rez-cli

Rez command-line reference — rez-env, rez-build, rez-release, rez-context, rez-search, rez-depends, rez-test, rez-config, rez-bind, rez-pip and the rest, with the flags that matter. Use when the user needs the right rez command or flag, or when running a build/release/test loop. Covers Rez 3.4.0.

Rez CLI reference

One-sentence summary: every subcommand is available both as rez <cmd> and rez-<cmd>; resolve with rez-env, build with rez-build, ship with rez-release, inspect with rez-context.

Skill scope: commands and flags. For concepts see rez-core-concepts; for resolve failures see rez-resolve-troubleshooting.

Full command list

Command	Purpose
rez-env	Open a configured shell, possibly interactive
rez-build	Build a package from source
rez-release	Build a package from source and deploy it
rez-context	Print info about the current context or a .rxt file
rez-search	Search for packages
rez-depends	Reverse package dependency lookup
rez-diff	Compare the source of two packages
rez-view	View the contents of a package
rez-config	Print current rez settings
rez-status	Report status of the environment, a tool or a package
rez-test	Run tests listed in a package definition file
rez-selftest	Run rez's own unit tests (pytest if available)
rez-bind	Create a rez package for existing software
rez-pip	Install a pip package and its deps as rez packages
rez-cp / rez-mv / rez-rm	Copy / move / remove packages between repositories
rez-pkg-cache	Manipulate a package cache
rez-pkg-ignore	Disable a package so it is hidden from resolves
rez-suite	Manage suites
rez-bundle	Bundle a context and its packages into a relocatable dir
rez-python	Start python or run a script within rez's own context
rez-interpret	Execute some Rex code and print the result
rez-help	Display help for a given package
rez-plugins	List a package's plugins
rez-memcache	Manage and query memcache server(s)
rez-benchmark	Benchmark runtime resolves
rez-yaml2py	Print a package.yaml in package.py format
rez-gui	Run the Rez GUI application
rez-complete	Print package completion strings (hidden)
rez-forward	See util.create_forwarding_script() (hidden)

Common flags on every subcommand: -v/--verbose (repeatable), --debug, --profile FILE.

rez-env — resolve and enter

bash

rez-env foo bah                      # interactive subshell
rez-env foo bah -- echo '$REZ_FOO_ROOT'   # one-shot, no subshell
rez-env 'python-2.6+' 'utils-1.1+<2'      # quote requests
rez-env foo -o context.rxt            # write context, don't enter
rez-env foo -i context.rxt            # load a saved context

Key flags:

Flag	Effect
-c, --command CMD	run a command instead of opening a shell
-s, --stdin	read commands from stdin
-o, --output FILE	write the context (.rxt) and exit
-i, --input FILE	load a saved context
--shell SHELL	target shell (bash, zsh, sh, csh, tcsh, pwsh)
--ni, --no-implicit	drop implicit packages
--nl, --no-local	exclude locally installed packages
-b, --build	build environment instead of runtime
--paths PATH	override the package search path
-p, --patch	patch the resolve
--patch-rank N	apply additional patches
--max-fails N	report more failures (default first only)
--fail-graph	render the failure graph
--no-cache	bypass resolve caching
--strict	treat patch conflicts as errors
--exclude/--include RULE	filter packages in/out
--no-filters	ignore configured filters
-q, --quiet	suppress the banner
-t, --time / --time-limit	timestamp / limit for the resolve
--rcfile / --norc	shell rc handling

rez-build — build from source

bash

rez-build                            # build only
rez-build --install                  # build + install to ~/packages
rez-build --clean                    # clean the build dir
rez-build -- -DMYVAR=YES             # pass args to the build system

Key flags:

Flag	Effect
-i, --install	install to the local packages path
-c, --clean	clean before building
-p, --prefix PATH	install prefix
--process local|remote	where the build runs
-b, --build-system NAME	force a build system
--variants INDEX [INDEX…]	build only specific variants
--ba, --build-args ARGS	args for the build system
--cba, --child-build-args ARGS	args for child builds
-s, --scripts	show shell scripts instead of running
--view-pre	view the pre-build resolved environment
--fail-graph	render the resolution failure graph

Build system is auto-detected (CMakeLists.txt → cmake, etc.). A package can override it with the build_command attribute. Build systems add their own flags to rez-build -h (e.g. --build-target for cmake), and a parse_build_args.py in the package root lets you add custom flags — they arrive as __PARSE_ARG_<NAME> env vars.

The build environment is assembled from requires → build_requires (transitive) → private_build_requires → the current variant's requirements. CWD during the build is the build path, not the package root — use {root} to reach scripts in the package root.

Local install loop:

bash

# edit code
rez-build --install
rez-env mypackage        # in a separate shell; picks up the local install

You do not need a fresh rez-env after every install if requirements did not change.

rez-release — build and deploy

bash

rez-release -m "release message"

Flag	Effect
-m, --message MSG	release message
--vcs VCS	version control system (git, hg, svn, stub)
--no-latest	do not set the package as latest
--ignore-existing-tag	proceed even if the VCS tag exists
--skip-repo-errors	continue past repository errors
--no-message	release without a message

Releases to release_packages_path (default ~/.rez/packages/int). Release hooks (amqp, command, emailer) run around it; a ReleaseHookCancellingError from a hook cancels the release.

rez-context — inspect a resolve

bash

rez-context                          # info about the current environment
rez-context context.rxt              # info about a saved context

Flag	Effect
--req, --print-request	print the request
--res, --print-resolve	print the resolve
--so, --source-order	command execution order
--su, --show-uris	show package URIs
-t, --tools	list tools exposed by the resolve
--which CMD	which package provides a command
-g, --graph / -d, --dependency-graph	dot graphs
--pg, --print-graph / --wg, --write-graph FILE	compact / written graph
--pp, --prune-package PKG	prune the displayed graph down to PKG (graph output only, no re-resolve)
-i, --interpret	show the interpreted shell code
-f, --format FMT	output in a given shell format
--diff RXT	diff against another context
--no-env	interpret the context in an empty environment
--fetch	fetch missing packages

rez-context --so and rez-context --which are the two cheapest answers to "what did I actually get" and "where did this binary come from".

rez-search / rez-depends / rez-test

bash

rez-search maya                      # find packages
rez-search --validate mypackage      # validate a package definition
rez-depends python                   # who depends on python?
rez-test mypackage                   # run the package's tests

rez-search flags: -t, --type, --nl, --no-local, --validate, --paths, -f, --format. rez-depends is the reverse-dependency lookup — reach for it before grepping package.py files.

rez-config / rez-status / rez-bind / rez-pip

bash

rez-config                           # all settings
rez-config packages_path             # one setting
rez-status                           # environment sanity
rez-bind python                      # wrap existing software as a rez package
rez-pip install requests             # pip package as rez packages

Other useful ones

bash

rez-pkg-ignore foo-1.0.0             # hide a bad package from resolves
rez-cp / rez-mv                      # move packages between repositories
rez-bundle context.rxt out_dir       # relocatable bundle
rez-interpret '"{root}"'             # test a rex expression

Agent workflow

1. Prefer non-interactive forms — -c, --output, rez-context — over opening a subshell.
2. Scope output: rez-context --so, rez-config <setting>, rez-search <pkg> -f <template>.
3. rez-status first when something looks broken about the environment itself.
4. Use rez-depends for reverse lookups instead of broad greps.
5. Build → install → test in that order: rez-build --install, rez-env <pkg>, rez-test <pkg>.