conan new¶

Create a new recipe (with a conanfile.py and other associated files) from either a predefined or a user-defined template.

conan new¶

$ conan new -h
usage: conan new [-h] [-v [V]] [-d DEFINE] [-f] template

Create a new example recipe and source files from a template.

positional arguments:
  template              Template name, either a predefined built-in or a user-
                        provided one. Available built-in templates: basic,
                        cmake_lib, cmake_exe, meson_lib, meson_exe,
                        msbuild_lib, msbuild_exe, bazel_lib, bazel_exe,
                        autotools_lib, autotools_exe. E.g. 'conan new
                        cmake_lib -d name=hello -d version=0.1'. You can
                        define your own templates too by inputting an absolute
                        path as your template, or a path relative to your
                        conan home folder.

optional arguments:
  -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
  -d DEFINE, --define DEFINE
                        Define a template argument as key=value, e.g., -d
                        name=mypkg
  -f, --force           Overwrite file if it already exists

The conan new command creates a new recipe in the current working directory, plus extra example files such as CMakeLists.txt or the test_package folder (as necessary), to either be used as a basis for your own project or aiding in the debugging process.

Note that each template has some required and some [optional] user-defined variables used to customize the resulting files.

The available templates are:

basic: Creates a simple recipe with some example code and helpful comments, and is a good starting point to avoid writing boilerplate code.

Its variables are: [name], [version], [description], [requires1, requires2, …], [tool_requires1, tool_requires2, …]
alias: Creates the minimal recipe needed to define an alias to a target recipe

Its variables are: name, [version], target
cmake_lib: Creates a cmake library target that defines a function called name, which will print some information about the compilation environment to stdout. You can add requirements to this template in the form of

conan new cmake_lib -d name=ai -d version=1.0 -d requires=math/3.14 -d requires=magic/0.0

This will add requirements for both math/3.14 and magic/0.0 to the requirements() method, will add the necessary find_package``s in CMake, and add a call to ``math() and magic() inside the generated ai() function.

Its variables are: name, version, [requires1, requires2, …], [tool_requires1, tool_requires2, …]
cmake_exe: Creates a cmake executable target that defines a function called name, which will print some information about the compilation environment to stdout. You can add requirements to this template in the form of

conan new cmake_exe -d name=game -d version=1.0 -d requires=math/3.14 -d requires=ai/1.0

This will add requirements for both math/3.14 and ai/1.0 to the requirements() method, will add the necessary find_package``s in CMake, and add a call to ``math() and ai() inside the generated game() function.

Its variables are: name, version, [requires1, requires2, …], [tool_requires1, tool_requires2, …]
autotools_lib: Creates an Autotools library.

Its variables are: name, version
autotools_exe: Creates an Autotools executable

Its variables are: name, version
bazel_lib: Bazel integration BazelDeps, BazelToolchain, Bazel is experimental. Creates a Bazel library.

Its variables are: name, version
bazel_exe: Bazel integration BazelDeps, BazelToolchain, Bazel is experimental. Creates a Bazel executable

Its variables are: name, version
meson_lib: Creates a Meson library.

Its variables are: name, version
meson_exe: Creates a Meson executable

Its variables are: name, version
msbuild_lib: Creates a MSBuild library.

Its variables are: name, version
msbuild_exe: Creates a MSBuild executable

Its variables are: name, version

Warning

The output of the predefined built-in templates is not stable. It might change in future releases to adapt to the latest tools or good practices.

Examples¶

$ conan new basic

Generates a basic conanfile.py that does not implement any custom functionality

$ conan new basic -d name=mygame -d requires=math/1.0 -d requires=ai/1.3

Generates a conanfile.py for mygame that depends on the packages math/1.0 and ai/1.3

$ conan new cmake_exe -d name=game -d version=1.0 -d requires=math/3.14 -d requires=ai/1.0

Generates the necessary files for a CMake executable target. This will add requirements for both math/3.14 and ai/1.0 to the requirements() method, will add the necessary find_package in CMake, and add a call to math() and ai() inside the generated game() function.

Custom templates¶

There’s also the possibility to create your own templates by passing a path to your template directory, both as an absolute path, or relative to your Conan home folder. This directory should contain Jinja2 templates, which will produce your desired template structure. You can use custom variables that will be needed to be passed as name and `version does, or use your custom variables.