BoundaryML/baml · error

cargo build failed for

Error message

cargo build failed for {package}

What it means

run_cargo_build runs `cargo build` for a package (e.g. the CLI) and checks the exit status; a non-zero status aborts with this message. The underlying compiler errors are printed by cargo itself to stderr before this bail.

Solutions

1. Read the cargo compiler output printed above this message
2. Run `cargo build -p <package>` manually in the workspace root to reproduce
3. Fix the compile errors or restore a working tree (git stash/checkout)
4. Confirm the package and features configured for the artifact exist

Example fix

// before: broken package name in artifact config
packages = ["baml-cl”]
// after
cargo build -p baml-cli  # verify name via workspace Cargo.toml members

let status = std::process::Command::new("cargo")
    .args(["build", "-p", "baml-cli"])
    .status()?;
if !status.success() { eprintln!("preflight build failed; fix compile errors before measuring"); std::process::exit(1); }

match size_gate_result {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().starts_with("cargo build failed") => {
        eprintln!("workspace does not compile; run `cargo build` and fix errors first");
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any `cargo build -p <package>` failure during size-gate measure: compile errors, missing feature flags, failing build scripts, or dependency resolution errors for that package.

Common situations: Workspace code broken mid-refactor; package name typo in the size-gate config; required feature set unavailable for the target; vendored/offline dependency issues.

Understand the failure class

Background: "git command failed": what it means when a tool shells out to git and git exits non-zero — this error's family across 21 libraries.

Related errors

• cargo build failed for pack
• cargo metadata failed
• cargo metadata failed
• artifact not found: (expected at )
• Failed to load cargo metadata

AI-assisted analysis of BoundaryML/baml@bd85ce9dee (2026-09-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b27a99052da8f77d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at baml_language/crates/tools_size_gate/src/measure.rs:81

        cmd.arg("--features").arg(feat);
    }

    cmd.args(extra);
    cmd.current_dir(workspace_root);

    eprintln!(
        "  building {} ({})",
        package,
        if config.no_default_features {
            "no-default-features"
        } else {
            "default features"
        }
    );

    let status = cmd.status().context("failed to run cargo build")?;
    if !status.success() {
        bail!("cargo build failed for {package}");
    }

    Ok(())
}

/// Build the CLI + pack host, then run `baml pack` on the fixture and
/// return the path to the produced standalone executable.
fn build_pack(workspace_root: &Path, name: &str, config: &ArtifactConfig) -> Result<PathBuf> {
    let pack = config.require_pack()?;

    // Build the CLI and the pack host in one release invocation. The host
    // binary must land next to the CLI in target/release so `baml pack`
    // resolves it locally (no GitHub download).
    eprintln!("  building {} + {}", pack.cli_package, pack.host_package);
    let status = Command::new("cargo")
        .arg("build")
        .arg("--release")
        .args(["-p", &pack.cli_package, "--bin", &pack.cli_bin])

View on GitHub (pinned to bd85ce9dee)