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# Architecture
Status: active
Last reviewed: 2026-04-09
Owner: theMackabu
This document is the top-level map for Ant's runtime and build graph. It is
meant to answer "where should this change live?" before anyone starts editing.
## Design Priorities
- Keep the runtime small and fast to start.
- Prefer explicit, in-repo implementations over opaque build-time magic.
- Isolate third-party code under `vendor/` and keep Ant-owned logic in `src/`,
`include/`, `meson/`, `tools/`, and `tests/`.
## Runtime Layers
### Process and startup
- `src/main.c` is the CLI executable entrypoint.
- `src/ant.c` and `src/runtime.c` handle runtime initialization and shared
process setup.
- `src/cli/` contains command-line specific behavior such as version and package
commands.
### JavaScript engine
- `src/silver/` contains the language pipeline: lexer, parser, compiler,
directives, VM glue, and bytecode operations.
- `src/gc/` contains memory management primitives and object/string handling.
- Files like `src/errors.c`, `src/descriptors.c`, and `src/shapes.c` support
core engine behavior shared across subsystems.
### Host platform surface
- `src/modules/` implements built-in modules and runtime-facing JS APIs.
- `src/builtins/` holds bundled JavaScript shims and Node-compatible modules.
- `src/http/`, `src/net/`, and `src/streams/` provide protocol, networking, and
streaming support.
- `src/esm/` handles module loading, export wiring, and built-in bundle access.
### Tooling and generated inputs
- `src/tools/` generates bundled sources such as the builtin bundle and JS
snapshot.
- `src/core/` stores TypeScript sources and runtime metadata that feed
generation steps.
- `src/pkg/` is the Zig package manager.
- `src/strip/` is the Rust type-stripper used during builds.
- `meson/` and the root [meson.build](meson.build) describe the build graph,
dependency setup, and custom code generation targets.
## Tests and Validation
- `tests/` contains focused runtime tests.
- `examples/spec/` is the main spec regression suite.
- `test262/`, and `tools/wpt/` support broader conformance and standards work.
- See [docs/repo/testing.md](docs/repo/testing.md) for the recommended command
set by change type.
## Change Placement Guidelines
- Parser, bytecode, execution semantics, or JIT-adjacent work belongs under
`src/silver/`.
- Heap, string, or lifetime bugs usually belong under `src/gc/`.
- Built-in API behavior should land in `src/modules/`, `src/builtins/`, or
`src/esm/` depending on whether the change is C runtime code, bundled JS, or
module-loader plumbing.
- Networking and protocol work should stay in `src/http/`, `src/net/`, or
`src/streams/` unless it is only wiring.
- Build graph changes should prefer `meson/` or `meson.build`; avoid burying
build logic in ad-hoc shell scripts.
## Boundaries To Preserve
- Do not hand-edit third-party code in `vendor/` unless the task is explicitly a
vendored dependency change.
- Do not check durable architecture knowledge into `todo/`; use
[docs/exec-plans/index.md](docs/exec-plans/index.md) for multi-step work and
`docs/repo/` for stable reference docs.
- Keep generated outputs reproducible. If a generated file changes, update or
document the generator path in the same change.

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