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Dev environment setup

You'll learn:

  • What to install to build Versionx.
  • How to run the same checks CI runs.
  • IDE tips that help with a 30-crate workspace.

Prerequisites​

  • Rust 1.95+. Pinned in rust-toolchain.toml; rustup picks it up automatically.
  • Git.
  • cargo-deny and cargo-nextest (optional but recommended for running CI locally).
cargo install cargo-deny cargo-nextest

Platform-specific:

  • macOS. Xcode command-line tools.
  • Linux. Build-essential (gcc, make). On musl hosts, musl-tools.
  • Windows. Visual Studio Build Tools with the C++ workload.

Clone and build​

git clone https://github.com/KodyDennon/versionx
cd versionx
cargo check --workspace
cargo test --workspace

First-time compile of the full workspace takes a few minutes. Subsequent builds are incremental.

xtask​

The workspace bundles an xtask crate — internal build automation that shouldn't be in the public versionx CLI.

cargo xtask ci       # fmt + clippy + tests (what CI runs)
cargo xtask crates   # list workspace members
cargo xtask docs     # regenerate every auto-gen docs page

Add new chores to xtask/src/main.rs — don't pollute the public CLI with dev-only tasks.

Run the binary​

cargo run -p versionx-cli -- status

Or install the dev build on your PATH and use it as versionx:

cargo install --path crates/versionx-cli --offline
versionx status

Run the daemon​

cargo run -p versionx-daemon

In another terminal, run the CLI. It'll pick up the daemon via the socket.

Run the MCP server​

cargo run -p versionx-cli -- mcp --transport stdio

Pair with Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex per MCP integrations.

Run the TUI​

cargo run -p versionx-cli -- tui

IDE tips​

  • rust-analyzer. Set "rust-analyzer.check.command": "clippy" so diagnostics match CI warnings.
  • VS Code. Enable "Save Without Formatting" if you're working through a heavy edit; rustfmt on save can fight you. Turn it back on when you're done.
  • Workspace-wide features. Don't enable --all-features at check time; some feature combos are mutually exclusive by design.

Before committing​

cargo fmt --all
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo nextest run --workspace

Or just:

cargo xtask ci

See also​