* Cask

[[https://github.com/cask/cask/actions][https://github.com/cask/cask/actions/workflows/test.yml/badge.svg]]
#+HTML: <img src="cask_small.png" align="right">

=cask= (not to be confused with homebrew cask) was an early
=npm/uv/cargo= for Emacs Lisp with hardcoded ties to MELPA, an early
=npmregistry/PyPi/crates.io=.  As of September 2026, emacs still lacks
an unimprovised =npm/uv/cargo=-like build tool.

** Installation

#+begin_src shell
  git clone https://github.com/cask/cask
  make -C cask install
#+end_src

** Not-so-quick start
With just this baseline "Cask" file, you can run most of the commands described in [[http://cask.readthedocs.io]].

#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(source gnu)
(source melpa)

(package-file "your-main-file.el")
#+end_src

The =EMACS= environment variable governs which emacs binary to test.  For example,
the following runs ert tests under an older emacs:

#+begin_src sh
EMACS=emacs-25.3 cask emacs --batch -l mytest.el -f ert-run-tests-batch
#+end_src

/We have deprecated the/ ~cask exec~ /invocation, and consequently no
longer recommend/ ~cask exec ert-runner~ /nor/ ~cask exec ecukes~ /./

** Typical Makefile Usage

Egregious boilerplate follows:

#+begin_src makefile :tangle README.makefile
export EMACS ?= $(shell command -v emacs 2>/dev/null)
CASK_DIR := $(shell cask package-directory)

$(CASK_DIR): Cask
	cask install
	@touch $(CASK_DIR)

.PHONY: cask
cask: $(CASK_DIR)

.PHONY: compile
compile: cask
	cask emacs -batch -L . -L test \
	  -f batch-byte-compile $$(cask files); \
	  (ret=$$? ; cask clean-elc && exit $$ret)

.PHONY: test
test: compile
	cask emacs --batch -L . -L test -l readme-test -f ert-run-tests-batch
#+end_src

** Typical CI Usage

Cask, in conjunction with [[https://github.com/purcell/setup-emacs][setup-emacs]], is commonly used in Github Actions.  Egregious boilerplate follows:

#+begin_src yaml :tangle .github/workflows/readme.yml
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    strategy:
      matrix:
        emacs-version:
          - 26.3
          - 27.2
          - 28.2
          - 29.2
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: purcell/setup-emacs@master
        with:
          version: ${{ matrix.emacs-version }}
      - uses: actions/cache@v4
        id: cache-cask-packages
        with:
          path: .cask
          key: cache-cask-packages-000
      - uses: actions/cache@v4
        id: cache-cask-executable
        with:
          path: ~/.cask
          key: cache-cask-executable-000
      - uses: cask/setup-cask@master
        if: steps.cache-cask-executable.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
        with:
          version: snapshot
      - run: echo "$HOME/.cask/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
#+end_src

** Frequently Asked Questions

+ Why does this +shit+ never work? :: Bitrot and weak hacks, primarily.  Always try =rm -rf ~/.emacs.d/.cask= since we're liable to make backwards-incompatible changes.
+ Why does this utterly fail on Windows? :: If you use emacs on Windows, you're not doing it right.  But for a sufficiently motivated Powershell bro, it would not be hard to finesse the =Makefile= for a typical Windows environment.
+ Why does install "not know where to install"? :: After assaying cross-platform schemes like =systemd-path= and =XDG_DATA_HOME= to figure out a suitable install directory, Cask resorts to the old, unspoken standbys of =~/.local/bin= and =~/bin=.  If neither of those are present, then =make install= gives up with that error.  I couldn't determine a more standard method last I asked stackoverflow.com. To fix this error, you can manually specify the install directory like this - ~DESTDIR="$HOME/path/to/install/dir" make install~.
+ Why is everything you say inconsistent with cask.readthedocs.io? :: I would disregard nearly everything at cask.readthedocs.io, especially the [[https://cask.readthedocs.io/en/latest/guide/usage.html#quickstart][Quickstart page]].  In particular, I would not =require cask= in your dot.emacs since cask is now largely a command-line tool independent of whatever you do within emacs.  If you are calling =cask-initialize= in your dot.emacs or harken back to the bygone era of [[https://github.com/rdallasgray/pallet][pallet]], I'm afraid you're on your own.
+ Doesn't Cask make things more complicated? :: Yes, because it forces you to test your package under multiple versions of emacs.  Most packages don't do any testing at all, which is why emacs has lost credibility with the computing public.