is the rendered generated HTML.

../../_images/conan-list-html.png

List compact output format

For developers, it can be convenient to use the --format=compact output, because it allows to copy and paste full references into other commands (like for example conan cache path):

$ conan list "zlib/1.2.13:*" -r=conancenter --format=compact
conancenter
  zlib/1.2.13
    zlib/1.2.13#97d5730b529b4224045fe7090592d4c1%1692672717.68 (2023-08-22 02:51:57 UTC)
      zlib/1.2.13#97d5730b529b4224045fe7090592d4c1:d62dff20d86436b9c58ddc0162499d197be9de1e
        settings: Macos, x86_64, Release, apple-clang, 13
        options(diff): fPIC=True, shared=False
      zlib/1.2.13#97d5730b529b4224045fe7090592d4c1:abe5e2b04ea92ce2ee91bc9834317dbe66628206
        settings: Linux, x86_64, Release, gcc, 11
        options(diff): shared=True
      zlib/1.2.13#97d5730b529b4224045fe7090592d4c1:ae9eaf478e918e6470fe64a4d8d4d9552b0b3606
        settings: Windows, x86_64, Release, msvc, dynamic, Release, 192
        options(diff): shared=True
    ...

The --format=compact will show the list of values for settings, and it will only show the differences (“diff”) for options, that is, it will compute the common denominator of options for all displayed packages, and will print only those values that deviate from that common denominator.