# About checking a package/library \`Manifest.toml\` into control version (again)

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/about-checking-a-package-library-manifest-toml-into-control-version-again/127490>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** package, dependencies, versions, environment, manifest\
**Created:** [March 29, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/about-checking-a-package-library-manifest-toml-into-control-version-again/127490 "2025-03-29T16:56:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 13

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**Author:** ![goerz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/goerz/32/3269_2.png) [@goerz](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/goerz)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/about-checking-a-package-library-manifest-toml-into-control-version-again/127490/13 "2025-03-30T21:55:46Z")

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I might have an idea for getting you the kind of reproducibility you’re looking for without any of the drawbacks of committing Manifest files, and within the limitations of the current `Pkg` and standard tooling:

1. Use [TestEnv.jl](https://github.com/JuliaTesting/TestEnv.jl) to get a REPL with the test environment of your package. This should work whether you use `[extras]` or `test/Project.toml`.
2. Use [`Pkg.status()`](https://pkgdocs.julialang.org/v1/api/#Pkg.status) to print the packages and their resolved version numbers in the environment. This would include both explicit and implicit test dependencies
3. Create a file `test/install_supported.jl` where you use [`Pkg.pin`](https://pkgdocs.julialang.org/v1/api/#Pkg.pin) commands to force all packages to the exact version shown earlier by `Pkg.status()`. You could probably write yourself a script to automate this process
4. At the top of `test/run_tests.jl`, conditionally `include` the `install_supported.jl` file. You could make this conditional on environment variables and/or `ARGS`: Both `Pkg.test` and the [`julia-runtest` actions](https://github.com/julia-actions/julia-runtest) allow passing arguments to `Pkg.test`
5. You might consider also creating a file `install_lowest_compat.jl` [where you pin all packages to the minimum version specified in your packages `compat` bounds](https://github.com/JuliaDocs/DocumenterCitations.jl/blob/c1b4f7a2fdf5341b6f57e694c155a5e8104110cd/.github/workflows/ci.yml#L55-L83).
6. In CI, create different jobs as desired, e.g. to run the tests without any arguments (with the “latest” compatible packages, what users would generally experience), with the “supported” versions, and the “lowest compat” versions. Similarly, when testing locally, call `Pkg.test` with the appropriate options the switch between these cases
7. On a regular basis, e.g., before making a release, update the pinned “supported” versions to the latest versions. This is more tedious that using auto-genererated Manifest files, but presumably something that could be automated.

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