Development

VBI Development Handbook

Repository-level rules for VBI work. Keep this file as the routing layer: use it for the non-negotiable principles, then load only the reference that matches the package, practice, or entropy risk in front of you.

Core Rules

• Work from the owner and source of truth: DSL, Builder, Provider API, generator, example JSON, or local utility.
• Reduce maintenance cost. Prefer deletion, simplification, extraction, or moving ownership over adding compatibility layers.
• Use real needs to drive abstraction, deletion to fight entropy, and naming and boundaries to make code explain itself. See references/software-entropy.md#optimization-habits.
• Builder owns DSL mutation. UI, CLI, agent, app, and practice code should use Builder or public package APIs instead of rebuilding internals.
• Generated artifacts are outputs, not primary fixes. Change the source and regenerate when needed.
• Do not cross ownership boundaries casually: packages must not depend on apps, and practices must not import another practice's private src/*.
• For apps/vbi_be and apps/vbi_fe, use the Docker-only workflows in references/apps/vbi-be.md and references/apps/vbi-fe.md for runtime, debugging, validation, and build commands. Do not run those app workflows directly on the host unless the user explicitly overrides this rule.
• When deleting or renaming, clean imports, calls, types, comments, tests, docs, generated references, and old names in the same change.

Ownership Map

• packages/vbi: VBIChartDSL, Builder, dashboard/report/insight state, and collaborative editing.
• packages/vquery: QueryDSL-to-SQL and query execution.
• packages/vseed: VSeed examples, lowering, and rendering specs.
• packages/vbi-agent: Builder Agent runtime and tool protocol.
• packages/vbi-component: shared component layer for VBI.
• packages/vbi-react: React integration.
• apps/*: product applications, docs website, backend, provider, and CLI.
• practices/*: independent practice examples. Treat practices/vbi-react-starter as the @visactor/vbi-react integration starter, separate from the self-contained practice apps.

Run repository-level commands from the repo root unless a package script requires otherwise.

References

Load only the relevant reference:

Keep generic guidance directly under references/. Put app-specific guidance under references/apps/, package-specific guidance under references/packages/, and practice-specific guidance under references/practices/.

• references/software-entropy.md: maintainability, refactoring, cleanup, deletion, generated-surface control, and optimization habits.
• references/apps/website.md: apps/website, Rspress docs, generated API/example docs, and multilingual documentation synchronization.
• references/apps/vbi-be.md: apps/vbi_be, NestJS backend, Prisma, collaboration server, and Docker-only backend development workflow.
• references/apps/vbi-fe.md: apps/vbi_fe, Next.js frontend, UI state, service clients, and Docker-only frontend development workflow.
• references/packages/vbi.md: packages/vbi, VBI DSL, Builder/sub-builder design, headless logic boundaries, and TDD expectations.
• references/packages/vquery.md: packages/vquery, QueryDSL-to-SQL, DuckDB execution, example-driven tests, and coverage expectations.
• references/packages/vseed.md: packages/vseed, VSeed examples, and generated VSeed documentation.
• references/practices/minimalist.md: practices/minimalist.
• references/practices/standard.md: practices/standard.
• references/practices/streamlined.md: practices/streamlined.
• references/practices/professional.md: practices/professional.

Validation

Prefer the narrowest proving command first, then repository gates when practical:

For apps/vbi_be and apps/vbi_fe, use the in-container commands from references/apps/vbi-be.md and references/apps/vbi-fe.md instead of the host-local examples below.

pnpm --filter <package-name> run test
pnpm --filter <package-name> run lint
pnpm --filter <package-name> run typecheck
pnpm run lint:check
pnpm run typecheck

If generated artifacts are affected, run the generator first and inspect the generated diff. Report any validation that could not run and why.