# Rustdoc --dev-dependencies, --tests, --all-targets

**URL:** <https://internals.rust-lang.org/t/rustdoc-dev-dependencies-tests-all-targets/17712>\
**Category:** tools and infrastructure\
**Created:** [November 8, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://internals.rust-lang.org/t/rustdoc-dev-dependencies-tests-all-targets/17712 "2022-11-08T12:07:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Diziet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diziet](https://internals.rust-lang.org/u/Diziet)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 12:07pm UTC](https://internals.rust-lang.org/t/rustdoc-dev-dependencies-tests-all-targets/17712/1 "2022-11-08T12:07:32Z")

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We have `cargo check --all-targets` which checks everything in-tree (excluding doctests but, AIUI, including `#[test]` and cargo "integration" tests).

But `cargo doc` is more limited. Limitations seem to me to include:

- No ability to document test items at all. This could be a hindrance when a package has sophisticated test suite with infrastructure which is all `#[cfg(test)]`
- No command line option like `--all-targets` to bring together all the things that can be documented.
- ~~The way to get dev-dependencies documented is to say `--examples`. This is rather obscure. It also has a downside: examples often have short name-clashy kinds of names, and this interacts badly with the cargo output file name clash problem ([https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/6313](https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/6313) etc).~~ There is no way to document dev-dependencies?

I suggest the following approach:

- Introduce a new `--document-dev-dependencies` option (name TBD) which _adds_ the dev-dependencies to the things to be documented. This can be stable as soon as it is implemented, and provides a way to get the dev-dependencies documented without being afflicted by the cargo output dupes problem.
- Introduce a new unstable option `--all-targets` which documents everything that can be documented.
- Change cargo's output paths for examples, placing all examples into a path derived from the containing package and the path within the module.
- Provide `--tests` which documents (only, all) tests. For cargo "integration" tests, the output filename should be very qualified, like for examples.
- When all of the above is done, `--all-targets` actually does document all tagets and can be stabilised.

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**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/internals.rust-lang.org/system/32/14092_2.png) [@system](https://internals.rust-lang.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://internals.rust-lang.org/t/rustdoc-dev-dependencies-tests-all-targets/17712/2 "2023-02-06T12:08:27Z")

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Closed on February 6, 2023, 12:08pm UTC

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