Contributing & RFCs

Redstart is a public good and contributions are welcome.

Building from source

git clone https://github.com/nightswatchhq/redstart
cd redstart
cargo build
cargo test

The workspace is a conventional compiler pipeline split across crates: redstart-parser → redstart-loader → redstart-checker → redstart-codegen, with redstart-test (native test interpreter), redstart-lsp (language server), and redstart-cli (the redstart binary) on top.

CI runs fmt, clippy -D warnings, the test suite, and the eject-path conformance build for every example on every push.

Language design: the RFC process

Substantial changes to the language — new syntax, new semantics, changes to the generated output — go through a lightweight RFC process so the design is recorded and discussed before it’s built. This is also our answer to the bus-factor question: the language is specified, not just implemented.

RFCs live in rfcs/ in the repository. To propose one:

1. Copy rfcs/0000-template.md to rfcs/0000-my-feature.md.
2. Fill it in — motivation, design, alternatives, drawbacks.
3. Open a pull request. The number is assigned when it’s accepted.

See rfcs/README.md for the full lifecycle, and RFC-0001 for the foundational design rationale.