defin

defin is a system tool that detects and installs missing dependencies for C++ projects by analyzing #include directives.

License

• Core code is under a custom non-redistributable license. See LICENSE.txt
• JSON database (json-db/) is licensed under the MIT License. See json-db/LICENSE-json.txt
• Includes TinyProcessLibrary, under the MIT License. See tiny-process-library/LICENSE-tinyprocess.txt

Features

• Parses source code for missing headers
• Maps includes to system packages via JSON
• Installs packages using apt, pacman, and more
• CLI-first, scriptable

Compatibility

• Supported OS: Linux only
• Tested on: Arch, Debian, Fedora (others may work)
• Requires: CMake 3.10+, a C++17-compatible compiler, and a working package manager (e.g. apt, pacman, dnf)

Build and Install

git clone https://github.com/umangsys-dev/defin
cd defin
mkdir build
cmake -S . -B build/
cmake --build build
sudo cmake --install build

Usage

Commands

sudo defin fix /path/to/project/

• Recursively scans all .cpp, .hpp, .c, and .h files in the given directory
• Detects used #include headers
• Maps them to logical libraries and installable packages
• Installs missing packages automatically using your system's package manager

This is the main command for resolving and fixing missing dependencies.

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sudo defin enlist -m /path/to/project/

• Lists missing packages (headers used in the source but packages not installed)
• Does not perform any installation
• Ideal for dry runs or CI integration

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sudo defin enlist -p /path/to/project/

• Lists present packages (headers used and already available on your system)
• Useful for auditing project dependencies

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Make Sure

The directory you pass contains C++ source code:

• Any combination of .cpp, .hpp, .c, or .h files

• No need for a compiled binary

  (depin directly parses your source code to extract #include directives.)

• Use sudo since actual package installation requires root

• Supported package managers: apt, pacman, and dnf

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Want to contribute header mappings?

• Check out json-db/Contributing.md.