From 1012253460a2ea9ffd572ba155cee15f5f9ed4a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2026 17:07:36 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 1/6] docs: document fern generate --package, --package-mode,
and --package-only
Co-Authored-By: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
---
.../cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx | 31 ++++++++++++++++++-
fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx | 2 ++
2 files changed, 32 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
index fca845fbb..2ef311fb6 100644
--- a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
```bash
- fern generate [--group ] [--api ] [--version ] [--preview] [--fernignore ] [--local] [--force] [--no-replay]
+ fern generate [--group ] [--api ] [--version ] [--preview] [--fernignore ] [--local] [--force] [--no-replay] [--package] [--package-mode ] [--package-only]
```
@@ -294,6 +294,35 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
`--no-replay` works only for local generation (`--local`).
+ ### package
+
+ Use `--package` to build a distributable artifact for each generator that outputs to the local file system. The artifact is written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside the output directory, so an SDK can be shared internally without publishing to a registry. Artifacts are language-specific: an npm tarball, a Python wheel and sdist, a JAR, a NuGet package, a gem, a Composer zip, a crate, or, for Go, a `-source.zip` containing the module source to reference with a `replace` directive in `go.mod`.
+
+ ```bash
+ fern generate --group node-sdk-local --version 0.0.1 --package
+ ```
+
+ ### package-mode
+
+ Use `--package-mode ` to choose where packaging runs. The default, `local`, uses the language toolchains installed on your machine. `docker` runs each toolchain inside the generator's official Docker image, so no toolchain is required on the host.
+
+ ```bash
+ fern generate --group node-sdk-local --version 0.0.1 --package --package-mode docker
+ ```
+
+ ### package-only
+
+ Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`. Deletion happens per generator, so a generator whose packaging failed keeps its source for debugging.
+
+ ```bash
+ fern generate --group node-sdk-local --version 0.0.1 --package-only --package-mode docker
+ # SDKs/twilio-core-ts-sdk/ contains only fern-dist/twilio-core-0.0.1.tgz
+ ```
+
+
+ The earlier `--pack` and `--pack-mode` flags were renamed to `--package` and `--package-mode` and no longer exist. Update any scripts that use them.
+
+
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
index 609423a85..83460cbf0 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
@@ -146,6 +146,8 @@ fern generate --group python-sdk --local
To pull generator images from a private registry your organization controls instead of Docker Hub, see [Private registry setup](#private-registry-setup).
+To share a locally generated SDK internally without publishing it to a registry, add [`--package`](/learn/cli-api/cli-reference/commands#package), which builds a distributable artifact into a `fern-dist/` folder inside the output directory.
+
From 44b9c9f56ba204a8fad2ff715de3e1db18128f3f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "devin.logan"
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 12:06:48 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 2/6] docs: fold --pack content into --package flags and fix
package-mode values
Co-Authored-By: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
---
.../cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx | 45 +++++++++++++++----
fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx | 2 +-
.../reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx | 2 +
3 files changed, 40 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
index 2ef311fb6..b343d3ca6 100644
--- a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
```bash
- fern generate [--group ] [--api ] [--version ] [--preview] [--fernignore ] [--local] [--force] [--no-replay] [--package] [--package-mode ] [--package-only]
+ fern generate [--group ] [--api ] [--version ] [--preview] [--fernignore ] [--local] [--force] [--no-replay] [--package] [--package-mode ] [--package-only]
```
@@ -296,27 +296,56 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
### package
- Use `--package` to build a distributable artifact for each generator that outputs to the local file system. The artifact is written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside the output directory, so an SDK can be shared internally without publishing to a registry. Artifacts are language-specific: an npm tarball, a Python wheel and sdist, a JAR, a NuGet package, a gem, a Composer zip, a crate, or, for Go, a `-source.zip` containing the module source to reference with a `replace` directive in `go.mod`.
+ Use `--package` to build a distributable package artifact for every generator in the run whose [output location](/learn/sdks/reference/generators-yml#output) is `local-file-system`. Artifacts are written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside that generator's output directory, so a generated SDK can be handed to internal consumers without publishing it to a public registry. `--package` works with both cloud and local (`--local`) generation, and implies full project output so the artifact includes the project metadata files (`pyproject.toml`, `README.md`, and similar) it needs to build.
