rules_bison

April 27, 2026 · View on GitHub

Bazel rules for GNU Bison.

bison

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison")

bison(name, src, bison_options, language, skeleton)

Generate source code for a Bison parser.

This rule exists for special cases where the build needs to perform further modification of the generated .c / .h before compilation. Most users will find the bison_cc_library rule more convenient.

When generating a C/C++ parser the output groups cc_srcs and cc_hdrs provide access to the generated {name}.c / {name}.cc source and {name}.h header.

When generating a Java parser the output group java_srcs provides access to the generated {name}.java source.

Example

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison")

bison(
    name = "hello",
    src = "hello.y",
)

ATTRIBUTES

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	A unique name for this target.	Name	required
src	A Bison source file. Unless `language` is set, the source's file extension determines whether Bison operates in C or C++ mode: Inputs with file extension `.y` generate outputs `{name}.c` and `{name}.h`. Inputs with file extension `.yy`, `.y++`, `.yxx`, or `.ypp` generate outputs `{name}.cc` and `{name}.h`.	Label	required
bison_options	Additional options to pass to the `bison` command. These will be added to the command args immediately before the source file.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
language	Which language to generate the parser in.	String	optional	`""`
skeleton	Specify the skeleton to use. This file is used as a template for rendering the generated parser. See the Bison documentation regarding the `%skeleton` directive for more details.	Label	optional	`None`

bison_cc_library

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_cc_library")

bison_cc_library(name, deps, src, bison_options, conlyopts, copts, cxxopts, include_prefix,
                 language, linkstatic, skeleton, strip_include_prefix)

Generate a C/C++ library for a Bison parser.

Verbose descriptions of the parser are available in output group bison_report.

Example

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_cc_library")

bison_cc_library(
    name = "hello_lib",
    src = "hello.y",
)

cc_binary(
    name = "hello",
    srcs = ["hello_main.c"],
    deps = [":hello_lib"],
)

ATTRIBUTES

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	A unique name for this target.	Name	required
deps	A list of other C/C++ libraries to depend on.	List of labels	optional	`[]`
src	A Bison source file. Unless `language` is set, the source's file extension determines whether Bison operates in C or C++ mode: Inputs with file extension `.y` generate outputs `{name}.c` and `{name}.h`. Inputs with file extension `.yy`, `.y++`, `.yxx`, or `.ypp` generate outputs `{name}.cc` and `{name}.h`.	Label	required
bison_options	Additional options to pass to the `bison` command. These will be added to the command args immediately before the source file.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
conlyopts	Add these options to the C compilation command. See `cc_library.conlyopts` for more details.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
copts	Add these options to the C/C++ compilation command. See `cc_library.copts` for more details.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
cxxopts	Add these options to the C++ compilation command. See `cc_library.cxxopts` for more details.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
include_prefix	A prefix to add to the path of the generated header. See `cc_library.include_prefix` for more details.	String	optional	`""`
language	Which language to generate the parser in.	String	optional	`""`
linkstatic	Disable creation of a shared library output. See `cc_library.linkstatic` for more details.	Boolean	optional	`False`
skeleton	Specify the skeleton to use. This file is used as a template for rendering the generated parser. See the Bison documentation regarding the `%skeleton` directive for more details.	Label	optional	`None`
strip_include_prefix	A prefix to strip from the path of the generated header. See `cc_library.strip_include_prefix` for more details.	String	optional	`""`

bison_java_library

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_java_library")

bison_java_library(name, deps, src, bison_options, skeleton)

Generate a Java library for a Bison parser.

Verbose descriptions of the parser are available in output group bison_report.

Example

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_java_library")

bison_java_library(
    name = "HelloParser",
    src = "hello.y",
)

java_binary(
    name = "HelloMain",
    srcs = ["HelloMain.java"],
    main_class = "HelloMain",
    deps = [":HelloParser"],
)

ATTRIBUTES

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	A unique name for this target.	Name	required
deps	A list of other Java libraries to depend on.	List of labels	optional	`[]`
src	A Bison source file.	Label	required
bison_options	Additional options to pass to the `bison` command. These will be added to the command args immediately before the source file.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
skeleton	Specify the skeleton to use. This file is used as a template for rendering the generated parser. See the Bison documentation regarding the `%skeleton` directive for more details.	Label	optional	`None`

bison_toolchain_info

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_toolchain_info")

bison_toolchain_info(name, bison_env, bison_tool)

Provides ToolchainInfo and TemplateVariableInfo for the Bison toolchain.

ATTRIBUTES

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	A unique name for this target.	Name	required
bison_env	Additional environment variables to set when running `bison_tool`.	Dictionary: String -> String	optional	`{}`
bison_tool	A `FilesToRunProvider` for the `bison` binary.	Label	required

BisonToolchainInfo

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "BisonToolchainInfo")

BisonToolchainInfo(all_files, bison_tool, bison_env)

Provider for a Bison toolchain.

FIELDS

Name	Description
all_files	A `depset` containing all files comprising this Bison toolchain.
bison_tool	A `FilesToRunProvider` for the `bison` binary.
bison_env	Additional environment variables to set when running `bison_tool`.

bison_register_toolchains

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_register_toolchains")

bison_register_toolchains(version, extra_copts)

A helper function for Bison toolchains registration.

