gleam-lang/gleam

Add `path` support for git dependencies

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#4556 opened on May 4, 2025

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help wanted

Description

It seems to be currently impossible to reference a package in gleam.toml which lives in a subdirectory of a git repository. We already support specifying a path in the repository section for documentation purposes, so it would seem logical to be able to do the same when depending on a package in git.

Example of how it could look (this package can't currently be referenced through git):

sketch = { git = "https://github.com/ghivert/sketch.git", ref = "main", path = "sketch" }

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
toolingbuild system
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.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Rust programmingGleam toolingGit subdirectory handling
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70
Research direction
Investigate the current implementation of git dependency resolution in the Gleam package manager. Look at how the `repository` section's `path` field is handled for documentation, and extend that to the `[dependencies]` section. The code resides likely in the package manager's source code, specifically files handling `gleam.toml` parsing and dependency fetching. See comments in issue #4556 for discussion on potential approaches.