Migrating from 0.7 to 0.10+ 

The assumption here is that you are familiar with sbt 0.7 but new to sbt 0.13.11.

sbt 0.13.11’s many new capabilities can be a bit overwhelming, but this page should help you migrate to 0.13.11 with a minimum of fuss.

Why move to 0.13.11? 

1. Faster builds (because it is smarter at re-compiling only what it must)
2. Easier configuration. For simple projects a single build.sbt file in your root directory is easier to create than project/build/MyProject.scala was.
3. No more lib_managed directory, reducing disk usage and avoiding backup and version control hassles.
4. update is now much faster and it’s invoked automatically by sbt.
5. Terser output. (Yet you can ask for more details if something goes wrong.)

Step 1: Read the Getting Started Guide for sbt 0.13.11 

Reading the Getting Started Guide will probably save you a lot of confusion.

Step 2: Install sbt 0.13.11 

Download sbt 0.13.11 as described on the setup page.

You can run 0.13.11 the same way that you run 0.7.x, either simply:

$ java -jar sbt-launch.jar

Or (as most users do) with a shell script, as described on the setup page.

For more details see the setup page.

Step 3: A technique for switching an existing project 

Here is a technique for switching an existing project to 0.13.11 while retaining the ability to switch back again at will. Some builds, such as those with subprojects, are not suited for this technique, but if you learn how to transition a simple project it will help you do a more complex one next.

Preserve project/ for 0.7.x project 

Rename your project/ directory to something like project-old. This will hide it from sbt 0.13.11 but keep it in case you want to switch back to 0.7.x.

Create build.sbt for 0.13.11 

Create a build.sbt file in the root directory of your project. See .sbt build definition in the Getting Started Guide, and for simple examples. If you have a simple project then converting your existing project file to this format is largely a matter of re-writing your dependencies and maven archive declarations in a modified yet familiar syntax.

This build.sbt file combines aspects of the old project/build/ProjectName.scala and build.properties files. It looks like a property file, yet contains Scala code in a special format.

A build.properties file like:

#Project properties
#Fri Jan 07 15:34:00 GMT 2011
project.organization=org.myproject
project.name=My Project
sbt.version=0.7.7
project.version=1.0
def.scala.version=2.7.7
build.scala.versions=2.8.1
project.initialize=false

Now becomes part of your build.sbt file with lines like:

name := "My Project"

version := "1.0"

organization := "org.myproject"

scalaVersion := "2.9.2"

Currently, a project/build.properties is still needed to explicitly select the sbt version. For example:

Run sbt 0.13.11 

Now launch sbt. If you’re lucky it works and you’re done. For help debugging, see below.

Switching back to sbt 0.7.x 

If you get stuck and want to switch back, you can leave your build.sbt file alone. sbt 0.7.x will not understand or notice it. Just rename your 0.13.11 project directory to something like project10 and rename the backup of your old project from project-old to project again.

FAQs 

There’s a section in the FAQ about migration from 0.7 that covers several other important points.