# PackageCompiler create\_app cannot find project, but create\_sysimage can

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/packagecompiler-create-app-cannot-find-project-but-create-sysimage-can/133152>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** package-compiler, app, project, preferences\
**Created:** [October 14, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/packagecompiler-create-app-cannot-find-project-but-create-sysimage-can/133152 "2025-10-14T19:10:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![oscarvdvelde](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/oscarvdvelde/32/202157_2.png) [@oscarvdvelde](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/oscarvdvelde)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/packagecompiler-create-app-cannot-find-project-but-create-sysimage-can/133152/1 "2025-10-14T19:10:10Z")

</div>

I am trying to compile my visualization app for the first time using `PackageCompiler`.  
For this I first needed to make a properly generated Project with a `module` that holds the functions. I have also placed the `Makie` GUI code into a function `julia_main()::Cint` as described and give a precompilation file option. This file calls `using LMA_vis`, defines my preferences (folders, etc.) and `LMA_vis.julia_main()`.

I could successfully start `PackageCompiler.create_sysimage` which proceeds, but when I tried `PackageCompiler.create_app` it does not find the project. This is v.2.2.2 in Julia 1.12.0 on Windows 11.

```julia-auto
PS C:\Users\oscar\Documents\Work\Julia> cd LMA_vis
PS C:\Users\oscar\Documents\Work\Julia\LMA_vis> julia -q --project
julia> using PackageCompiler

julia> create_app("LMA_vis", "LMAVisualizer_v0.1"; precompile_execution_file="precompile.jl")
ERROR: could not find project at "LMA_vis"
Stacktrace:
 [1] error(s::String)
   @ Base .\error.jl:44
 [2] create_pkg_context(project::String)
   @ PackageCompiler C:\Users\oscar\.julia\packages\PackageCompiler\FtDNu\src\PackageCompiler.jl:71
 [3] create_app(package_dir::String, app_dir::String; executables::Nothing, precompile_execution_file::String, precompile_statements_file::Vector{…}, incremental::Bool, filter_stdlibs::Bool, force::Bool, c_driver_program::String, cpu_target::String, include_lazy_artifacts::Bool, sysimage_build_args::Cmd, include_transitive_dependencies::Bool, include_preferences::Bool, script::Nothing)
   @ PackageCompiler C:\Users\oscar\.julia\packages\PackageCompiler\FtDNu\src\PackageCompiler.jl:856       
 [4] top-level scope
   @ REPL[3]:1
Some type information was truncated. Use `show(err)` to see complete types.

(LMA_vis) pkg> activate .
  Activating project at `C:\Users\oscar\Documents\Work\Julia\LMA_vis`

julia> create_app("LMA_vis", "LMAVisualizer_v0.1"; precompile_execution_file="precompile.jl")
ERROR: could not find project at "LMA_vis"
...

julia> pwd()
"C:\\Users\\oscar\\Documents\\Work\\Julia\\LMA_vis"

julia> using LMA_vis
  ✗ CxxWrap
  ✗ OpenCV
Precompiling LMA_vis finished.
  1 dependency successfully precompiled in 62 seconds. 502 already precompiled.

julia> create_app("LMA_vis", "LMAVisualizer_v0.1"; precompile_execution_file="precompile.jl")
ERROR: could not find project at "LMA_vis"
...

```

Also I noticed that `CxxWrap` and `OpenCV` failed to precompile. Not sure if that gives any issues, I suppose they are already compiled C code. They seem dependencies of another package.

I am currently not using `Preferences.jl` as I could not make it work yet. In some attempt to create the .toml file, it only added one variable, skipping a number of `raw"c:\file\paths"` and not sure it can contain tuples. But I could simply use a preferences file as argument to the App command, which I could load at runtime into `julia_main()` by `include(ARGS[1])`

Thanks for your advice.

Edit: Not really clear either how to proceed with preferences. It looks like I will need to take the testing/visualizing code out of the module, and use it within my precompile statements file, as the julia\_main function inside the module does not seem to have access to variables defined globally in my precompile file.