rust-lang/cargo · error · anyhow::Error

glob patterns on package selection are not supported.

Error message

glob patterns on package selection are not supported.

What it means

compile_options_for_single_package reads the `-p`/`--package` values and checks each with restricted_names::is_glob_pattern. Cargo's package selection by SPEC does not support glob/wildcard characters (`*`, `?`, `[`), so any spec containing them is rejected.

Source

Thrown at src/util/command_prelude.rs:889

    fn cli_features(&self) -> CargoResult<CliFeatures> {
        CliFeatures::from_command_line(
            &self._values_of("features"),
            self.flag("all-features"),
            !self.flag("no-default-features"),
        )
    }

    fn compile_options_for_single_package(
        &self,
        gctx: &GlobalContext,
        intent: UserIntent,
        workspace: Option<&Workspace<'_>>,
        profile_checking: ProfileChecking,
    ) -> CargoResult<CompileOptions> {
        let mut compile_opts = self.compile_options(gctx, intent, workspace, profile_checking)?;
        let spec = self._values_of("package");
        if spec.iter().any(restricted_names::is_glob_pattern) {
            anyhow::bail!("glob patterns on package selection are not supported.")
        }
        compile_opts.spec = Packages::Packages(spec);
        Ok(compile_opts)
    }

    fn new_options(&self, gctx: &GlobalContext) -> CargoResult<NewOptions> {
        let vcs = self._value_of("vcs").map(|vcs| match vcs {
            "git" => VersionControl::Git,
            "hg" => VersionControl::Hg,
            "pijul" => VersionControl::Pijul,
            "fossil" => VersionControl::Fossil,
            "none" => VersionControl::NoVcs,
            vcs => panic!("Impossible vcs: {:?}", vcs),
        });
        NewOptions::new(
            vcs,
            self.flag("bin"),
            self.flag("lib"),

View on GitHub (pinned to 0e07a15537)

Solutions

List each package explicitly: `cargo build -p crate-a -p crate-b`.
Use `--workspace` to build all packages, or `-p` per crate for a prefix group.
Quote/escape to avoid the shell leaving literal glob chars, and remove any `*`/`?`/`[` from the SPEC.

Example fix

# before
cargo build -p 'my-*'

# after
cargo build -p my-a -p my-b
# or all
cargo build --workspace

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

fn clean_package_specs(specs: &[String]) -> Result<Vec<String>, anyhow::Error> {
    for s in specs {
        if restricted_names::is_glob_pattern(s) {
            anyhow::bail!("package spec {s} contains glob characters; list packages explicitly");
        }
    }
    Ok(specs.to_vec())
}

Type guard

fn is_valid_package_spec(s: &str) -> bool {
    !restricted_names::is_glob_pattern(s) && !s.is_empty()
}

Try / catch

match cli.compile_options_for_single_package(...) {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("glob patterns") => {
        eprintln!("list packages explicitly instead of using globs");
        return Err(e);
    }
    r => r,
}

Prevention

Never put `*`, `?`, or `[` in a `-p` value.
Quote shell arguments so unmatched globs don't leak literal `*`.
Use `--workspace` or explicit `-p` repeats for groups.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing a package specifier containing glob metacharacters to `-p`, e.g. `cargo build -p 'my-*'` or `cargo test -p 'crate?[abc]'`.

Common situations: Trying to select multiple crates by a common prefix using a shell glob; copying a glob from another tool (npm, make) into cargo; shell expansion that left a literal `*` because no files matched.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of rust-lang/cargo@0e07a15537 (2026-08-06). Data as JSON: /data/errors/7b6b71446542939b.json. Report an issue: GitHub.