Advanced Settings

Almost all defaults can be changed by using set_defaults!:

using MinimalWorkingExamples
set_defaults!(venue=:slack, temp=false)

MinimalWorkingExamples.jl is designed to produce reproducible examples by running them in isolation. The settings described below provide more advanced control over this behaviour. Because these settings can affect reproducibility, any non-default values are recorded in the generated footer.

newprocess

By default (newprocess=true), the example runs in a separate Julia process and cannot access definitions from your current session. Additionally, user startup files are disabled in this fresh process.

If you set newprocess=false, the example runs in the current Julia session and can access existing definitions:

f(x) = 2x

@mwe begin
    f(3)
end newprocess=false

This is primarily useful for reducing generation time by reusing work already performed in the current session.

Since the generated example can depend on session state that is not shown in the MWE, this feature should be used with care when sharing examples.

temp

By default (temp=true), a temporary environment is created and packages are installed automatically from the using and import statements found in the example.

When temp=false, the code runs in the current environment without auto-adding packages, hence avoiding the installation and compiling of packages. However, if the issue depends on specific package versions in your local environment, temp=true ensures a fresh environment is used and can help rule out environment-specific behaviour.

packagespecs

The main use of packagespecs is to test a development version of a package, for example, to check whether it fixes a bug:

using Pkg

@mwe begin
    using Example
    Example.hello()
end packagespecs=[
    PackageSpec(url = "https://github.com/JuliaLang/Example.jl")
]

or to showcase new behaviour for your PR:

using Pkg

@mwe begin
    using Example
    Example.hello()
end packagespecs=[
    PackageSpec(url = "https://github.com/YourUsername/Example.jl", rev = "my-new-feature")
]