punkshell/src/AGENTS.md

src — Source Tree Root

Purpose

The source tree root contains all editable source code, build scripts, test suites, VFS payloads, vendor dependencies, and documentation. This is the primary development area.

Ownership

• The src/ tree is where agents perform development work.
• Generated/output directories at the project root (modules/, lib/, lib_tcl8/, lib_tcl9/, modules_tcl8/, modules_tcl9/) are build targets — agents must not directly modify them.
• VFS payloads, runtime mappings, vendored dependencies, generated docs, and entry-point scripts have child AGENTS.md files with local ownership rules.

Local Contracts

• make.tcl is the primary build entry point: tclsh src/make.tcl <command>.
• The build system handles bootstrap loading, version assignment, module/library packaging, and VFS packaging.
• Shell launcher entry points include tclsh src/make.tcl shell, built launchers under the project bin/ directory, scripts sourced from src/scriptapps/, and executable entry scripts under src/vfs/_config/.
• Tcl 8.6+ is required and Tcl 9.0 is supported; gate 9.0-specific behavior behind version checks or existing punk::lib::compat helpers.
• Primary target is Windows (win32-x86_64); Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD are secondary targets.
• Tcl linting is available only through the VS Code Tcl lint plugin configured by tclint.toml; do not try to run tclint or tcllint as shell commands, except at explicit user request.
• Lint coverage is .tcl and .tm; extend config if new Tcl-related extensions appear.
• Shared Tcl source formatting defaults are a 400-character line cap, no more than 10 consecutive blank lines, 4-space indentation, and no tabs except inside string literals.
• Source priority for editable modules: src/modules/ > src/modules_tcl<major>/ > bootsupport > VFS > built > installed.
• Source priority for editable libraries: src/lib/ > src/lib_tcl<major>/ > vendorlib > VFS > built > installed.
• Treat pkgIndex.tcl as a loader map unless the task is about package loading or registration.
• Prefer vendored dependencies under src/vendor* before fetching new dependencies.
• Guard optional compiled extensions such as twapi or tdom with fallback behavior or actionable messages.

File Resolution Policy

Use the strongest available anchor first and do not broaden scope until that anchor is checked.

Treat active-editor anchors in source-derived or generated trees as ambiguous unless the user explicitly named that path. In particular, confirm the intended target before editing files opened under src/bootsupport/, root modules/, root lib/, modules_tcl8/, modules_tcl9/, lib_tcl8/, or lib_tcl9/; for generic module/library work, the usual target is src/modules/, src/modules_tcl<major>/, src/lib/, or src/lib_tcl<major>/.

Anchor order:

1. Exact path named by the user.
2. Active editor file, when the environment provides one.
3. Exact proc, symbol, or identifier named by the user.
4. Repository naming and source-precedence rules.

Proc inspection order:

1. Read the exact file named by the user, if provided.
2. Otherwise read the active editor file, if provided and relevant.
3. Otherwise search once for the exact proc name.
4. Prefer editable source under src/modules/, src/modules_tcl<major>/, src/lib/, or src/lib_tcl<major>/.
5. If multiple matches exist, prefer the generic source tree unless version-specific behavior is relevant or only a version-specific definition exists.
6. If the best hit is pkgIndex.tcl, use it to resolve the implementation file.
7. Once the owning source file is identified, continue locally from that file.

Recovery after a wrong path guess:

• Re-check the user-provided path.
• Re-check the active editor file, if available.
• Re-check repo naming conventions.
• Use one exact symbol search instead of probing more filename variants.

