leo remove

Remove dependencies from your Leo project

The leo remove command removes dependencies from your Leo project’s manifest.

Syntax

leo remove [NAME] [OPTIONS]

Arguments

NAME · string

The dependency name to remove. Can be specified with or without .aleo suffix.

Not required when using --all flag.

Examples:

• credits.aleo
• credits (automatically adds .aleo)

Options

--all · boolean · default: false

Remove all dependencies (or all dev dependencies when used with --dev).

--dev · boolean · default: false

Remove from development dependencies instead of regular dependencies.

Examples

Remove Single Dependency

leo remove credits.aleo

Output:

✅ Successfully removed the network dependency credits.aleo.

Updates program.json by removing the dependency.

Remove Dependency (Short Syntax)

leo remove credits

Automatically appends .aleo:

✅ Successfully removed the network dependency credits.aleo.

Remove Local Dependency

leo remove my_lib

Output:

✅ Successfully removed the local dependency my_lib.aleo with path ../my_lib.

Remove All Dependencies

leo remove --all

Output:

✅ Successfully removed all dependencies.

Clears the dependencies array in program.json:

{
  "dependencies": []
}

This removes ALL dependencies from your project. Use with caution.

Remove Development Dependency

leo remove test_utils --dev

Output:

✅ Successfully removed the local dependency test_utils.aleo with path ../test_utils.

Removes from dev_dependencies array only.

Remove All Development Dependencies

leo remove --all --dev

Output:

✅ Successfully removed all development dependencies.

Clears the dev_dependencies array:

{
  "dev_dependencies": []
}

Before and After

Before Removal

program.json:

{
  "program": "my_program.aleo",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "dependencies": [
    {
      "name": "credits.aleo",
      "location": "network"
    },
    {
      "name": "my_lib.aleo",
      "location": "local",
      "path": "../my_lib"
    }
  ],
  "dev_dependencies": [
    {
      "name": "test_utils.aleo",
      "location": "local",
      "path": "../test_utils"
    }
  ]
}

After Removal

leo remove credits

program.json:

{
  "program": "my_program.aleo",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "dependencies": [
    {
      "name": "my_lib.aleo",
      "location": "local",
      "path": "../my_lib"
    }
  ],
  "dev_dependencies": [
    {
      "name": "test_utils.aleo",
      "location": "local",
      "path": "../test_utils"
    }
  ]
}

Removing Dependencies

By Type

Network Dependency

leo remove credits --network

The --network flag is optional. Leo automatically detects dependency type.

Local Dependency

leo remove my_lib

By Scope

Regular Dependency

leo remove credits

Development Dependency

leo remove test_utils --dev

Effect on Build

After removing a dependency:

leo build

The removed dependency:

• Is no longer downloaded
• Is not included in the build
• Cannot be imported in Leo code

Before Removal

import credits.aleo;
import my_lib.aleo;

program my_program.aleo {
    transition main() {
        let result: u64 = my_lib.aleo/calculate(100u64);
        return result;
    }
}

After Removing my_lib

leo remove my_lib
leo build

Error:

Error: Dependency 'my_lib.aleo' not found in program.json

You must remove the import and any usage:

program my_program.aleo {
    transition main() {
        // Remove usage of my_lib
        return 100u64;
    }
}

Common Workflows

Replace Network Dependency with Local

# Remove network dependency
leo remove my_lib

# Add local version
leo add my_lib --local ../my_lib

Replace Local Dependency with Network

# Deploy local dependency first
cd ../my_lib
leo deploy --broadcast

# Replace in main project
cd ../my_project
leo remove my_lib
leo add my_lib --network

Clean Up Unused Dependencies

# Remove unused dependencies one by one
leo remove old_lib
leo remove deprecated_utils
leo remove test_dependency

Switch Dependency Versions

# Remove old version
leo remove token

# Add new version with specific edition
leo add token --network --edition 1

Troubleshooting

Dependency Not Found

Error: Dependency 'my_lib.aleo' not found.

The dependency doesn’t exist in program.json. Check:

cat program.json | jq .dependencies

Wrong Scope

leo remove test_utils

Error: Dependency 'test_utils.aleo' not found.

If it’s a dev dependency:

leo remove test_utils --dev

Build Failures After Removal

Error: Dependency 'my_lib.aleo' not found

You removed a dependency but still reference it. Solutions:

1. Remove import statements:

   // Remove this:
   import my_lib.aleo;
   

2. Remove function calls:

   // Remove this:
   let result: u64 = my_lib.aleo/calculate(100u64);
   

3. Re-add the dependency:

   leo add my_lib --local ../my_lib
   

Dependency Management Workflow

Development Phase

# Add local dependencies for rapid iteration
leo add shared_lib --local ../shared_lib
leo add utils --local ../utils

Testing Phase

# Add test dependencies
leo add test_utils --local ../test_utils --dev
leo add mock_data --local ../mocks --dev

Pre-Deployment

# Remove dev dependencies from production build
leo remove test_utils --dev
leo remove mock_data --dev

# Replace local with network dependencies
leo remove shared_lib
leo add shared_lib --network

Cleanup

# Remove all dev dependencies
leo remove --all --dev

# Remove specific unused dependencies
leo remove old_lib
leo remove deprecated_utils

Best Practices

1. Clean Imports After Removal

Always update your source code:

// Before removal
import credits.aleo;
import my_lib.aleo;  // ← Will be removed

program my_program.aleo {
    // ...
}

// After removal
import credits.aleo;
// Removed my_lib import

program my_program.aleo {
    // Updated code without my_lib
}

2. Test After Removal

Always build and test:

leo remove my_lib
leo build
leo test

3. Document Dependency Changes

Update README.md:

## Dependencies

- `credits.aleo` - Standard token operations
- ~~`my_lib.aleo`~~ - Removed in v0.2.0

4. Version Control

Commit changes to program.json:

leo remove my_lib
git add program.json
git commit -m "Remove my_lib dependency"

5. Communicate Changes

For shared projects, notify team members:

# After removing dependency
git push
# Notify: "Removed my_lib dependency, update your imports"

Comparison with Add

Command	Purpose	Effect
leo add my_lib --local ../my_lib	Add dependency	Adds to program.json, includes in build
leo remove my_lib	Remove dependency	Removes from program.json, excludes from build
leo add my_lib --dev	Add dev dependency	Adds to dev_dependencies
leo remove my_lib --dev	Remove dev dependency	Removes from dev_dependencies
leo add --network	Add from network	Fetches from network during build
leo remove	Remove dependency	Removes from manifest

Advanced Usage

Scripted Dependency Management

#!/bin/bash
# remove-all-local-deps.sh

# Get all local dependencies
DEPS=$(cat program.json | jq -r '.dependencies[] | select(.location == "local") | .name')

# Remove each one
for DEP in $DEPS; do
    echo "Removing $DEP"
    leo remove "$DEP"
done

Conditional Dependency Removal

#!/bin/bash
# Remove dev dependencies in production

if [ "$ENVIRONMENT" = "production" ]; then
    leo remove --all --dev
fi

Next Steps

• Add dependencies
• Build with dependencies
• Update Leo CLI