cargo package - The Cargo Book

# cargo package

## NAME

cargo-package - Assemble the local package into a distributable tarball

## SYNOPSIS

`cargo package [OPTIONS]`

## DESCRIPTION

This command will create a distributable, compressed `.crate` file with the source code of the package in the current directory. The resulting file will be stored in the `target/package` directory. This performs the following steps:

1. Load and check the current workspace, performing some basic checks.

   - Path dependencies are not allowed unless they have a version key. Cargo will ignore the path key for dependencies in published packages. `dev-dependencies` do not have this restriction.

2. Create the compressed `.crate` file.

   - The original `Cargo.toml` file is rewritten and normalized.

   - `[patch]`, `[replace]`, and `[workspace]` sections are removed from the manifest.

   - `Cargo.lock` is automatically included if the package contains an executable binary or example target. cargo-install(1) will use the packaged lock file if the `--locked` flag is used.

   - A `.cargo_vcs_info.json` file is included that contains information about the current VCS checkout hash if available (not included with `--allow-dirty`).

3. Extract the `.crate` file and build it to verify it can build.

   - This will rebuild your package from scratch to ensure that it can be built from a pristine state. The `--no-verify` flag can be used to skip this step.

4. Check that build scripts did not modify any source files.

The list of files included can be controlled with the `include` and `exclude` fields in the manifest.

See the reference for more details about packaging and publishing.

## OPTIONS

### Package Options

-l
--list

  Print files included in a package without making one.

--no-verify

  Don’t verify the contents by building them.

--no-metadata

  Ignore warnings about a lack of human-usable metadata (such as the description or the license).

--allow-dirty

  Allow working directories with uncommitted VCS changes to be packaged.

### Compilation Options

--target TRIPLE

  Package for the given architecture. The default is the host architecture. The general format of the triple is `<arch><sub>-<vendor>-<sys>-<abi>`. Run `rustc --print target-list` for a list of supported targets.

  This may also be specified with the `build.target` config value.

  Note that specifying this flag makes Cargo run in a different mode where the target artifacts are placed in a separate directory. See the build cache documentation for more details.

--target-dir DIRECTORY

  Directory for all generated artifacts and intermediate files. May also be specified with the `CARGO_TARGET_DIR` environment variable, or the `build.target-dir` config value. Defaults to `target` in the root of the workspace.

### Feature Selection

The feature flags allow you to control the enabled features for the "current" package. The "current" package is the package in the current directory, or the one specified in `--manifest-path`. If running in the root of a virtual workspace, then the default features are selected for all workspace members, or all features if `--all-features` is specified.

When no feature options are given, the `default` feature is activated for every selected package.

--features FEATURES

  Space or comma separated list of features to activate. These features only apply to the current directory’s package. Features of direct dependencies may be enabled with `<dep-name>/<feature-name>` syntax. This flag may be specified multiple times, which enables all specified features.

--all-features

  Activate all available features of all selected packages.

--no-default-features

  Do not activate the `default` feature of the current directory’s package.

### Manifest Options

--manifest-path PATH

  Path to the `Cargo.toml` file. By default, Cargo searches for the `Cargo.toml` file in the current directory or any parent directory.

--frozen
--locked

  Either of these flags requires that the `Cargo.lock` file is up-to-date. If the lock file is missing, or it needs to be updated, Cargo will exit with an error. The `--frozen` flag also prevents Cargo from attempting to access the network to determine if it is out-of-date.

  These may be used in environments where you want to assert that the `Cargo.lock` file is up-to-date (such as a CI build) or want to avoid network access.

--offline

  Prevents Cargo from accessing the network for any reason. Without this flag, Cargo will stop with an error if it needs to access the network and the network is not available. With this flag, Cargo will attempt to proceed without the network if possible.

  Beware that this may result in different dependency resolution than online mode. Cargo will restrict itself to crates that are downloaded locally, even if there might be a newer version as indicated in the local copy of the index. See the cargo-fetch(1) command to download dependencies before going offline.

  May also be specified with the `net.offline` config value.

### Miscellaneous Options

-j N
--jobs N

  Number of parallel jobs to run. May also be specified with the `build.jobs` config value. Defaults to the number of CPUs.

### Display Options

-v
--verbose

  Use verbose output. May be specified twice for "very verbose" output which includes extra output such as dependency warnings and build script output. May also be specified with the `term.verbose` config value.

-q
--quiet

  No output printed to stdout.

--color WHEN

  Control when colored output is used. Valid values:

  - `auto` (default): Automatically detect if color support is available on the terminal.

  - `always`: Always display colors.

  - `never`: Never display colors.

  May also be specified with the `term.color` config value.

### Common Options

+TOOLCHAIN

  If Cargo has been installed with rustup, and the first argument to `cargo` begins with `+`, it will be interpreted as a rustup toolchain name (such as `+stable` or `+nightly`). See the rustup documentation for more information about how toolchain overrides work.

-h
--help

  Prints help information.

-Z FLAG…​

  Unstable (nightly-only) flags to Cargo. Run `cargo -Z help` for details.

## ENVIRONMENT

See the reference for details on environment variables that Cargo reads.

## Exit Status

0

  Cargo succeeded.

101

  Cargo failed to complete.

## EXAMPLES

1. Create a compressed `.crate` file of the current package:

       cargo package

## SEE ALSO

cargo(1), cargo-publish(1)