Work Guidance

• Run tclsh src/make.tcl packages once after cloning to populate generated module and library assets.
• Use tclsh src/make.tcl bakehouse for full builds from a clean checkout (packages + bake; refuses uncommitted src by default - -dirty-abort 0 overrides). The deprecated project alias maps to it with a notice.
• Use tclsh src/make.tcl modules to build just the module packages.
• Use tclsh src/make.tcl libs to build just the library packages.
• Use tclsh src/make.tcl packages to build both modules and libraries.
• make.tcl colour is terminal-aware (G-113): piped/redirected runs (agent harnesses, CI, log capture) automatically produce fully ESC-free output with no caller action required - an ansistrip channel transform on stdout+stderr guarantees zero ESC bytes for every emitter, including module-side ones (punkcheck summaries, punk::args tables). Interactive terminal runs keep colour (stdout tty probe via the -winsize channel option, Tcl 8.7+/9). Precedence: NO_COLOR (any value) always suppresses colour; PUNK_FORCE_COLOR/FORCE_COLOR (value other than 0/false/no/off) re-enables ANSI on piped output; otherwise the probe decides. Tcl 8.6 has no boot-phase probe - colour fails OFF there (use the force vars for 8.6 interactive colour). stderr follows the stdout decision; make.tcl shell pops the transform (repl colour is the shell's own concern). tclsh src/make.tcl check reports the active policy (colour policy (G-113): mode=... line; modes tty|forced|nocolor|piped-plain|tcl86-plain). Pinned by src/tests/shell/testsuites/punkexe/maketclcolour.test. Agents no longer need to set NO_COLOR for captured runs (setting it remains harmless).
• Use tclsh src/make.tcl vendorupdate to refresh vendormodules from config. It warns (non-fatal) for each source project whose fossil/git checkout is dirty - vendored artifacts built from a dirty tree have no committed provenance; commit in the source project to clear the warning (enforcement policy tracked by goal G-026).
• All build/promotion commands (bakehouse, packages, modules, libs, bake, vfslibs, bin, bootsupport, vfscommonupdate) warn similarly when this project's own src/ has uncommitted fossil/git changes (dirt outside src/ is ignored). Warn-only by default EXCEPT bakehouse (aborts by default; -dirty-abort 0 overrides); pass -dirty-abort elsewhere to make the check aborting. For evaluating uncommitted source without a build, prefer <builtexe> src / <builtexe> src shell. The check is punkboot::utils::vcs_dirty_warnings (optional scope argument) loaded guardedly from bootsupport - if the snapshot is stale/missing the check degrades to a skip notice (but -dirty-abort then aborts rather than silently losing the requested strictness).
• Provenance warnings (dirty-src gate + vendorupdate source-project check) print with a plain column-0 PROVENANCE-WARNING: token (grep for it in captured build output) and are recapped at the end of the run via make.tcl's wrapped ::exit. Interactive terminal runs get a 3-second ctrl-c grace countdown before a dirty build proceeds; piped/agent runs skip it. tclsh src/make.tcl check reports the current src provenance status and what the build commands would do.
• Use tclsh src/make.tcl vfscommonupdate to rebuild _vfscommon.vfs. The REPLACE confirmation prompts on an interactive terminal; unattended/agent runs must pass -confirm 0 (with the default -confirm 1 and a piped/closed stdin, make.tcl aborts fast with guidance instead of reading stdin - do not pipe y).
• tclsh src/make.tcl workflow prints an embedded ASCII data-flow overview of the build/release workflow (release-ready command sequence, source→outputs folder flow, kit assembly, keyed notes). The text lives in ::punkboot::workflow_text in src/make.tcl - embedded rather than a data file so it travels with the make.tcl copies seeded into generated projects. Update contract (agents): whenever build data flow changes - a make.tcl subcommand added/removed/repurposed, a source or output folder added or rerouted, a propagation target added, a gate (staleness/provenance/confirm) or deploy behaviour changed - update the workflow text in the same change-set. Keep it plain ASCII, max line width 100, and preserve the RELEASE SEQUENCE / DIAGRAM / KEY-NOTES / MAINTENANCE structure; verify by running tclsh src/make.tcl workflow (and once under PUNKBOOT_PLAIN=1). Adding/changing a subcommand also means: SUMMARIES + HELPTEXTS + SUBOPTS (+ SUBGROUPS) in ::punkboot::argdoc, known_commands, the plain punkboot_gethelp text, and a project-version bump (make.tcl interface is product surface per root AGENTS.md). Layout make.tcl copies pick the change up via make.tcl bootsupport - do not hand-sync them.
• make.tcl subcommands and flags are punk::args-declared (G-030): tclsh src/make.tcl help ?subcommand? or <subcommand> -help shows tabled usage; invalid arguments produce punk::args usage errors. The dispatch degrades to plain scan/help when the bootsupport punk::args (or its rendering stack) is stale or unavailable; PUNKBOOT_PLAIN=1 forces the degraded mode for troubleshooting. The ::punkboot::argdoc definitions are constructed (string-built) and use the G-045 authoring mechanisms — block-form help values + @normalize, explicit @form -synopsis — see src/modules/AGENTS.md "punk::args definition authoring ergonomics" before editing them or authoring similar definitions.
