# Generating a package with PkgTemplate for existing code

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163>\
**Category:** New to Julia\
**Tags:** package, first-steps\
**Created:** [June 11, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163 "2019-06-11T19:11:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 17\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tim-oh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tim-oh/32/8410_2.png) [@tim-oh](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/tim-oh)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/1 "2019-06-11T19:11:12Z")

</div>

I’ve been writing code a (first) Julia package with src and test folders. It’s saved on my laptop and pushed to a GitHub repo. I’d like to turn my code into a package so that it can be run by others, checks code coverage, to try out Travis etc.

I tried to follow the [QuantEcon tutorial](https://lectures.quantecon.org/jl/testing.html), but those instructions are for starting a package from scratch. Since I already have code, I’m wary of deleting something in the process of generating the package, or messing with the git history, leaving me unable to recover my work. If I execute in the REPL:

`using PkgTemplate`  
`myTemplate = Template(; dir="mydir", plugins = [TravisCI(), Codecov()])`  
`generate( myTemplate, "MyPackageName; git=false)`

will that generate the package with the code in folder mydir, including the mydir git files?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jlperla](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jlperla/32/34332_2.png) [@jlperla](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jlperla)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/2 "2019-06-12T04:12:09Z")

</div>

I think you are right to be paranoid. The last time I checked, PkgTemplates did git operations on what was generated. I would strongly prefer that it just generated files and left git operations to us, but so be it…

My suggestion is to get the files generated from PkgTemplates and manually merge. For example, generate MyPackageName2, get the generated files and do global search/replace to get rid of the 2,then merge into your project.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamas\_Papp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tamas_papp/32/25949_2.png) [@Tamas\_Papp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tamas_Papp)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 8:29am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/3 "2019-06-12T08:29:17Z")

</div>

> [@jlperla](#):
>
> I would strongly prefer that it just generated files and left git operations to us, but so be it…

There is

> **[GitHub - tpapp/skeleton.jl: Julia script for creating new packages quickly.](https://github.com/tpapp/skeleton.jl)**
>
> Julia script for creating new packages quickly. Contribute to tpapp/skeleton.jl development by creating an account on GitHub.

which does a `git init`, and nothing more. And it also aborts if the destination directory exists.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jlperla](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jlperla/32/34332_2.png) [@jlperla](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jlperla)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/4 "2019-06-12T14:31:25Z")

</div>

Great. Does it support windows?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamas\_Papp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tamas_papp/32/25949_2.png) [@Tamas\_Papp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tamas_Papp)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/5 "2019-06-12T14:34:30Z")

</div>

I haven’t tried. It is written in Julia and needs a `git` binary, nothing else. Happy to fix if necessary for Windows, just open an issue.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jlperla](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jlperla/32/34332_2.png) [@jlperla](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jlperla)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/6 "2019-06-12T16:19:55Z")

</div>

Thanks, I will take a look over the summer. Looks like [https://github.com/invenia/PkgTemplates.jl/blob/master/src/generate.jl](https://github.com/invenia/PkgTemplates.jl/blob/master/src/generate.jl) uses LibGit2 instead, which doesn’t rely on having `git` in the path. I fear a lot of non-programmer users wouldn’t have git installed at the command-line which makes it less robust, but worth pointing out for others who know what they are doing.

What do you see as the primary difference with Skeleton? Do you think of it as being more bare-bones and opinionated on choosing specific options (which, for the most part, I am usually a fan of).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamas\_Papp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tamas_papp/32/25949_2.png) [@Tamas\_Papp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tamas_Papp)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/7 "2019-06-12T17:01:58Z")

</div>

> [@jlperla](#):
>
> What do you see as the primary difference with Skeleton?

I don’t know enough about PkgTemplates to compare, but I guess when it comes to the implementation, skeleton.jl is more _lightweight_. The whole code is _100 LOC_ including frills. It is something one could hammer out in an afternoon (I did), basically replacing text in template files.

When it comes to templates, I don’t think I am very opinionated, I pretty much try to keep up with standard good practices.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ffevotte](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/ffevotte/32/6587_2.png) [@ffevotte](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ffevotte)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/8 "2019-06-12T20:28:25Z")

</div>

> [@jlperla](#):
>
> Does it support windows?

Yes, provided that git is correctly found in the PATH (which, as you noted a few posts later, seems to be less frequently the case on windows machines than e.g. Linux in my experience)

> [@jlperla](#):
>
> What do you see as the primary difference with Skeleton?