```bash
- fern generate --group node-sdk-local --version 0.0.1 --package
+ # Package every local-file-system output
+ fern generate --package
+
+ # Package one group generated locally
+ fern generate --group plantstore-python-sdk --local --package
```
+ | Language | Artifact |
+ |----------|----------|
+ | TypeScript | npm tarball (`.tgz`) |
+ | Python | wheel (`.whl`) |
+ | Java | JAR |
+ | C# | NuGet package (`.nupkg`) |
+ | Ruby | gem (`.gem`) |
+ | PHP | Composer archive (`.zip`) |
+ | Rust | crate (`.crate`) |
+ | Go | module source zip (`-source.zip`) |
+
+ Go modules have no binary package format, so the Go artifact is a zip of the generated module source, excluding `fern-dist/` and `.git/`. Fern builds it in-process: it produces the same artifact in either package mode and requires no Go toolchain. Consumers unzip it and point their `go.mod` at the unzipped directory:
+
+ ```go title="go.mod"
+ require github.com/plantstore/plantstore-go v0.0.0
+
+ replace github.com/plantstore/plantstore-go => ../plantstore-go
+ ```
+
+ Swift SDKs are distributed as Swift Package Manager source packages, so packaging logs a warning instead of producing an artifact: share the output directory or reference it as a local package dependency. If packaging fails for one or more generators, the CLI reports them together as `Packaging failed for: ` and removes any empty `fern-dist/` directory it created.
+
+ `--package` can't be combined with `--preview` or with docs generation (`--docs`).
+
### package-mode
- Use `--package-mode ` to choose where packaging runs. The default, `local`, uses the language toolchains installed on your machine. `docker` runs each toolchain inside the generator's official Docker image, so no toolchain is required on the host.
+ Use `--package-mode ` to choose where `--package` runs the packaging toolchains. `host` (the default) uses the toolchains installed on the machine (`npm`, `pip`, `gradle`, `dotnet`, `gem`, `composer`, `cargo`). `docker` runs each toolchain inside its official image (`node`, `python`, `gradle`, `dotnet/sdk`, `ruby`, `composer`, `rust`) with the output directory mounted, so no language toolchains are required locally. Docker mode uses `docker` as the container runtime unless you pass `--runner podman`.
```bash
- fern generate --group node-sdk-local --version 0.0.1 --package --package-mode docker
+ fern generate --group plantstore-python-sdk --package --package-mode docker
```
+ `--package-mode` requires `--package` or `--package-only`.
+
### package-only
- Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`. Deletion happens per generator, so a generator whose packaging failed keeps its source for debugging.
+ Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`. Deletion happens per generator, so a generator whose packaging failed keeps its source for debugging, as does a generator that produces no artifact at all (Swift). `.git`, `.fernignore`, and any top-level path a `.fernignore` entry covers are always preserved.
```bash
- fern generate --group node-sdk-local --version 0.0.1 --package-only --package-mode docker
- # SDKs/twilio-core-ts-sdk/ contains only fern-dist/twilio-core-0.0.1.tgz
+ fern generate --group plantstore-node-sdk --version 0.0.1 --package-only --package-mode docker
+ # SDKs/plantstore-node-sdk/ contains only fern-dist/plantstore-0.0.1.tgz
```
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
index 83460cbf0..7551793da 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ fern generate --group python-sdk --local
To pull generator images from a private registry your organization controls instead of Docker Hub, see [Private registry setup](#private-registry-setup).
-To share a locally generated SDK internally without publishing it to a registry, add [`--package`](/learn/cli-api/cli-reference/commands#package), which builds a distributable artifact into a `fern-dist/` folder inside the output directory.
+To share a locally generated SDK internally without publishing it to a registry, add [`--package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package), which builds a distributable artifact into a `fern-dist/` folder inside the output directory.
