installer.py: require "explicit: True" in the install arguments to mark a package "explicit" (#31646)

2 files changed, 14 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/installer.py b/lib/spack/spack/installer.py
index af34388eb4..6f6af97812 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/installer.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/installer.py
@@ -2212,7 +2212,8 @@ class BuildTask(object):
     @property
     def explicit(self):
         """The package was explicitly requested by the user."""
-        return self.pkg == self.request.pkg
+        return self.pkg == self.request.pkg and \
+            self.request.install_args.get('explicit', True)
 
     @property
     def key(self):
diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/test/installer.py b/lib/spack/spack/test/installer.py
index f2bd5e1a10..8a36978cab 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/test/installer.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/test/installer.py
@@ -1176,6 +1176,18 @@ def test_install_skip_patch(install_mockery, mock_fetch):
     assert inst.package_id(spec.package) in installer.installed
 
 
+def test_install_implicit(install_mockery, mock_fetch):
+    """Test the path skip_patch install path."""
+    spec_name = 'trivial-install-test-package'
+    const_arg = installer_args([spec_name],
+                               {'fake': False})
+    installer = create_installer(const_arg)
+    pkg = installer.build_requests[0].pkg
+    assert not create_build_task(pkg, {'explicit': False}).explicit
+    assert create_build_task(pkg, {'explicit': True}).explicit
+    assert create_build_task(pkg).explicit
+
+
 def test_overwrite_install_backup_success(temporary_store, config, mock_packages,
                                           tmpdir):
     """