bazelbuild/bazel

Add a `bazel mod` output option to print canonical names

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#26798 opened on Aug 20, 2025

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P2help wantedteam-ExternalDepstype: feature request

Description

Description of the feature request:

There are a number of places where one must know the canonical name of a repo:

  • to debug an extension you wrote, it's very helpful to be able to get the path on disk of the repo you generated, and for that you need the canonical name
  • bazel mod show_repo requires a canonical name for extension repos

It would be very helpful in these cases if mod graph --extension_info all could be convinced to output the canonical names of repos instead of the apparent names, perhaps via a flag?

Which category does this issue belong to?

External Dependency

What underlying problem are you trying to solve with this feature?

Debugging an extension you're trying to write is pretty tricky right now.

Which operating system are you running Bazel on?

linux

What is the output of bazel info release?

release 8.3.1

If bazel info release returns development version or (@non-git), tell us how you built Bazel.

No response

What's the output of git remote get-url origin; git rev-parse HEAD ?

Have you found anything relevant by searching the web?

No response

Any other information, logs, or outputs that you want to share?

No response

Contributor guide

Tech stack
java
Domain
clibuild systemdeveloper experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
JavaBazel mod commandcanonical names
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Investigate the Bazel source code for the `mod graph` command implementation, likely in `src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/commands/ModGraphCommand.java` or similar. Understand how canonical names are currently computed and output. Look for existing flags handling. After identifying the output logic, add a new flag (e.g., ` canonical name`) that modifies the output format. Ensure to update tests accordingly. Check any related PRs or comments for additional context.