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
index 1fa9ebdb2..59d6e96e5 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
@@ -939,6 +939,8 @@ Set to "local-file-system" for local output
Local directory path where generated files will be saved
+
+To turn a local output into an installable artifact (npm tarball, wheel, JAR, and so on) without publishing it to a registry, run [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
From 1b1390a1e80bca99c4f52f5915285b2673955937 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "devin.logan"
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:16:48 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 3/6] docs: trim Go/Swift packaging detail and make --package
pointers callouts
Co-Authored-By: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
---
fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx | 12 ++----------
fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx | 2 ++
.../sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx | 6 ++++--
3 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
index b343d3ca6..057525883 100644
--- a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
@@ -317,15 +317,7 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
| Rust | crate (`.crate`) |
| Go | module source zip (`-source.zip`) |
- Go modules have no binary package format, so the Go artifact is a zip of the generated module source, excluding `fern-dist/` and `.git/`. Fern builds it in-process: it produces the same artifact in either package mode and requires no Go toolchain. Consumers unzip it and point their `go.mod` at the unzipped directory:
-
- ```go title="go.mod"
- require github.com/plantstore/plantstore-go v0.0.0
-
- replace github.com/plantstore/plantstore-go => ../plantstore-go
- ```
-
- Swift SDKs are distributed as Swift Package Manager source packages, so packaging logs a warning instead of producing an artifact: share the output directory or reference it as a local package dependency. If packaging fails for one or more generators, the CLI reports them together as `Packaging failed for: ` and removes any empty `fern-dist/` directory it created.
+ Go has no binary package format, so its artifact is a source zip that consumers unzip and reference from their own `go.mod` with a `replace` directive. Swift SDKs are distributed as Swift Package Manager source packages, so packaging logs a warning instead of producing an artifact.
`--package` can't be combined with `--preview` or with docs generation (`--docs`).
@@ -341,7 +333,7 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
### package-only
- Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`. Deletion happens per generator, so a generator whose packaging failed keeps its source for debugging, as does a generator that produces no artifact at all (Swift). `.git`, `.fernignore`, and any top-level path a `.fernignore` entry covers are always preserved.
+ Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`. Deletion happens per generator, so a generator that produced no artifact keeps its source. `.git`, `.fernignore`, and any top-level path a `.fernignore` entry covers are always preserved.
```bash
fern generate --group plantstore-node-sdk --version 0.0.1 --package-only --package-mode docker
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
index 7551793da..fd6afddfb 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted.mdx
@@ -146,7 +146,9 @@ fern generate --group python-sdk --local
To pull generator images from a private registry your organization controls instead of Docker Hub, see [Private registry setup](#private-registry-setup).
+
To share a locally generated SDK internally without publishing it to a registry, add [`--package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package), which builds a distributable artifact into a `fern-dist/` folder inside the output directory.
+
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
index 59d6e96e5..c50c60917 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
@@ -932,6 +932,10 @@ output:
path: "./generated-sdks/typescript"
```
+
+To turn a local output into an installable artifact (npm tarball, wheel, JAR, and so on) without publishing it to a registry, run [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
+
+
Set to "local-file-system" for local output
@@ -939,8 +943,6 @@ Set to "local-file-system" for local output
Local directory path where generated files will be saved
-
-To turn a local output into an installable artifact (npm tarball, wheel, JAR, and so on) without publishing it to a registry, run [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
From dd9f456278bf62024182c7636fa74edf4f49621d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "devin.logan"
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:03:21 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 4/6] docs: point publishing pages at fern generate --package
for internal distribution
Co-Authored-By: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
---
fern/products/sdks/generators/csharp/publishing-to-nuget.mdx | 5 ++++-
.../sdks/generators/go/publishing-to-go-package-manager.mdx | 5 ++++-
.../sdks/generators/java/publishing-to-maven-central.mdx | 5 ++++-
.../products/sdks/generators/php/publishing-to-packagist.mdx | 5 ++++-
fern/products/sdks/generators/python/publishing-to-pypi.mdx | 5 ++++-
.../products/sdks/generators/ruby/publishing-to-rubygems.mdx | 5 ++++-
.../sdks/generators/rust/publishing-to-crates-io.mdx | 5 ++++-
.../generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx | 2 +-
.../sdks/generators/typescript/publishing-to-npm.mdx | 5 ++++-
9 files changed, 33 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/csharp/publishing-to-nuget.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/csharp/publishing-to-nuget.mdx
index d760935bb..298edffec 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/csharp/publishing-to-nuget.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/csharp/publishing-to-nuget.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: Learn how to publish your Fern-generated C#/.NET SDK to NuGet using
Publish your public-facing Fern C#/.NET SDK to the [NuGet
registry](https://www.nuget.org/). After following the steps on this page,
-you'll have a versioned package published on NuGet.
