Define the path to the _extensions folder; is this possible?

[cavo789]

Description

Hi all,

I'm trying to build my own Docker image for Quarto and it's work until now.

What I'm trying now is to put a quarto add xxx command in my Dockerfile. The extension is well downloaded but stored in the /_extensions root directory in my container. Ok, fine.

But now, when I try to convert a .qmd file, Quarto is displaying an error telling he didn't retrieve the extension. Ok, so far, I've understood that _extensions should be in my project and there, it's not my ambition. I wish to be able to install the extension in my Docker container so I can use the image for more than one project.

Is there any way to override the location and make it global?

The code below didn't work...

filters:
   - /_extensions/quarto-ext/include-code-files

Can we f.i. set a global environment variable like QUARTO_EXTENSIONS_PATH or anything else?

Many thanks!!!!

[mcanouil]

Extensions are not installed globally. They are on a per project basis.
quarto add will install the extension in the current directory.
If you don't want that then, install the extension in the proper directory or use hard link for UNIX-based Docker image.

[cavo789]

An answer so fast; thanks a lot!

In my scenario, I've a folder called /input in my Docker image and I need to run docker run xxx -v ${PWD}:/input -w /input xxx quarto render to run my container; map my current folder as /input and do the conversion thanks to quarto.

If I correctly understand your suggestion, I should create a Linux hard link in my /input folder to the /_extensions folder. But in that case, due to the -v flag, I'll get that _extensions folder on my host too and I don't want this.

So far, I don't see how I can install extensions in my Docker image and use them globally.

I'm quite new to Quarto (and already love it); is there any reason why an extension can't be global?

[mcanouil]

is there any reason why an extension can't be global?

The reason is that Quarto focuses on reproducibility by leveraging the fact that Quarto projects should be self-contained.
This is also why symbolic link are not recommended (and does not work well anyway at the moment), and why most paths starting with / inside a Quarto project means "at the root of the project" and not at the root of the "host".

[cavo789]

Ok; thanks.

So far I've follow the idea of symlink. I don't really like it but it works.

The basic idea is to check that I've a _extensions folder in the root of my Docker image and not in my input directory. In that case, I make the symlink, run quarto then remove the link.

It works but, yes, not really bullet-proof.

local -i link_extension
link_extension=0

set +e

if [[ -d "/_extensions" ]] && [[ ! -d "/input/_extensions" ]]; then
   link_extension=1
   ln -s "/_extensions" "/input/_extensions"
fi

quarto render xxx

[[ $link_extension -eq 1 ]] && rm -rf "/input/_extensions"

set -e

Thanks for the idea.