df12 Productions — The Netsukefile Manifest

The Netsukefile is a YAML file describing your build process.

Top-Level Structure

Key Sections Explained

netsuke_version (Required): Semantic version string (e.g., "1.0.0") indicating the manifest schema version. Parsed using semver.
vars (Optional): A mapping (dictionary) of global variables. Values can be strings, numbers, booleans, or lists, accessible within Jinja expressions.
macros (Optional): A list of Jinja macro definitions. Each item has a signature (e.g., "my_macro(arg1, arg2='default')" ) and a multi-line body.
rules (Optional): A list of named, reusable command templates.
targets (Required): A list defining the primary build outputs (files or logical targets).
actions (Optional): Similar to targets, but entries here are implicitly treated as phony: true (meaning they don't necessarily correspond to a file and should run when requested). Useful for tasks like clean or test.
defaults (Optional): A list of target names (from targets or actions) to build when netsuke is run without specific targets.

# Mandatory: Specifies the manifest format version
netsuke_version: "1.0.0"

# Optional: Global variables accessible throughout the manifest
vars:
  cc: gcc
  src_dir: src

# Optional: Reusable Jinja macros
macros:
  - signature: "compile_cmd(input, output)"
    body: |
      {{ cc }} -c {{ input }} -o {{ output }}

# Optional: Reusable command templates
rules:
  - name: link
    command: "{{ cc }} {{ ins }} -o {{ outs }}"

# Optional: Phony targets often used for setup or meta-tasks
# Implicitly phony: true, always: false
actions:
  - name: clean
    command: "rm -rf build *.o"

# Required: Defines the build targets (artefacts to produce)
targets:
  - name: build/main.o
    # A target can define its command inline...
    command: "{{ compile_cmd('src/main.c', 'build/main.o') }}"
    sources: src/main.c

  - name: my_app
    # ...or reference a rule
    rule: link
    sources: build/main.o

# Optional: Targets to build if none are specified on the command line
defaults:
  - my_app