+you'll have a versioned package published on NuGet. To distribute the SDK
+internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a `.nupkg` with
+[`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
If you're using API key authentication, consider switching to OIDC (trusted publishing). See [Migrating from API key to OIDC publishing](#migrating-from-api-key-to-oidc-publishing) for the steps.
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/go/publishing-to-go-package-manager.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/go/publishing-to-go-package-manager.mdx
index 790a1932a..ab3393dd0 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/go/publishing-to-go-package-manager.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/go/publishing-to-go-package-manager.mdx
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ description: Learn how to publish your Fern-generated Go SDK to pkg.go.dev. Conf
Publish your public-facing Fern Go SDK to
-[pkg.go.dev](https://pkg.go.dev/).
+[pkg.go.dev](https://pkg.go.dev/). To distribute the SDK internally instead,
+generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a module source zip
+with [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/java/publishing-to-maven-central.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/java/publishing-to-maven-central.mdx
index c7df0ff56..abfc33cd5 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/java/publishing-to-maven-central.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/java/publishing-to-maven-central.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: Learn how to publish your Fern-generated Java SDK to Maven Central.
Publish your public-facing Fern Java SDK to the [Maven Central
registry](https://central.sonatype.com/). After following the steps on this
-page, you'll have a versioned package published on Maven Central.
+page, you'll have a versioned package published on Maven Central. To distribute
+the SDK internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a JAR with
+[`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/php/publishing-to-packagist.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/php/publishing-to-packagist.mdx
index 1103e5868..c50230f89 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/php/publishing-to-packagist.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/php/publishing-to-packagist.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: How to publish the Fern PHP SDK to Packagist.
Publish your public-facing Fern PHP SDK to the [Packagist
registry](https://packagist.org/). After following the steps on this page,
-you'll have a versioned package published on Packagist.
+you'll have a versioned package published on Packagist. To distribute the SDK
+internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a Composer archive
+with [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/python/publishing-to-pypi.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/python/publishing-to-pypi.mdx
index 9c08507c6..22ad0fdfb 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/python/publishing-to-pypi.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/python/publishing-to-pypi.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: Learn how to publish your Fern Python SDK to PyPI using OIDC or tok
Publish your public-facing Fern Python SDK to the [PyPI
registry](https://pypi.org/). After following the steps on this page,
-you'll have a versioned package published on PyPI.
+you'll have a versioned package published on PyPI. To distribute the SDK
+internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a wheel with
+[`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
If you're using token-based authentication, consider switching to OIDC (trusted publishing). See [Migrating from token-based to OIDC publishing](#migrating-from-token-based-to-oidc-publishing) for the steps.
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/ruby/publishing-to-rubygems.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/ruby/publishing-to-rubygems.mdx
index a6117b8cd..6b5025b05 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/ruby/publishing-to-rubygems.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/ruby/publishing-to-rubygems.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: Publish Ruby SDKs to RubyGems with Fern. Complete setup guide for p
Publish your public-facing Fern Ruby SDK to the [RubyGems
registry](https://rubygems.org/). After following the steps on this page,
-you'll have a versioned package published on RubyGems.
+you'll have a versioned package published on RubyGems. To distribute the SDK
+internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a gem with
+[`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/rust/publishing-to-crates-io.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/rust/publishing-to-crates-io.mdx
index 84f942893..a7cc20523 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/rust/publishing-to-crates-io.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/rust/publishing-to-crates-io.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: How to publish the Fern Rust SDK to crates.io.
Publish your public-facing Fern Rust SDK to the [crates.io
registry](https://crates.io/). After following the steps on this page,
-you'll have a versioned crate published on crates.io.
+you'll have a versioned crate published on crates.io. To distribute the SDK
+internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a `.crate` file with
+[`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx
index 83582242e..7e9636a9e 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ description: How to publish the Fern Swift SDK as a Swift package
---
-Publish your public-facing Fern Swift SDK as a Swift package distributed via Git. After following the steps on this page, you'll have a versioned package that developers can install using Swift Package Manager.
