2 Quick start summary

• To load an ASDF system:
  • Load ASDF itself into your Lisp image, using (require "asdf"). Check that you have a recent version using (asdf:asdf-version). For more details, or if any of the above fails, see Loading ASDF.
  • Make sure software is installed where ASDF can find it. The simplest way is to put all your Lisp code in subdirectories of ~/common-lisp/ (starting with ASDF 3.1.2), or ~/.local/share/common-lisp/source/ (for ASDF 2 and later, or if you want to keep source in a hidden directory). For more details, see Configuring ASDF to find your systems.
  • Load your system with (asdf:load-system "my-system"). See Using ASDF.
• To make your own ASDF system:
  • As above, load and configure ASDF.
  • Make a new directory for your system, my-system/, again in a location where ASDF can find it. All else being equal, the easiest location is probably ~/common-lisp/my-system/. See Configuring ASDF to find your systems.
  • Create an ASDF system definition listing the dependencies of your system, its components, and their interdependencies, and put it in my-system.asd. This file must have the same name as your system, all lowercase. See Defining systems with defsystem.
  • Use (asdf:load-system "my-system") to make sure it's all working properly. See Using ASDF.