VALA-GEN-INTROSPECT(1)

📦
version 0.56.19 · 6 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, fedora 43, fedora 44, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu stonking

🦋 VALA-GEN-INTROSPECT 🦋

okay bestie, sit DOWN, because this little tool is literally the moment. it's the vala-gen-introspect page from the User Commands section, and it's giving "quietly running the whole show" energy. 💅

✨ NAME ✨

vala-gen-introspect — bestie it generates a GI file for GObject and glib based packages. that's the whole job. iconic of it, honestly. 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

vala-gen-introspect PKGNAME PKGBASE

two arguments, no drama. PKGNAME, PKGBASE. periodt. ✨

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so vala-gen-introspect is a utility that generates GI files from GObject and glib based packages. that's its whole personality and we love her for it. 🫶

the way it works is: you use it in combination with vapigen(1) to generate an API for Vala, and that lets you use that API in Vala for compiling to native code. so basically it's the friend that introduces you to the other friend and now you're a trio. 🔥

  • PKGNAME — the pkg-config name of the library. yes, that name. the one pkg-config knows.
  • PKGBASE — specifies the base directory for that package. where it lives, bestie. its home. 🏠

🌸 Usage: 🌸

gen-introspect [OPTION???]

yes the ??? is really in there. she's mysterious. she contains multitudes. 💀

💜 Help Options: 💜

  • -h, --help — Show help options. the classic. when in doubt, ask for help, and she WILL deliver.

🌈 Application Options: 🌈

  • -v, --verbose — Be verbose. she will not shut up and honestly? we're grateful. every detail, every crumb. 🗣️
  • -o, --output=FILE — write output here instead of stdout. so instead of shouting into the void (your terminal), she writes it to FILE. main character move.
  • -n, --namespace=NAMESPACE — Namespace of the module, like 'Gtk'. that's the example, bestie, straight from the source. use it. 👑
  • --shared-library=FILE — Shared library which contains the symbols. the actual symbols, in the actual file. slay.
  • --include-idl=IDL — Other gidls to include. bring your friends, bring your other IDLs, the more the merrier. 🧚

😭 BUGS 😭

found a bug? not me, but if it WAS me, I'd go straight here:

https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/vala/issues

take it to the issues page, bestie. that's where the fixers live. 🙈

🏠 HOMEPAGE OR CONTACT 🏠

https://vala.dev

that's the vibe check spot. go say hi. 💖

👑 AUTHORS 👑

J??rg Billeter, Raffaele Sandrini.

legends. both of them. we stan. 🌟

🍓 EXAMPLES 🍓

okay so after compilation, this is the command that generates a GI for pango:

vala-gen-introspect pango packages/pango

and then this is how you convert it to a Vala API:

vapigen --pkg cairo --vapidir . --library pango
packages/pango/pango.gi

look at that. two commands and you're done. no cap. 🔥

💫 SEE ALSO 💫

  • vapigen (1) — the other half of the duo. the sibling. the partner in crime.
lowkey reminder bestie: every flag, every file, every URL up there is exactly what the original says. I didn't invent a single thing, I just made it cute. 💜

that's the whole page, gorgeous. gen-introspect 0.56.19, March 2026 — that's the version and the date, and this has been your girl signing off. mwah. 💅✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from