+Publish your public-facing Fern Swift SDK as a Swift package distributed via Git. After following the steps on this page, you'll have a versioned package that developers can install using Swift Package Manager. To distribute the SDK internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally [self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and reference the output directory as a local package dependency: Swift has no binary package format, so [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package) produces no artifact for Swift.
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/typescript/publishing-to-npm.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/typescript/publishing-to-npm.mdx
index 520a624eb..d8cc5cacd 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/typescript/publishing-to-npm.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/typescript/publishing-to-npm.mdx
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ description: Learn how to publish your Fern TypeScript SDK to npm using OIDC or
Publish your public-facing Fern TypeScript SDK to the [npmjs
registry](https://www.npmjs.com/). After following the steps on this page,
-you'll have a versioned package published on npm.
+you'll have a versioned package published on npm. To distribute the SDK
+internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally
+[self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and build a tarball with
+[`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
If you're using token-based authentication, npm has deprecated long-lived classic tokens. See [Migrating from token-based to OpenID Connect (OIDC) publishing](#migrating-from-token-based-to-oidc-publishing) to upgrade to the more secure OIDC authentication.
From c0c792f23fab4845420f27d32651919350830cb2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "devin.logan"
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:07:17 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 5/6] docs: reword --package project output and drop rename
warning
Co-Authored-By: Devin AI <158243242+devin-ai-integration[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
---
fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx | 8 +-------
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 7 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
index 057525883..86f8adc0c 100644
--- a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
### package
- Use `--package` to build a distributable package artifact for every generator in the run whose [output location](/learn/sdks/reference/generators-yml#output) is `local-file-system`. Artifacts are written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside that generator's output directory, so a generated SDK can be handed to internal consumers without publishing it to a public registry. `--package` works with both cloud and local (`--local`) generation, and implies full project output so the artifact includes the project metadata files (`pyproject.toml`, `README.md`, and similar) it needs to build.
+ Use `--package` to build a distributable package artifact for every generator in the run whose [output location](/learn/sdks/reference/generators-yml#output) is `local-file-system`. Artifacts are written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside that generator's output directory, so a generated SDK can be handed to internal consumers without publishing it to a public registry. `--package` works with both cloud and local (`--local`) generation, and the output includes the manifest and build files (`pyproject.toml`, `README.md`, and similar) the packaging toolchain needs, which a plain `local-file-system` output omits.
```bash
# Package every local-file-system output
@@ -319,8 +319,6 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
Go has no binary package format, so its artifact is a source zip that consumers unzip and reference from their own `go.mod` with a `replace` directive. Swift SDKs are distributed as Swift Package Manager source packages, so packaging logs a warning instead of producing an artifact.
- `--package` can't be combined with `--preview` or with docs generation (`--docs`).
-
### package-mode
Use `--package-mode ` to choose where `--package` runs the packaging toolchains. `host` (the default) uses the toolchains installed on the machine (`npm`, `pip`, `gradle`, `dotnet`, `gem`, `composer`, `cargo`). `docker` runs each toolchain inside its official image (`node`, `python`, `gradle`, `dotnet/sdk`, `ruby`, `composer`, `rust`) with the output directory mounted, so no language toolchains are required locally. Docker mode uses `docker` as the container runtime unless you pass `--runner podman`.
@@ -340,10 +338,6 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
# SDKs/plantstore-node-sdk/ contains only fern-dist/plantstore-0.0.1.tgz
```
-
- The earlier `--pack` and `--pack-mode` flags were renamed to `--package` and `--package-mode` and no longer exist. Update any scripts that use them.
-
-
From b2eac3c5ce536bd6d915edfe097eb7ac9795604e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Devin Logan
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:24:32 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 6/6] clarify
---
.../cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx | 22 +++++++++++++++----
.../publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx | 2 +-
.../reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx | 4 ----
3 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
index 86f8adc0c..ab0a75651 100644
--- a/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/cli-api-reference/pages/commands.mdx
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
### package
- Use `--package` to build a distributable package artifact for every generator in the run whose [output location](/learn/sdks/reference/generators-yml#output) is `local-file-system`. Artifacts are written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside that generator's output directory, so a generated SDK can be handed to internal consumers without publishing it to a public registry. `--package` works with both cloud and local (`--local`) generation, and the output includes the manifest and build files (`pyproject.toml`, `README.md`, and similar) the packaging toolchain needs, which a plain `local-file-system` output omits.
