# Why won't \`pkg\> generate\` allow a ".jl" suffix in the name?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-wont-pkg-generate-allow-a-jl-suffix-in-the-name/52412>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** pkg\
**Created:** [December 26, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-wont-pkg-generate-allow-a-jl-suffix-in-the-name/52412 "2020-12-26T17:27:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ben-schulz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/ben-schulz/32/12366_2.png) [@ben-schulz](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ben-schulz)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-wont-pkg-generate-allow-a-jl-suffix-in-the-name/52412/1 "2020-12-26T17:27:58Z")

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hi there,

after some time away from Julia, i’m trying to create a new package, and seem to recall that standard convention is to put a “.jl” suffix on the repo name, i.e. on the root project directory.

i thought i would use the `generate` command in `Pkg`, but it tells me the name is not valid. e.g.,

```julia
(@v1.5) pkg> generate OkWow.jl
ERROR: "OkWow.jl" is not a valid package name

```

i noticed that when i drop the “.jl”, the command succeeds – but creates a project root without the “.jl”.

so my questions are:

1. has the naming convention changed since the last time i looked at Julia ( about a year ago )?
2. if not, why won’t `generate` accept the “.jl” suffix?

thanks in advance,

\0

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**Author:** ![stevengj](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/stevengj/32/71_2.png) [@stevengj](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/stevengj)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-wont-pkg-generate-allow-a-jl-suffix-in-the-name/52412/2 "2020-12-26T17:29:34Z")

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> [@ben-schulz](#):
>
> seem to recall that standard convention is to put a “.jl” suffix on the repo name, i.e. on the root project directory.

No, a `.jl` suffix is used for the repo name _on github_, but _not_ usually in the local project directory (e.g. if you do `pkg> dev SomeProject` you get a `SomeProject` directory).

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ben-schulz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/ben-schulz/32/12366_2.png) [@ben-schulz](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ben-schulz)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-wont-pkg-generate-allow-a-jl-suffix-in-the-name/52412/3 "2020-12-26T17:51:57Z")

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thanks! that makes sense

of course, there’s not reason i couldn’t rename the directory if i want to push it to github

follow-up question though, which is maybe closer to the spirit of what i’m asking: is there some reason i wouldn’t _want_ to have a “.jl” on the local project directory?

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**Author:** ![stevengj](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/stevengj/32/71_2.png) [@stevengj](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/stevengj)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-wont-pkg-generate-allow-a-jl-suffix-in-the-name/52412/4 "2020-12-26T18:01:17Z")

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> [@ben-schulz](#):
>
> of course, there’s not reason i couldn’t rename the directory if i want to push it to github

No need for any renaming: The repo name on github doesn’t need to match the local directory name.

> [@ben-schulz](#):
>
> is there some reason i wouldn’t _want_ to have a “.jl” on the local project directory?

If you want to load your package in a running `julia` process, the package manager does not expect a `.jl` on the local directory.