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Installation Guide

This guide explains how to install the cargs library in different environments.

Quick Reference

Method Command Best For
Package Managers conan install libcargs/1.0.1@ Production use
From Source meson setup .build && meson compile -C .build Development
With Just just build Development workflow

Prerequisites

cargs has only one optional dependency:

PCRE2 Dependency

PCRE2: Required only for regex validation support.

apt install libpcre2-dev

dnf install pcre2-devel

brew install pcre2

Installation Methods

Conan

# Install from Conan Center
conan install libcargs/1.0.1@

# With specific options
conan install libcargs/1.0.1@ -o libcargs:disable_regex=true

In your project's conanfile.txt: 

[requires]
libcargs/1.0.1

[options]
libcargs:disable_regex=False

vcpkg

# Install from vcpkg registry
vcpkg install libcargs

# Without regex support
vcpkg install libcargs[core]

In your project's vcpkg.json: 

{
  "dependencies": [
    {
      "name": "libcargs",
      "features": ["regex"]
    }
  ]
}

Building From Source

Using Meson

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/lucocozz/cargs.git
cd cargs

# Build
meson setup .build
meson compile -C .build

# Install (requires permissions)
meson install -C .build

Using Just (Development Workflow)

Just

Just is a command runner that simplifies common tasks.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/lucocozz/cargs.git
cd cargs

# Build static and shared libraries
just build

# Install
just install

Using as a Static Library

If you prefer not to install system-wide:

  1. Build the project using any method above
  2. Copy libcargs.a to your project
  3. Copy the includes/ directory to your project
  4. Link with the static library:
gcc your_program.c -o your_program -L/path/to/libcargs.a -lcargs

As a Meson Dependency

# In your meson.build
cargs_dep = dependency('cargs', version: '>=1.0.1', required: false)

# Fallback to subproject if not found system-wide
if not cargs_dep.found()
  cargs_proj = subproject('cargs')
  cargs_dep = cargs_proj.get_variable('cargs_dep')
endif

Configuration Options

Disabling Regex Support

If you don't need regex validation, you can build without the PCRE2 dependency:

meson setup -Ddisable_regex=true .build

just disable_regex=true build

conan install . -o libcargs:disable_regex=true

vcpkg install libcargs --features=""

When regex support is disabled: - No PCRE2 dependency is required - The REGEX() validator becomes a non-functional stub - All predefined patterns in cargs/regex.h are defined but won't work - The CARGS_NO_REGEX macro is defined for conditional compilation

Performance Optimization

For production deployments, enable release mode to skip validation during initialization:

gcc your_program.c -o your_program -DCARGS_RELEASE -lcargs

add_project_arguments('-DCARGS_RELEASE', language: 'c')

Verifying Installation

# Check shared library
ls -la /usr/local/lib/libcargs.so*

# Check headers
ls -la /usr/local/include/cargs*

# Compile an example program
gcc -o test_cargs test.c -lcargs

# Run the program
./test_cargs --help