Create a Package

This guide walks you through turning a standalone bundle into a distributable MTHDS package.

What You Start With

You have one or more .mthds files that work on their own:

my-methods/
├── summarizer.mthds
└── classifier.mthds

Step 1: Initialize the Manifest

Run mthds package init from the package directory:

cd my-methods
mthds package init

This generates a METHODS.toml skeleton to fill in:

[package]
name        = "my_methods"
address     = "example.com/yourorg/my_methods"
version     = "0.1.0"
description = "Text summarization and document classification methods"

[exports.summarization]
pipes = ["summarize"]

[exports.classification]
pipes = ["classify_document"]

The name is the package's snake_case identity. It does not need to match the directory name — my-methods/ holding a package named my_methods is perfectly fine.

Step 2: Set the Package Address

Edit the address field to your actual repository location:

[package]
name        = "my_methods"
address     = "github.com/yourorg/my-methods"
version     = "0.1.0"
description = "Text summarization and document classification methods"

The address must start with a hostname (containing at least one dot), followed by a path. It doubles as the fetch location when other packages depend on yours.

Step 3: Configure Exports

Review the [exports] section and declare your public API — the pipes consumers may call:

[exports.summarization]
pipes = ["summarize"]

[exports.classification]
pipes = ["classify_document"]

Pipes not listed in [exports] are private — they are implementation details invisible to consumers. Pipes designated as main_pipe — in the manifest or in a bundle header — are auto-exported regardless of whether they appear here.

Concepts are always public — they do not need to be listed.

Step 4: Add Metadata

Add optional but recommended fields:

[package]
name          = "my_methods"
address       = "github.com/yourorg/my-methods"
version       = "0.1.0"
description   = "Text summarization and document classification methods"
authors       = ["Your Name <you@example.com>"]
license       = "MIT"
mthds_version = ">=1.0.0"

Step 5: Validate

Verify the manifest and the package are well-formed:

mthds package validate
mthds validate --all

The first command checks the manifest itself; the second validates all pipes across all bundles in the package, checking concept references, pipe references, and visibility rules.

The Result

Your package directory now looks like:

my-methods/
├── METHODS.toml
├── summarizer.mthds
└── classifier.mthds

You have a distributable package with a globally unique address, versioned identity, and controlled exports. Other packages can now depend on it — and publishing is nothing more than pushing the repository and tagging a release (see Distribution).