Course of Raku / Advanced / Modules

Installing modules from the web

Beyond the modules you write yourself, there is a large collection of modules published by the Raku community. They cover everything from web frameworks to data formats, and you can install them and use them in your own programs.

The zef installer

Modules are installed with zef, the standard module manager that ships with Rakudo. To install a module, give zef the module’s name:

$ zef install JSON::Fast

zef downloads the module along with anything it depends on, runs its tests, and installs it. Once installed, a module is on the search path automatically, so a program can load it with a plain use — no -I option is needed:

use JSON::Fast;

You can also search the ecosystem and update or remove modules:

$ zef search Test
$ zef uninstall JSON::Fast

Where modules come from

Published modules live in the Raku ecosystem. You can browse it on the website raku.land, which lists the available distributions and their documentation.

META6.json

A distribution that is meant to be shared includes a description file named META6.json. It records the distribution’s name, version, the modules it provides, and the other distributions it depends on. zef reads this file to know what to install and how the pieces fit together. When you publish your own module, providing a correct META6.json is what makes it installable by everyone else.

Course navigation

← Quiz — The Stash   |   Packages and namespaces 🆕 →