Recommends

Recommends is the third-person singular present tense of the verb recommend. To recommend something is to endorse it as suitable, beneficial, or worthy of acceptance, often based on expertise or experience. A recommendation carries professional or authoritative weight but does not impose an obligation.

In ordinary writing, recommends introduces advice or guidance about actions, products, or policies. For example, a doctor may recommend regular exercise, a teacher may recommend a particular study plan, or a policy report may recommend phased implementation. The term implies suitability or value, but leaves room for individual choice or further evaluation. It can be followed by a direct object or by a clause beginning with that, as in "The committee recommends that the project proceed" or "The reviewer recommends this edition."

In computing and software packaging, Recommends denotes a metadata field used to describe optional but desirable dependencies. Packages listed in Recommends are not strictly required for the primary package to function but are considered important for a complete or enhanced user experience. Package managers typically install recommended packages by default, while users can opt out (for example, using flags that disable automatic installation of recommended packages). This is distinct from Depends, which specifies essential dependencies, and Suggests, which lists weaker, optional associations. The concept helps balance functionality with modularity, allowing distributions to offer richer functionality without forcing additional installations.