rules_celix

An OSS Bazel ruleset to support building Apache Celix bundles and applications.

Celix is an OSGi-inspired framework for C and C++. A Celix bundle is a zip archive containing a META-INF/MANIFEST.MF, one or more shared libraries, and optional resources. This ruleset lets you produce valid Celix bundles from a fully hermetic Bazel build without invoking Celix’s CMake helpers.

Status

v0.3.0 released: runnable celix_container, C++ framework-resolution fix, deterministic distributable tarball. Not yet on the Bazel Central Registry (BCR) (BCR publication is planned for v1.0). Use local_path_override or git_override. See the roadmap for full status and milestone details.

Versioning: bottom line (to rephrase in v0.5.0)

This section records the framework versioning strategy agreed during the bring-your-own-Celix milestone (0.4) planning. It is a temporary reminder and will be rephrased when the version-compatibility tests land (v0.5.0).

• rules_celix declares its celix dependency floor at the minimum version it tests, currently 2.4.0, not an arbitrarily low value like 2.0.0.
• The celix Bazel module (the celix-bazel repo) releases one module version per Apache Celix upstream release, by necessity, but never in lockstep with rules_celix.
• Once rules_celix depends on the celix module instead of pinning its own fetch, one rules_celix release covers all supported Celix versions.
• The consumer selects the Celix version through bazel_dep and Bazel's minimal version selection (MVS); the higher declared version wins.
• The version-permutation burden moves into CI as version-compatibility tests (milestone 0.5), not into parallel rules_celix releases.
• Keep the celix module's compatibility_level and public target names stable for the single-release model to hold.
• Raise the floor deliberately, and only when support for older Celix versions is dropped.

Quick start

Add the ruleset to your MODULE.bazel (local checkout or git pin):

bazel_dep(name = "rules_celix", version = "0.3.0")
local_path_override(
    module_name = "rules_celix",
    path = "../rules_celix",          # path to this repository
)
# or, for a git pin:
# git_override(
#     module_name = "rules_celix",
#     remote = "https://github.com/<you>/rules_celix.git",
#     commit = "<commit-sha>",
# )

The ruleset fetches and builds its own Apache Celix 2.4.0 (celix_deps in MODULE.bazel), so the convenience macros and the runnable celix_container need no consumer-supplied Celix. Use the explicit activator path of celix_bundle, or supply your own @celix, only when you need a different framework or build it yourself (see rules_foreign_cc).

Build your first bundle:

# BUILD.bazel
load("@rules_celix//celix:defs.bzl", "celix_c_bundle")

celix_c_bundle(
    name = "hello_bundle",
    symbolic_name = "com.example.hello",
    version = "1.0.0",
    srcs = ["hello_activator.c"],
)

./bazelw build //:hello_bundle
# → bazel-bin/hello_bundle.zip   (valid Celix bundle)

Full walkthrough: docs/using/quickstart.md.

Documentation

• For consumers: docs/using/. Quickstart, bundles, containers, and API reference (quickstart, bundles, containers, API reference).
• For contributors: docs/developing/. Setup, roadmap, implementation notes, testing, and releasing (setup, roadmap, implementation notes, testing, releasing).
• Start at the docs index.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please run ./bazelw run @buildifier_prebuilt//:buildifier -- -r . and the test suite before submitting. See CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

License

Apache License 2.0, same as Apache Celix.

Related projects

• Apache Celix
• rules_pkg
• rules_foreign_cc (useful for building Celix itself from source)