{"meta":{"title":"pack download","intro":"Download the set of qlpacks referenced by the query\nspec of the command line from the registry. Packs can be provided by\nname or implicitly inside of a query suite (.qls) file.","product":"Security and code quality","breadcrumbs":[{"href":"/en/code-security","title":"Security and code quality"},{"href":"/en/code-security/reference","title":"Reference"},{"href":"/en/code-security/reference/code-scanning","title":"Code scanning"},{"href":"/en/code-security/reference/code-scanning/codeql","title":"CodeQL"},{"href":"/en/code-security/reference/code-scanning/codeql/codeql-cli-manual","title":"CodeQL CLI manual"},{"href":"/en/code-security/reference/code-scanning/codeql/codeql-cli-manual/pack-download","title":"pack download"}],"documentType":"article"},"body":"# pack download\n\nDownload the set of qlpacks referenced by the query\nspec of the command line from the registry. Packs can be provided by\nname or implicitly inside of a query suite (.qls) file.\n\n> [!NOTE]\n> This content describes the most recent release of the CodeQL CLI. For more information about this release, see https://github.com/github/codeql-cli-binaries/releases.\n>\n> To see details of the options available for this command in an earlier release, run the command with the <span style=\"white-space: nowrap;\">`--help`</span> option in your terminal.\n\n## Synopsis\n\n```shell copy\ncodeql pack download [--dir=<dir>] [--force] <options>... -- <scope/name[@version]|suite.qls>...\n```\n\n## Description\n\nDownload the set of qlpacks referenced by the query spec of the command\nline from the registry. Packs can be provided by name or implicitly\ninside of a query suite (.qls) file.\n\nThe packs will be downloaded and unzipped into the package cache by\ndefault.\n\nAvailable since `v2.6.0`.\n\n## Options\n\n### Primary Options\n\n#### `<scope/name[@version]|suite.qls>...`\n\n\\[Mandatory] List of CodeQL packs and query suites to download. If a\nquery suite is provided, its instructions will be inspected and all\nreferenced CodeQL packs will be downloaded. If you don't specify a\nversion for a CodeQL pack, then the latest version will be downloaded.\n\n#### `--format=<fmt>`\n\nSelect output format, either `text` _(default)_ or `json`.\n\n#### `-d, --dir=<dir>`\n\nThe directory to download the pack to. Defaults to installing into the\npackage cache.\n\n#### `--for-pack=<pack>`\n\nThe pack whose dependencies are being downloaded. The package registry\nfor each pack will be determined by the 'registries' property of\n\\<pack>.\n\n#### `--[no-]allow-prerelease`\n\nAllow packs with pre-release version qualifiers (e.g.,\n`X.Y.Z-qualifier`) to be used. Without this flag, pre-release packs will\nbe ignored.\n\nAvailable since `v2.11.3`.\n\n#### `-f, --[no-]force`\n\nAllow overwriting already existing packs.\n\n### Options for finding QL packs (which may be necessary to interpret query suites)\n\n#### `--search-path=<dir>[:<dir>...]`\n\nA list of directories under which QL packs may be found. Each directory\ncan either be a QL pack (or bundle of packs containing a\n`.codeqlmanifest.json` file at the root) or the immediate parent of one\nor more such directories.\n\nIf the path contains more than one directory, their order defines\nprecedence between them: when a pack name that must be resolved is\nmatched in more than one of the directory trees, the one given first\nwins.\n\nPointing this at a checkout of the open-source CodeQL repository ought\nto work when querying one of the languages that live there.\n\nIf you have checked out the CodeQL repository as a sibling of the\nunpacked CodeQL toolchain, you don't need to give this option; such\nsibling directories will always be searched for QL packs that cannot be\nfound otherwise. (If this default does not work, it is strongly\nrecommended to set up `--search-path` once and for all in a per-user\nconfiguration file).\n\n(Note: On Windows the path separator is `;`).\n\n#### `--additional-packs=<dir>[:<dir>...]`\n\nIf this list of directories is given, they will be searched for packs\nbefore the ones in `--search-path`. The order between these doesn't\nmatter; it is an error if a pack name is found in two different places\nthrough this list.\n\nThis is useful if you're temporarily developing a new version of a pack\nthat also appears in the default path. On the other hand, it is _not\nrecommended_ to override this option in a config file; some internal\nactions will add this option on the fly, overriding any configured\nvalue.\n\n(Note: On Windows the path separator is `;`).\n\n### Options for configuring the CodeQL package manager\n\n#### `--registries-auth-stdin`\n\nAuthenticate to GitHub Enterprise Server Container registries by passing\na comma-separated list of \\<registry\\_url>=\\<token> pairs.\n\nFor example, you can pass\n`https://containers.GHEHOSTNAME1/v2/=TOKEN1,https://containers.GHEHOSTNAME2/v2/=TOKEN2`\nto authenticate to two GitHub Enterprise Server instances.\n\nThis overrides the CODEQL\\_REGISTRIES\\_AUTH and GITHUB\\_TOKEN environment\nvariables. If you only need to authenticate to the github.com Container\nregistry, you can instead authenticate using the simpler\n`--github-auth-stdin` option.\n\n#### `--github-auth-stdin`\n\nAuthenticate to the github.com Container registry by passing a\ngithub.com GitHub Apps token or personal access token via standard\ninput.\n\nTo authenticate to GitHub Enterprise Server Container registries, pass\n`--registries-auth-stdin` or use the CODEQL\\_REGISTRIES\\_AUTH environment\nvariable.\n\nThis overrides the GITHUB\\_TOKEN environment variable.\n\n### Common options\n\n#### `-h, --help`\n\nShow this help text.\n\n#### `-J=<opt>`\n\n\\[Advanced] Give option to the JVM running the command.\n\n(Beware that options containing spaces will not be handled correctly.)\n\n#### `-v, --verbose`\n\nIncrementally increase the number of progress messages printed.\n\n#### `-q, --quiet`\n\nIncrementally decrease the number of progress messages printed.\n\n#### `--verbosity=<level>`\n\n\\[Advanced] Explicitly set the verbosity level to one of errors,\nwarnings, progress, progress+, progress++, progress+++. Overrides `-v`\nand `-q`.\n\n#### `--logdir=<dir>`\n\n\\[Advanced] Write detailed logs to one or more files in the given\ndirectory, with generated names that include timestamps and the name of\nthe running subcommand.\n\n(To write a log file with a name you have full control over, instead\ngive `--log-to-stderr` and redirect stderr as desired.)\n\n#### `--common-caches=<dir>`\n\n\\[Advanced] Controls the location of cached data on disk that will\npersist between several runs of the CLI, such as downloaded QL packs and\ncompiled query plans. If not set explicitly, this defaults to a\ndirectory named `.codeql` in the user's home directory; it will be\ncreated if it doesn't already exist.\n\nAvailable since `v2.15.2`."}