This workspace macro will create a bison_repository named bison_v{version} and register it as a Bazel toolchain.

PARAMETERS

Name	Description	Default Value
version	A supported version of Bison.	`"3.3.2"`
extra_copts	Additional C compiler options to use when building Bison.	`[]`

bison_toolchain

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_toolchain")

bison_toolchain(ctx)

Returns the current BisonToolchainInfo.

PARAMETERS

Name	Description	Default Value
ctx	A rule context, where the rule has a toolchain dependency on `BISON_TOOLCHAIN_TYPE`.	none

RETURNS

A BisonToolchainInfo.

bison_repository

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_repository")

bison_repository(name, extra_copts, extra_http_mirrors, extra_linkopts, http_mirrors, version)

Repository rule for GNU Bison.

The resulting repository will have a //bin:bison executable target.

Example

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_repository")

bison_repository(
    name = "bison_v3.3.2",
    version = "3.3.2",
)

ATTRIBUTES

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	A unique name for this repository.	Name	required
extra_copts	Additional C compiler options to use when building GNU Bison.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
extra_http_mirrors	Additional HTTP mirrors of the GNU Bison source archives. These mirrors will be appended to the list of default GNU mirrors.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
extra_linkopts	Additional linker options to use when building GNU Bison.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
http_mirrors	If set then this value will be used instead of the default HTTP mirror list. The `extra_http_mirrors` attribute will be appended to this list.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
version	A supported version of GNU Bison.	String	required

bison_toolchain_repository

load("@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl", "bison_toolchain_repository")

bison_toolchain_repository(name, bison_repository)

Toolchain repository rule for Bison toolchains.

Toolchain repositories add a layer of indirection so that Bazel can resolve toolchains without downloading additional dependencies.

The resulting repository will have the following targets:

//bin:bison (an alias into the underlying [bison_repository] (#bison_repository))
//:toolchain, which can be registered with Bazel.

Example

load(
    "@rules_bison//bison:bison.bzl",
    "bison_repository",
    "bison_toolchain_repository",
)

bison_repository(
    name = "bison_v3.3.2",
    version = "3.3.2",
)

bison_toolchain_repository(
    name = "bison",
    bison_repository = "@bison_v3.3.2",
)

register_toolchains("@bison//:toolchain")

ATTRIBUTES

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	A unique name for this repository.	Name	required
bison_repository	The name of a `bison_repository`.	String	required

bison_repository_ext

bison_repository_ext = use_extension("@rules_bison//bison/extensions:bison_repository_ext.bzl", "bison_repository_ext")
bison_repository_ext.repository(name, extra_copts, extra_http_mirrors, extra_linkopts, http_mirrors,
                                version)

Module extension for declaring dependencies on GNU Bison.

The resulting repository will have the following targets:

//bin:bison (an alias into the underlying [bison_repository] (#bison_repository))
//:toolchain, which can be registered with Bazel.

Example

bison = use_extension(
    "@rules_bison//bison/extensions:bison_repository_ext.bzl",
    "bison_repository_ext",
)

bison.repository(name = "bison", version = "3.3.2")
use_repo(bison, "bison")
register_toolchains("@bison//:toolchain")

TAG CLASSES

repository

Attributes

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	An optional name for the repository. The name must be unique within the set of names registered by this extension. If unset, the repository name will default to `"bison_v{version}"`.	Name	optional	`""`
extra_copts	Additional C compiler options to use when building GNU Bison.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
extra_http_mirrors	Additional HTTP mirrors of the GNU Bison source archives. These mirrors will be appended to the list of default GNU mirrors.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
extra_linkopts	Additional linker options to use when building GNU Bison.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
http_mirrors	If set then this value will be used instead of the default HTTP mirror list. The `extra_http_mirrors` attribute will be appended to this list.	List of strings	optional	`[]`
version	A supported version of GNU Bison.	String	optional	`"3.3.2"`

bison_toolchains_ext

bison_toolchains_ext = use_extension("@rules_bison//bison/extensions:bison_toolchains_ext.bzl", "bison_toolchains_ext")
bison_toolchains_ext.toolchain(name, bison_env, bison_tool)

Module extension for declaring Bison toolchains with custom target binaries.

The resulting repository will have one subdirectory per named module tag, which contains a :toolchain target that can be registered with Bazel.

Example

bison_toolchains = use_extension(
    "@rules_bison//bison/extensions:bison_toolchains_ext.bzl",
    "bison_toolchain_ext",
)

bison_toolchains.toolchain(
    name = "custom",
    bison_tool = "//custom_bison:bison",
)
use_repo(bison_toolchains, "bison_toolchains")
register_toolchains("@bison_toolchains//custom:toolchain")

TAG CLASSES

toolchain

Attributes

Name	Description	Type	Mandatory	Default
name	The name of the toolchain repository to create.	Name	required
bison_env	Additional environment variables to set when running `bison_tool`.	Dictionary: String -> String	optional	`{}`
bison_tool	The label of an `bison` executable target.	Label	required