Skeleton’s and PkgTemplates’ approaches are very different. Skeleton is definitely more lightweight, with the code being kept to a bare minimum, and all the knowledge in the template (which is nothing more than a bunch of files with anchors). This means it is very easy to use, very easy to extend (just copy/modify the template to include everything you want) but at the same time not very flexible (i.e. it more or less always does the same thing). Also, Skeleton is a script, meant to be run from a command-line (with which I have found Windows users to be sometimes unfamiliar)

On the contrary, PkgTemplate is a Julia package, providing various functions allowing to build templates according to user-provided options (i.e. you may select a different set of options for each project you build, and you can easily create several projects with the same settings). This makes it more flexible, but also less easy to extend (I haven’t looked much into it, but at least I’m sure it’s not as straightforward to extend/modify the templates as with Skeleton; this has been the main showstopper for me). PkgTemplates being a Julia package also makes it easier to user directly from the Julia REPL (e.g. from Juno/VScode for the less tech-savvy users)

On the whole, I have not spent too much time investigating PkgTemplates, but I’ve been a happy user of Skeleton for a few months, the only downside being that when I use it for training windows users, I always run into problems with the git environment and users not being very much at ease with the console…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jlperla](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jlperla/32/34332_2.png) [@jlperla](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jlperla)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 8:42pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/9 "2019-06-12T20:42:01Z")

</div>

> [@ffevotte](#):
>
> I always run into problems with the git environment and users not being very much at ease with the console…

Thanks, much appreciated. Yeah, my general feeling is to push tools that are usable by non-programmers (i.e. usually windows and loath to use a console). But Skeleton sounds like a great solution for those that are a tiny bit more advanced.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ffevotte](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/ffevotte/32/6587_2.png) [@ffevotte](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ffevotte)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/10 "2019-06-12T20:50:23Z")

</div>

I’ve been meaning to transform Skeleton.jl into a package so that users could use it within Juno. (I think Tamas also has it on his TODO list, for different reasons: it would simplify the QA & testing process)

Added to your suggestion of eliminating the need for a specific git configuration (via the use of LibGit2), I think this would make a very fine package generator which would be very easy to use for all users, on all platforms.

But I’ve never really gotten around to it. I do have a hackish solution which I use as a last resort when I encounter too many problems during the Julia trainings, but it’s far from being ready for public consumption. Maybe we could work on this together… What do you think?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tim-oh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tim-oh/32/8410_2.png) [@tim-oh](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/tim-oh)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/11 "2019-06-12T21:59:26Z")

</div>

Excellent, thanks! I’m now getting stuck in the code\_warntype rabbit hole, but will try this once out.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jlperla](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jlperla/32/34332_2.png) [@jlperla](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jlperla)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:58am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/12 "2019-06-13T04:58:51Z")

</div>

> [@ffevotte](#):
>
> What do you think?

I guess I am not sold that we need a second beginner friendly package template package? If the bread and butter of skeleton.jl is for people willing to work with shell scripts, that seems a perfectly reasonable niche to doubleedown on.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamas\_Papp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tamas_papp/32/25949_2.png) [@Tamas\_Papp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tamas_Papp)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 6:32am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/13 "2019-06-13T06:32:31Z")

</div>

> [@ffevotte](#):
>
> I always run into problems with the git environment and users not being very much at ease with the console…

Skeleton will be packaged (as as Julia package) soon. I will also explore using Libgit2. I already have started working on this, just didn’t make it public yet.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamas\_Papp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tamas_papp/32/25949_2.png) [@Tamas\_Papp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tamas_Papp)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/14 "2019-06-13T06:38:04Z")

</div>

> [@jlperla](#):
>
> If the bread and butter of skeleton.jl is for people willing to work with shell scripts, that seems a perfectly reasonable niche to doubleedown on.

When I package skeleton.jl, it will be easy to wrap that in a way that can be called from the shell. One package can easily do both things.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ffevotte](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/ffevotte/32/6587_2.png) [@ffevotte](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ffevotte)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 6:48am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/15 "2019-06-13T06:48:50Z")

</div>

Nice! I’m looking forward to it. If you need help doing it or testing it, please don’t hesitate to ask.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamas\_Papp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/tamas_papp/32/25949_2.png) [@Tamas\_Papp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tamas_Papp)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/16 "2019-06-16T14:34:23Z")

</div>

The new package is here:

> **[GitHub - tpapp/PkgSkeleton.jl: Generate Julia package skeletons using a...](https://github.com/tpapp/PkgSkeleton.jl)**
>
> Generate Julia package skeletons using a simple template system - GitHub - tpapp/PkgSkeleton.jl: Generate Julia package skeletons using a simple template system

@jlperla: thanks for the suggestion about LibGit2, I implemented it.

Testing, code reviews, and feedback is always appreciated.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![christopher-dG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/christopher-dg/32/7387_2.png) [@christopher-dG](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/christopher-dG)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-a-package-with-pkgtemplate-for-existing-code/25163/17 "2020-04-23T14:47:51Z")

</div>

I’m finding this super late, but I just wanted to put this here anyways:

The master branch of PkgTemplates (0.7.x) which should be released quite soon supports a few options for making life easier for non-Git users:

- You can do `Template(; user="user", disable_defaults=[Git])` to disable all Git interactions
- You can do `Template(; user="user", plugins=[Git(; name="name", email="email")])` to remove the need for any preexisting Git configuration.

Hopefully that can be helpful in the future 🙂