tools.build create-basis cannot use alias that includes tools.deps.alpha

Question

If you try to call create-basis with an alias that involves tools.deps.alpha, you get the following exception:

Execution error (ExceptionInfo) at clojure.tools.deps.alpha.extensions.maven/get-artifact (maven.clj:133).
Could not find artifact org.clojure:tools.deps.alpha:jar:${project.version} in central (https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/)

This is because tools.build includes a source version of deps.edn with that string, instead of a version number:

./tools.build/src/main/resources/clojure/tools/deps/deps.edn
    :deps {:extra-deps {org.clojure/tools.deps.alpha {:mvn/version "${project.version}"}}}

Here's the minimal repro: in an otherwise empty directory:

;; deps.edn 
{:aliases
 {:build
  {:deps {io.github.clojure/tools.build {:git/tag "v0.1.6" :git/sha "5636e61"}}
   :ns-default build}}}

;; build.clj 
(ns build
  (:require [clojure.tools.build.api :as b]))

(defn bug [_]
  (b/create-basis {:aliases [:deps]}))

Then run:

clojure -T:build bug

Given that tools.build already explicitly depends on t.d.a as follows, I don't understand why it also needs a copy of t.d.a's deps.edn source in in the resources tree?

org.clojure/tools.deps.alpha {:mvn/version "0.12.1003"}

Removing that file from the checked out tools.build (under ~/.gitlibs/libs) seems to solve the problem and doesn't appear to break anything else...

Answer 1

Sorry, that resource was a temporary hack that was supposed to be removed and I've now deleted it for the next release of tools.build.