Pruning the package cache
In AEL, the Agent Engineering Language, package files that your machine has fetched and verified will be kept in a shared package cache, so the same file is not fetched twice for two projects. ael pack cache prune (command names may change before launch) will remove cached package files that nothing uses any more.
Status
Planned for AEL Beta 0.0.1. AEL is not available yet.
Usage
ael pack cache prune
ael pack cache prune --json
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
--json | A machine-readable report of what was removed. |
What it removes
Only package files in the shared cache that nothing refers to any more, such as copies left behind after an update or a removal.
The report will list every file it removed.
What it never touches
It will never touch:
- Your source files.
- Any project's
pack.ael,pack.lockor installed packages in.package/. - Deployment data, and data your programs work with.
Programs you have built will never read the cache: nothing will download or load from it when a program starts.
Removing a package or clearing the cache
ael pack cache prune will not be how you stop using a package. To remove a package from a project, use ael pack remove, which will change the project's manifest, lock file and installed packages. Pruning afterwards will only free the space the cached copy took.
After pruning
A pruned file will be fetched and verified again the next time a project needs it. On a machine without network access, a pruned file will be gone until you bring it back, for example from a folder exported with ael pack vendor. Prune with care before working offline: ael pack install --offline will be able to use only what is still on the machine.
Not settled yet
How the cache will tell which files are still needed, and where it is kept, will be described before launch.
Related
- Package commands: the network rules of every package command.
- Exporting for offline builds: keeping package files for isolated machines.