• Uncommitted make.tcl-generated outputs may be batched into one commit, regardless of how many make.tcl invocations produced them. This covers punkcheck-managed build outputs that are VCS-tracked: src/bootsupport/, _vfscommon.vfs/modules + /lib, declared per-kit *.vfs/lib_tcl<N>/<pkg> subfolders, the thin-layout sync copies (src/project_layouts/vendor/punk/<layout>/src/{make.tcl,build.tcl} + bootsupport manifest copies), and the module-shipped layout payload under src/modules/punk/mix/#modpod-templates-*/templates/project_layouts/ (G-087: synced from src/project_layouts - never hand-edit the modpod copy). (Root modules/, lib/, modules_tcl<N>/, lib_tcl<N>/ are gitignored and never committed.) Each module's old→new version rename is atomic; a regeneration reflects one build-output refresh, not independent hand-edits. This is a carve-out from generic "split aggressively" commit guidance for punkcheck-managed build outputs only — it does not cover user-curated VFS content (_config/, per-kit *.vfs/ outside declared lib_tcl<N> subfolders, _aside/, mkzipfix.vfs, _vfscommon.vfs/doc), which commits separately per its own concerns.
• Use punk make.tcl bakehouse or punk902z make.tcl bakehouse inside Punk shell when building binaries through Punk (the deprecated project alias still maps). Driving make.tcl from a built punk executable is supported for informational/update subcommands and for kit builds of other kits — the kit whose deployed executable is running the build is skipped with a warning (it cannot be replaced while running, and the pre-deploy process sweep must not kill the build itself; the sweep also excludes the build's own pid in all cases). Rebuild that kit from tclsh or a different kit.
• Punk-exe-hosted make.tcl runs in a pre-loaded interp, not a virgin one — the kit's script-mode boot has already loaded much of the punk stack (punk, punk::lib, punk::repl, punk::console, punk::du, flagfilter, struct::set ...) and set process state (app-punkscript forces ::tcl_interactive 0 for script semantics; libunknown/packagepreference are active). Consequences make.tcl must (and now does) handle explicitly: package require of an already-provided package is a no-op, so anything make.tcl breaks in the interp (the accelerator-reload block forgets+destroys sha1/md5/struct::* — it re-requires what was loaded), and anything computed at package-load time (punk::repl's ::tcl_interactive probe — the shell branch recomputes it before repl::start), must be restored deliberately rather than relying on later loads to re-fire. Also note the copies that run in this mode are the kit's pre-loaded modules, not the bootsupport snapshots make.tcl's paths would otherwise prefer — silent provenance mixing when versions diverge. When adding interp-surgery or load-time-state assumptions to make.tcl, test under both tclsh src/make.tcl ... and <punkexe> src/make.tcl ....
• Binary images are platform-specific; build on each target platform rather than expecting a cross-platform flag.
• Remove _build/ artifacts only when a clean/resync is needed, then rerun the relevant make.tcl command. Avoid partial cleans that break boot modules.
• Superseded module intermediates are pruned automatically so payload wrapping inherits clean trees:
  • punk::mix::cli::lib::prune_superseded_target_modules runs inside build_modules_from_source_to_base after each module install/skip (covers root modules/, modules_tcl8/, modules_tcl9/), and from make.tcl bootsupport for non-glob include_modules.config entries (glob entries may intentionally track multiple versions and are never pruned).
  • punk::mix::cli::lib::prune_sourcevanished_targets mirror-prunes recorded targets whose recorded source files no longer exist: root modules*/ vendormodule copies (installer make.tcl) and the thin-layout/modpod sync copies recorded in src/project_layouts/.punkcheck (installer make.tcl, all file types).
  • Every deletion is recorded as a punkcheck DELETE event in the owning .punkcheck, so change detection stays consistent. Files without a qualifying punkcheck install record (e.g placed manually) are never deleted — they are reported to stderr and must be removed by hand if unwanted.
  • Install records carry virtual module_name/module_version SOURCE entries (punkcheck targetset_addsource_virtual, punkcheck >= 0.3.0) identifying which product of a source fileset a target is — needed because successive versions are typically built from the same physical source files. Prune trusts this identity; for legacy records it falls back to requiring the candidate's recorded sources to share the keep-version's source folder(s) and module-name prefix.
  • The make.tcl call sites are guarded with info commands checks: after changing this tooling itself, the first make.tcl modules + make.tcl bootsupport pass builds/propagates the new tooling (prune skipped with a stderr note) and the next pass prunes.
• Use tcl::tm::path add <dir> to surface project modules when writing focused tooling.
• Review VS Code Tcl lint diagnostics before submitting new agent-produced Tcl code, but do not use lint tooling to reformat existing code.
• When touching VFS payloads, describe regeneration steps in durable docs if the workflow changes.
• When a tool summary reports cleanup issues such as git diff --check whitespace errors, verify against exact command output and exit code before running secondary scans or reporting the issue.
• make.tcl performs version-aware bootsupport staleness detection: major bumps abort, minor bumps prompt (y/N; -confirm 0 proceeds without prompting, non-interactive stdin without it aborts fast), patch bumps warn-and-proceed. See src/bootsupport/AGENTS.md "Bootsupport Staleness Handling" for the full contract and the version-bump discipline agents must follow.
• Project-level version bumps are governed by the root AGENTS.md "Project Versioning" section. Any src/ change that ships user-visible shell behaviour requires a punkproject.toml version bump and a CHANGELOG.md entry as part of the DOX closeout pass. Run tclsh src/make.tcl projectversion to verify.

