Engine

Source files: internal/engine/engine.go, internal/engine/workdir.go

The engine is the single implementation of all tachyon verbs. It is a flat struct that wires together the compiler, tester, simulator, deployer, wallet gate, chain manager, and registry. Every verb (compile, test, simulate, deploy, call, chain_list, chain_register, chain_use, artifact_get, registry_lookup) is a method on Engine that returns a typed Envelope[T].

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Design decisions

Flat verb dispatch, not a plugin system

The engine does not use reflection or a plugin registry to route verbs. Each verb is a concrete method with a concrete request and response type. This makes the API contract explicit, enables compile-time checking, and keeps the JSON-RPC / REST / MCP dispatch layers thin.

type Engine struct {
    Cfg       config.Config
    Reg       *registry.Registry
    Chains    *chains.Manager
    Compiler  *compiler.Compiler
    Tester    *tester.Tester
    Simulator *simulate.Simulator
    Deployer  *deployer.Deployer
    Wallet    *wallet.Gate
}

Envelope wrapping

Every verb returns types.Envelope[T] — a uniform JSON shape:

{ "ok": true, "data": { ... } }
{ "ok": false, "error": { "code": "...", "message": "...", "retry": false } }

The envelope is constructed at the engine boundary, not in the transport layer. This means REST, JSON-RPC, and MCP all see the same shape. types.OK(data) and types.Fail(err) are the only constructors.

Partial results on failure

Some verbs return partial data even when the overall operation fails:

• Test: If tests run but assertions fail, the envelope is ok: false but data contains the suite results with pass/fail counts.
• Simulate: If eth_call reverts, the envelope is ok: false but data contains the gas estimate and revert reason.

This lets agents inspect failure details without a second round-trip.

Self-contained source uploads

When CompileRequest.Sources or TestRequest.Sources is non-empty, the engine materializes the source set into an ephemeral Foundry project:

1. Creates a temp directory
2. Writes uploaded files (with path sanitization via safeRel)
3. Symlinks the baked dependency tree (lib/ → box lib, .oz/ → box contracts)
4. Generates foundry.toml and remappings.txt if not provided
5. Derives a deterministic ProjectID from the source set (SHA-256 of sorted paths+contents)
6. Runs forge in the temp dir
7. Cleans up via deferred cleanup()

The deterministic ProjectID means a compile and a later deploy/call resolve the same registry entries without the caller threading a path-derived id.

Conservative EVM version default

defaultEVMVersion = "shanghai" is used for uploaded-source compiles when the caller does not pin one. This is deliberate: Paxeer mainnet (chain 125) and many other EVM chains are pre-Cancun. solc 0.8.27's default "cancun" emits the MCOPY opcode (0x5E), which causes "invalid opcode: opcode 0x5e not defined" reverts on pre-Cancun chains. "shanghai" still emits PUSH0 (which Paxeer supports) but no Cancun-only opcodes.

Callers can override per-chain via CompileRequest.EVMVersion (e.g., "cancun" for a chain that supports it, or "paris" for a PUSH0-less node).

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Verb implementations

Compile

func (e *Engine) Compile(ctx context.Context, req types.CompileRequest) types.Envelope[types.CompileResponse]

• If req.Sources is non-empty: materializes ephemeral workdir, derives ProjectID, runs forge there
• Otherwise: uses req.ProjectRoot (or engine default), runs forge in place
• Collects artifacts from out/, normalizes ABI/bytecode/compiler metadata
• Indexes artifacts in registry
• Returns ProjectID + artifact list

Test

func (e *Engine) Test(ctx context.Context, req types.TestRequest) types.Envelope[types.TestResponse]

• Same source-upload logic as Compile
• Runs forge test --json
• Parses NDJSON or single JSON output into TestResponse with suite/case granularity
• Returns partial results even when tests fail

Simulate

func (e *Engine) Simulate(ctx context.Context, req types.SimulateRequest) types.Envelope[types.SimulateResponse]

• Resolves chain profile (from chain_id, rpc_url, or active registry entry)
• Dials RPC, runs eth_call with 30s timeout
• If req.Trace: runs debug_traceCall when supported
• Returns result hex, gas estimate, revert reason, optional trace

Deploy

func (e *Engine) Deploy(ctx context.Context, req types.DeployRequest) types.Envelope[types.DeployResponse]

• Checks registry for existing deployment by idempotency_key + chain_id
• If found and confirmed on-chain: returns existing address (Existing: true)
• Resolves artifact from registry by contract + ProjectID
• Packs constructor args via abienc.PackConstructorArgs
• Builds TxIntent (plain creation or CREATE2 factory call)
• Authorizes via wallet policy gate
• Signs and broadcasts, waits for receipt
• Records deployment in registry

Call

func (e *Engine) Call(ctx context.Context, req types.CallRequest) types.Envelope[types.CallResponse]

• Resolves calldata: ABI-encoded from Method + Args (with ABI from inline or registry), or pre-encoded hex Data
• If SimulateOnly: runs eth_call via simulator, returns result/revert
• Otherwise: builds tx, authorizes policy, signs, broadcasts raw tx, returns tx hash

Chain management

func (e *Engine) ChainList() types.Envelope[types.ChainListResponse]
func (e *Engine) ChainRegister(req types.ChainRegisterRequest) types.Envelope[types.ChainProfile]
func (e *Engine) ChainUse(req types.ChainUseRequest) types.Envelope[types.ChainListResponse]

• ChainList: returns all presets + custom profiles, marks active
• ChainRegister: adds custom chain to in-memory map (not persisted)
• ChainUse: sets active chain in registry, returns updated list

Registry lookups

func (e *Engine) ArtifactGet(req types.ArtifactGetRequest) types.Envelope[types.ArtifactGetResponse]
func (e *Engine) RegistryLookup(req types.RegistryLookupRequest) types.Envelope[types.RegistryLookupResponse]

• ArtifactGet: fetches cached ABI/bytecode by contract name + project ID
• RegistryLookup: resolves prior deployment by idempotency key + chain

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Workdir helpers

workdir.go contains the ephemeral source workdir logic:

func (e *Engine) prepareSourceWorkdir(sources map[string]string, evmVersion string) (string, func(), *types.Error)
func sourcesProjectID(sources map[string]string) string
func foundryTomlFor(evmVersion string) string
func safeRel(p string) (string, bool)

• safeRel rejects absolute paths, backslashes, and parent-directory escapes (../)
• maxSourceBytes = 8 << 20 (8 MiB) bounds individual file size
• The dependency tree is linked via symlinks, not copied, so ephemeral workdirs are cheap

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Modifying the engine