+ Use `--package` to build a distributable package artifact for every generator in the run whose [output location](/learn/sdks/reference/generators-yml#output) is `local-file-system`. Artifacts are written to a `fern-dist/` folder inside that generator's output directory, so a generated SDK can be handed to internal consumers without publishing it to a public registry. `--package` works with both cloud and local (`--local`) generation.
```bash
# Package every local-file-system output
@@ -317,11 +317,23 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
| Rust | crate (`.crate`) |
| Go | module source zip (`-source.zip`) |
- Go has no binary package format, so its artifact is a source zip that consumers unzip and reference from their own `go.mod` with a `replace` directive. Swift SDKs are distributed as Swift Package Manager source packages, so packaging logs a warning instead of producing an artifact.
+
+ Not available for Swift.
+
### package-mode
- Use `--package-mode ` to choose where `--package` runs the packaging toolchains. `host` (the default) uses the toolchains installed on the machine (`npm`, `pip`, `gradle`, `dotnet`, `gem`, `composer`, `cargo`). `docker` runs each toolchain inside its official image (`node`, `python`, `gradle`, `dotnet/sdk`, `ruby`, `composer`, `rust`) with the output directory mounted, so no language toolchains are required locally. Docker mode uses `docker` as the container runtime unless you pass `--runner podman`.
+ Use `--package-mode ` to choose where `--package` runs the packaging toolchains. `host` (the default) uses the toolchains installed on the machine. `docker` runs each toolchain inside its official image with the output directory mounted, so no language toolchains are required locally, and uses `docker` as the container runtime unless you pass `--runner podman`.
+
+ | Language | Host toolchain | Docker image |
+ |----------|----------------|--------------|
+ | TypeScript | `npm` | `node` |
+ | Python | `pip` | `python` |
+ | Java | `gradle` | `gradle` |
+ | C# | `dotnet` | `dotnet/sdk` |
+ | Ruby | `gem` | `ruby` |
+ | PHP | `composer` | `composer` |
+ | Rust | `cargo` | `rust` |
```bash
fern generate --group plantstore-python-sdk --package --package-mode docker
@@ -331,7 +343,9 @@ hideOnThisPage: true
### package-only
- Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`. Deletion happens per generator, so a generator that produced no artifact keeps its source. `.git`, `.fernignore`, and any top-level path a `.fernignore` entry covers are always preserved.
+ Use `--package-only` to keep only the artifact: after packaging, everything in the output directory except `fern-dist/` is deleted, so the generated SDK source isn't left behind. `--package-only` implies `--package`.
+
+ Deletion happens per generator, so a generator that produced no artifact keeps its source. `.git`, `.fernignore`, and any top-level path a `.fernignore` entry covers are always preserved.
```bash
fern generate --group plantstore-node-sdk --version 0.0.1 --package-only --package-mode docker
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx
index 7e9636a9e..83582242e 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/generators/swift/publishing-to-swift-package-manager.mdx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ description: How to publish the Fern Swift SDK as a Swift package
---
-Publish your public-facing Fern Swift SDK as a Swift package distributed via Git. After following the steps on this page, you'll have a versioned package that developers can install using Swift Package Manager. To distribute the SDK internally instead, generate to the local file system (optionally [self-hosted](/learn/sdks/deep-dives/self-hosted)) and reference the output directory as a local package dependency: Swift has no binary package format, so [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package) produces no artifact for Swift.
+Publish your public-facing Fern Swift SDK as a Swift package distributed via Git. After following the steps on this page, you'll have a versioned package that developers can install using Swift Package Manager.
This page assumes that you have:
diff --git a/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx b/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
index c50c60917..1fa9ebdb2 100644
--- a/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
+++ b/fern/products/sdks/reference/generators-yml-reference.mdx
@@ -932,10 +932,6 @@ output:
path: "./generated-sdks/typescript"
```
-
-To turn a local output into an installable artifact (npm tarball, wheel, JAR, and so on) without publishing it to a registry, run [`fern generate --package`](/learn/cli-api-reference/cli-reference/commands#package).
-
-
Set to "local-file-system" for local output