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PacletSymbol[paclet,"sym"]

gives the symbol named "sym" in the primary context of paclet.

PacletSymbol[paclet,"sym",h]

wraps the head h around the symbol before returning it.

Details
Details and Options Details and Options
Examples  
Basic Examples  
Scope  
Properties & Relations  
See Also
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PacletSymbol

PacletSymbol[paclet,"sym"]

gives the symbol named "sym" in the primary context of paclet.

PacletSymbol[paclet,"sym",h]

wraps the head h around the symbol before returning it.

Details

  • PacletSymbol is a convenient shorthand that installs the paclet if necessary, calls Needs on its primary context and evaluates to the named symbol.
  • PacletSymbol loads the primary context of the paclet in a way that does not modify $ContextPath.
  • For paclets that are not already installed, the paclet is downloaded and loaded in the current session but not installed for future sessions.
  • PacletSymbol is a way to sample a paclet's functionality without permanently installing it or adding its context to the context path.
  • The paclet argument can have any of the following forms:
  • "name"name of the paclet or ResourceObject
    PacletObject[…]a paclet object
    ResourceObject[…]a resource object of type "Paclet"
    File[…]a paclet in a given directory
  • PacletSymbol accepts the same options as ResourceObject.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (2)

Retrieve a symbol from a paclet:

Wolfram Language code: PacletSymbol["Benchmarking", "Benchmark"]

Use a function from a paclet:

Wolfram Language code: PacletSymbol["CodeParser", "CodeParse"]["1+1"]

Scope  (2)

Use a function from a PacletObject:

Wolfram Language code: PacletSymbol[PacletObject["Benchmarking"], "BenchmarkReport"][]

Hold the returned symbol:

Wolfram Language code: held = PacletSymbol["CloudObject", "$CloudObjectPacletInformation", Hold]

Releasing the hold returns the value:

Wolfram Language code: ReleaseHold[held]

Properties & Relations  (1)

Using a symbol from a paclet typically requires calling Needs:

Wolfram Language code: Needs["Benchmarking`"]
Wolfram Language code: Benchmarking`Benchmark[]

The Needs call modified $ContextPath:

Wolfram Language code: MemberQ[$ContextPath, "Benchmarking`"]

Using PacletSymbol allows the symbol to work without modifying $ContextPath:

Wolfram Language code: $ContextPath = DeleteCases[$ContextPath, "Benchmarking`"];
Wolfram Language code: PacletSymbol["Benchmarking", "Benchmark"][]
Wolfram Language code: MemberQ[$ContextPath, "Benchmarking`"]
Wolfram Research (2021), PacletSymbol, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/PacletSymbol.html.

Text

Wolfram Research (2021), PacletSymbol, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/PacletSymbol.html.

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2021. "PacletSymbol." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/PacletSymbol.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2021). PacletSymbol. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/PacletSymbol.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_pacletsymbol, author="Wolfram Research", title="{PacletSymbol}", year="2021", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/PacletSymbol.html}", note=[Accessed: 12-June-2026]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2026_pacletsymbol, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={PacletSymbol}, year={2021}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/PacletSymbol.html}, note=[Accessed: 12-June-2026]}