# Current practice for specifying custom target dependencies?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/current-practice-for-specifying-custom-target-dependencies/31349>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** question, package, package-manager\
**Created:** [November 21, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/current-practice-for-specifying-custom-target-dependencies/31349 "2019-11-21T14:32:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![garborg](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/garborg/32/11446_2.png) [@garborg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/garborg)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/current-practice-for-specifying-custom-target-dependencies/31349/1 "2019-11-21T14:32:16Z")

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I’m looking to specify extra dependencies for code in an ‘example’ dir and separately for code in a ‘benchmark’ dir of a package. Akin to how ‘targets’ and ‘extras’ works for test dependencies.

Early discussions I saw around Pkg mention custom ‘targets’ as a future solution, e.g. [Aug '18 discussion](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/best-practices-for-examples-with-pkg3/13356/12)

It looks like specifying custom targets is valid, but Pkg doesn’t currently do anything with targets other than test, and whether or not to use ‘targets’ and ‘extras’ or separate manifest files for custom targets is not totally resolved, e.g. [JuliaLang/Pkg.jl#624](https://github.com/JuliaLang/Pkg.jl/issues/624) & [JuliaLang/Pkg.jl#744](https://github.com/JuliaLang/Pkg.jl/issues/744)

First, are there further developments on the topic that I missed here?

Second, any suggestions or examples on providing custom deps in the appropriate context, either that help when distributing packages or just in a local-dev context?

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**Author:** ![fredrikekre](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/fredrikekre/32/1688_2.png) [@fredrikekre](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/fredrikekre)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/current-practice-for-specifying-custom-target-dependencies/31349/2 "2019-11-21T14:35:08Z")

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See [https://github.com/JuliaLang/Pkg.jl/issues/1233](https://github.com/JuliaLang/Pkg.jl/issues/1233)

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**Author:** ![garborg](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/garborg/32/11446_2.png) [@garborg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/garborg)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/current-practice-for-specifying-custom-target-dependencies/31349/3 "2019-11-21T16:10:15Z")

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Thank you. #1233 and links therein cover both direction and the current state of affairs.

If anyone has anything smoothing over current workarounds, e.g. keeping distinct .tomls from diverging, please do share.