Verification

• VS Code Tcl lint diagnostics are reviewed for modified Tcl files when available.
• Relevant tests pass, either tclsh src/tests/runtests.tcl or a specific tclsh src/tests/modules/<modulehierarchypath>/tests/all.tcl.
• tclsh src/make.tcl packages is verified when touching build-critical code.
• tclsh src/make.tcl bakehouse (with -dirty-abort 0 when verifying a deliberately dirty tree) completes without errors when changing build, runtime, or VFS behavior.
• Documentation/comments are updated for new behavior, flags, workflow, or ownership rules.
• Diffs are reviewed so no stray whitespace or debugging output remains.

Child DOX Index

• modules/ — Main editable module source (see modules/AGENTS.md)
• modules/punk/ — Core punk namespace modules (see modules/punk/AGENTS.md)
• modules/test/ — Installed-module test packages (see modules/test/AGENTS.md)
• modules_tcl8/ — Tcl 8 specific modules (see modules_tcl8/AGENTS.md)
• modules_tcl9/ — Tcl 9 specific modules (see modules_tcl9/AGENTS.md)
• lib/ — Editable library source (see lib/AGENTS.md)
• lib_tcl8/ — Tcl 8 specific libraries
• lib_tcl9/ — Tcl 9 specific libraries
• bootsupport/ — Early-load bootstrap modules (see bootsupport/AGENTS.md)
• tests/ — Source-tree test harness and tests (see tests/AGENTS.md)
• vfs/ — Virtual file system images for builds (see vfs/AGENTS.md)
• scriptapps/ — Entry-point scripts for Punk apps (see scriptapps/AGENTS.md)
• vendormodules/ — Third-party bundled modules (see vendormodules/AGENTS.md)
• vendorlib/ — Third-party bundled libraries (see vendorlib/AGENTS.md)
• vendorlib_tcl8/ — Tcl 8 specific vendor libraries
• vendorlib_tcl9/ — Tcl 9 specific vendor libraries
• runtime/ — Build runtimes and VFS config (see runtime/AGENTS.md)
• buildsuites/ — Zig-built runtime factory: suites building Tcl runtimes from external sources with the pinned zig toolchain; surfaced via make.tcl buildsuite list/info/build; suite self-description contract in buildsuites/README.md (see buildsuites/AGENTS.md)
• doc/ — Generated documentation (see doc/AGENTS.md)
• testansi/ — Sample ANSI art files (do not modify)