Hotload Libraries into a running REPL

add-libs "hot-loads" one or more libraries into a running REPL, avoiding the need to restart the REPL just to use a new library with the project.

Although restarting a REPL is usually very quick, it will loose all application state too. This loss of state be mitigated by using rich comments, evaluating data structures that set useful application states.

add-libs is typically called from a rich comment block or a separate dev/user.clj file, to avoid being loaded with application code.

Once hot-loaded, a library namespace can be required as if the dependency had been added to the project configuration before the REPL started.

practicalli/clojure-webapp-hotload-libraries is an example project that uses REPL driven development and hot loading of libraries to build a very simple web server using http-kit and hiccup.

Add-libs is an experimental feature

The add-libs function is regarded as an experimental feature of clojure.tools.deps.alpha library and is currently part of the add-libs3 branch. The add-libs implementation and function signature may change in future.

Include add-libs library dependency

To use add-libs, its library must be included as a dependency when starting the REPL. As add-libs is a development tool, it should be added via an alias, either in the project deps.edn or user level configuration to use with all projects.

Using practicalli/clojure-deps-edn alias
Manually add Alias

:lib/hotload alias defined in practicalli/clojure-deps-edn adds the latest SHA commit from the add-libs3 branch of clojure.tools.deps.alpha library as an extra dependency.

Include the :lib/hotload alias when starting the REPL, using any of the available Clojure CLI execution options (-A,-M,-X,-T).

See Terminal REPL and Clojure Editor pages for examples.

Edit the project deps.edn configuration and add an :lib/hotload alias for the clojure.tools.deps.alpha.repl library. Or add an alias to the user level configuration for use with any Clojure CLI project.

The add-libs code is on a separate add-libs3 branch, so requires the SHA from the head of add-libs3 branch

:lib/hotload
  {:extra-deps {org.clojure/tools.deps.alpha
               {:git/url "https://github.com/clojure/tools.deps.alpha"
                :git/sha "e4fb92eef724fa39e29b39cc2b1a850567d490dd"}}}

Hotload Libraries