Contributing to Ant#

Thank you for your interest in contributing to Ant! This document provides guidelines for contributing.

Getting Started#

For the full list of prerequisites and platform-specific setup instructions,
see BUILDING.md.

Building from Source#

git clone https://github.com/theMackabu/ant.git && cd ant

meson subprojects download
meson setup build
meson compile -C build

For detailed build instructions including debug builds, ASan builds,
ccache setup, and Windows/Linux/macOS specifics, see BUILDING.md.

Repository Knowledge#

Ant keeps agent-facing repository context in versioned markdown so future changes do not depend on chat history or tribal knowledge.

Start with AGENTS.md for the quick repository map
Use ARCHITECTURE.md for subsystem boundaries
Use docs/repo/index.md for durable workflow docs
Use docs/exec-plans/index.md for multi-step work
Run maid knowledge after updating these docs
Run maid structure to catch generated-path and scratch-doc violations
Run maid validate_changes to see the recommended validation set for the current diff

How to Contribute#

Reporting Bugs#

Check existing issues first
Include reproduction steps
Provide system info (OS, compiler version)
Include relevant error messages

Suggesting Features#

Open an issue with the enhancement label
Describe the use case
Provide examples if possible

Pull Requests#

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
Make your changes
Ensure tests pass
Submit a pull request

Code Style#

C code: GNU23 standard, 2-space indent, no trailing whitespace
Naming: snake_case for functions, UPPERCASE for macros
Headers: Local includes ("...") before system includes (<...>)
Comments: Avoid unless code is complex

Project Structure#

src/
├── cli/        # Command line interface helpers
├── core/       # Bundled snapshot code
├── esm/        # ES module system (loader, resolver, cache)
├── highlight/  # Syntax highlighting (emit, iterators)
├── modules/    # Built-in JS modules (fs, path, shell, etc.)
├── pkg/        # Zig-based package manager
├── silver/     # Silver bytecode compiler and VM
│   └── ops/    # Bytecode operation definitions
├── strip/      # Rust-based type stripping (oxc)
├── tools/      # Code generation scripts (snapshot gen)
├── types/      # TypeScript type declarations
include/        # C header files
tests/          # JavaScript test files
vendor/         # External dependencies

For more information about Ant's internal structure, read the Ant DeepWiki.

Testing#

Add tests for new features in tests/
Run specific tests: ./build/ant tests/test_<name>.js
Run ./build/ant examples/spec/run.js to ensure nothing else broke

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