Difference between revisions of "Cabal/How to install a Cabal package"

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[[Category:How to]]
 
[[Category:How to]]
You've found an interesting Haskell package on [http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/pkg-list.html HackageDB]. How do you install it on your system?
 
   
 
There's an interesting Haskell package on [http://hackage.haskell.org/ Hackage] you'd like to try. How do you install it on your system?
# Check whether the package came with your Haskell implementation.
 
# If your [[:Category:OS|operating system]] has a packaging system (e.g. most Linux or BSD distributions), check whether it is already packaged there.
 
# Otherwise, you'll have to build and install the package. A program to automate this process, called [http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/hackage/wiki/CabalInstall ''cabal-install''], is under development. In the meantime, you'll have to do it manually:
 
## First, ensure that all the packages it depends on are installed (by following these instructions recursively).
 
## Unpack the tar file (yes, this assumes a Unix system; sorry about that ([[how to unpack a tar file in windows]])):
 
##:<code>tar xzf PACKAGE-VERSION.tar.gz</code>
 
## Move into the directory this creates:
 
##:<code>cd PACKAGE-VERSION</code>
 
## This directory should contain a file <code>Setup.hs</code> or <code>Setup.lhs</code>. In order to install a package globally, perform the following commands for the appropriate file (see the [http://www.haskell.org/ghc/docs/latest/html/Cabal/builders.html Cabal documentation] for more details):
 
##:<code>runghc Setup.hs configure</code>
 
##:<code>runghc Setup.hs build</code>
 
##:<code>runghc Setup.hs install</code>
 
#: If instead of installing globally, you just wish to install a package for your normal user account, you could instead use the following <code>configure</code> command, which would register the install in the user-specific database and install binaries and libraries in $HOME/bin, $HOME/lib, and so forth:
 
#::<code>runghc Setup.hs configure --user --prefix=$HOME</code>
 
#: You can get more information about any of these commands by adding <code>--help</code> after the command. For example, to see all the options available for the <code>configure</code> step, you could use the following command:
 
#::<code>runghc Setup.hs configure --help</code>
 
#: Lastly, if you encounter unsatisfied dependencies when you run the configure step, that is when you recurse and first install the missing package.
 
   
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== Installing a library ==
'''Note''': If you have more than one Haskell compiler on your system,
 
use the <code>--with-compiler</code> option for the
 
<code>configure</code> step. That will ensure that Cabal
 
uses the correct compiler during the entire installation process.
 
For example:
 
   
  +
While it is possible to "install" a library package "globally" it is most certainly a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_hell bad idea].
<code>
 
  +
runghc Setup.hs configure --with-compiler=ghc-6.8.2
 
  +
You should use project environment and package dependencies.
runghc Setup.hs build
 
  +
runghc Setup.hs install
 
  +
Please read the instructions for your package tool on how to set things up:
</code>
 
  +
  +
* https://cabal.readthedocs.io/en/3.4/getting-started.html
  +
* https://docs.haskellstack.org/en/stable/README/#quick-start-guide
  +
  +
== Installing an executable ==
  +
  +
First, check your package site for binary releases. It may turn out you don't have to build anything.
  +
  +
If you have to build from source, clone a package repository and look for the project files it uses. Then build with the appropriate project tool.
  +
  +
You may want to tweak the project file to use different options or dependency sets.
  +
  +
You may now use executables right from their build environment or copy them to your search $PATH.

Latest revision as of 10:06, 10 March 2021


There's an interesting Haskell package on Hackage you'd like to try. How do you install it on your system?

Installing a library

While it is possible to "install" a library package "globally" it is most certainly a bad idea.

You should use project environment and package dependencies.

Please read the instructions for your package tool on how to set things up:

Installing an executable

First, check your package site for binary releases. It may turn out you don't have to build anything.

If you have to build from source, clone a package repository and look for the project files it uses. Then build with the appropriate project tool.

You may want to tweak the project file to use different options or dependency sets.

You may now use executables right from their build environment or copy them to your search $PATH.