Toolchain

Quadrate provides a complete set of tools for developing, building, and maintaining Quadrate programs.

quad

The main CLI that provides a unified interface to all Quadrate tools. Instead of remembering separate commands, use quad as your single entry point.

quad run hello.qd      # Compile and run
quad build hello.qd    # Compile to binary
quad fmt hello.qd      # Format code
quad lint hello.qd     # Check for issues
quad test              # Run tests
quad repl              # Start interactive shell
quad init              # Initialize a new project
quad clean             # Remove build artifacts

For most development tasks, quad is all you need.

quad init

Creates a new Quadrate project in the current directory:

quad init           # Create project named "myproject"
quad init myapp     # Create project with custom name

This creates three files:

After initializing, run your project with:

quad run

quadc

The Quadrate compiler. Compiles .qd source files to native executables via LLVM.

quadc hello.qd              # Compile to ./hello
quadc hello.qd -o myprogram # Compile with custom output name
quadc -r hello.qd           # Compile and run immediately
quadc --verbose hello.qd    # Show compilation details
quadc --dump-ir hello.qd    # Output LLVM IR (for debugging)
quadc --dump-ast hello.qd   # Output parsed AST structure
quadc --dump-tokens hello.qd # Show token stream

quadfmt

Code formatter that enforces consistent style across your codebase.

quadfmt hello.qd       # Show formatted output (dry run)
quadfmt -w hello.qd    # Format file in place
quadfmt -w src/        # Format all .qd files in directory

Note: quad fmt automatically adds -w to format files in place. Use quad fmt --check for dry run.

quadlint

Static analyzer that catches common mistakes and potential issues.

quadlint hello.qd      # Check single file
quadlint src/          # Check all files in directory

quadlsp

Language Server Protocol implementation for IDE integration. Provides:

• Syntax highlighting
• Error diagnostics
• Go to definition
• Autocompletion
• Hover information

Configure your editor to use quadlsp as the language server for .qd files.

quadrepl

Interactive Read-Eval-Print Loop for experimenting with Quadrate expressions.

quadrepl

Inside the REPL:

[]> 5 3 + print
8
[]> fn double(x:i64 -- y:i64) { dup + }
Function defined
[]> 21 double print
42
[]> exit

quadpm

Module manager for installing third-party modules from Git repositories.

quadpm list                              # List installed modules
quadpm get <url>[<<ref]                   # Install a module from Git
quadpm update [name]                     # Update installed module(s)
quadpm remove <name>                     # Remove an installed module
quadpm build                             # Build C sources in current module

The build command is useful during local module development. It compiles any C source files in src/ and creates both shared (.so) and static (.a) libraries in lib/.

quaduses

Automatically manages use statements in your source files. Analyzes your code and adds missing imports or removes unused ones.

quaduses hello.qd        # Show what changes would be made
quaduses -w hello.qd     # Update file in place
quaduses -w src/         # Update all .qd files in directory recursively

Note: quad uses automatically adds -w to update files in place. Use quad uses --check for dry run.

quaddoc

Generates HTML documentation from Quadrate source files. Parses /// doc comments with @param, @return, @error, @example, and @field tags.

quaddoc lib/                        # Generate docs for all modules in lib/
quaddoc -o api-docs lib/            # Output to custom directory
quaddoc --title "My API" src/       # Custom project title

The generated documentation includes function signatures, parameter tables, return values, error conditions, and code examples.

quadmcp

Model Context Protocol server for AI assistants. Provides language documentation, code examples, and standard library reference to MCP-compatible tools.

quadmcp    # Start the MCP server

Configure your MCP client to connect to quadmcp as a stdio-based server.