Environment variables
Every environment variable jaic, jacket, jailint and the language server read. See the environment registry.
Path lists use the platform separator (: on Linux and macOS, ; on Windows). An empty value counts as unset wherever a setting says so.
Settings
| Variable | Meaning | When unset | Read by |
|---|---|---|---|
JACKET_CHECK_TIME_LIMIT | Seconds one program check may take when the linter or language server runs compile-time code (0: no limit). CI sets it to 0. | 10 seconds | jailint, jailsp |
JACKET_OUTPUT_DIR | Relocates the build output directory (the native-libs/ lookup and jacket test --coverage reports follow it). | target/ in the project | jaic, jacket |
JACKET_TEST_DLLS | A path list of directories whose .dll files jacket test links next to each Windows test executable. | unset | jacket |
JAIC_AR | The program that archives object files into a static library. | the system ar, or llvm-ar, a MinGW ar or lib.exe where that is needed | jaic |
JAIC_BACKEND | The code generation library (libjaic_backend) a release jaic opens when a build writes native code. | the code generation library next to the jaic executable | jaic |
JAIC_CACHE_DIR | Where jaic unpacks the helpers it embeds (the crash runtime). | $XDG_CACHE_HOME/jaic, else the platform's user cache (~/Library/Caches/jaic, ~/.cache/jaic) | jaic |
JAIC_CROSS_LIBS | A path list of directories with libraries cross-built for a MinGW target; a cross build links from these instead of the host's native libraries. | unset | jaic |
JAIC_DIAGNOSTICS | The diagnostic layout: plain, ascii or unicode. | by terminal: unicode or ascii on one, plain otherwise | jaic, jailint |
JAIC_DSYM | When set, a macOS debug build writes a .dSYM bundle instead of keeping its object files. | unset: macOS debug builds keep their object files for the debugger | jaic |
JAIC_HOST_TWIN_DEBUG | When set, the host twin prints what it generates. | unset | jaic |
JAIC_ID_SCRAMBLE | The same as JAIC_SYM_SCRAMBLE, for AST ids. | unset | jaic |
JAIC_LINKER | The program that links executables and libraries. Empty counts as unset. | the linker found for the target | jaic |
JAIC_MEMORY_LIMIT | Stop with exit status 120 once this much memory is allocated: bytes, or a number with a K, M or G suffix. Child processes inherit it. | no limit | jaic |
JAIC_NATIVE_LIBS | A path list of directories holding the prebuilt third-party native libraries (SDL3, FreeType, ...), replacing the default search. | native-libs/<os>-<cpu> beside the library, else under target/ | jaic |
JAIC_NO_HOST_TWIN | Any value but 0 turns the host twin off, which makes compile-time code with foreign calls fail the way it would without one. | unset: compile-time code that needs the host's types gets a host twin | jaic |
JAIC_PRELUDE | The prelude file to load instead of the library's own, as a path (relative paths are taken from the library root). | the library's prelude/module.jai, else Preload.jai | jaic, jailint, jailsp |
JAIC_PROGRESS | The build status lines: off, plain or live, whatever stderr is (-quiet still wins). | by terminal: a live status line on one, nothing otherwise | jaic, jacket |
JAIC_SANITIZER_CC | The C driver that links a build made with a sanitizer. | the clang of the LLVM jaic was built with, else cc | jaic |
JAIC_STDLIB | The standard library directory. jacket test also hands it to every jaic it starts. | the stdlib/ next to the executable, else the checkout's | jaic, jacket, jailint, jailsp, tests |
JAIC_SYM_SCRAMBLE | A seed that spreads the interner's symbol numbers apart, so output that depends on them rather than spellings changes (tools/differential/determinism.py). | unset | jaic |
JAIC_TCPLISTEN | Comma-separated host:port addresses a -interp -os wasm run listens on. Each becomes a pre-opened socket the program accepts connections from, numbered 3, 4, ... in order, and LISTEN_FDS holds how many there are (the convention of wasmtime's --tcplisten). | unset: a -interp -os wasm run has no sockets | jaic |
JAIC_WASM_LD | The wasm-ld that links WebAssembly output. | wasm-ld next to the build's LLVM, an LLD install, then PATH | jaic |
Set by one tool for another
| Variable | Meaning | When unset | Read by |
|---|---|---|---|
JACKET_PROJECT | The project name jaic shows in its Compiling line; jacket sets it. | the main file's name | jaic |
JAIC_COVERAGE_DIR | The directory a -interp run writes its line coverage to, one file per program. jacket test --coverage sets it. | the working directory | jaic |
JAIC_COVERAGE_FILE | The file a -interp run writes its line coverage to. | unset: the file is named for the program, in JAIC_COVERAGE_DIR | jaic |
JAIC_REPORT_EXE | A file jaic appends the absolute path of each executable it writes to. jacket run and jacket test set it, because a metaprogram picks the name. | unset | jaic |
Tests and fuzzing
| Variable | Meaning | When unset | Read by |
|---|---|---|---|
EXPECTED_PRELUDE | The prelude the child process of the prelude-selection tests must find, or missing. | unset | tests |
JACKET_DATABASE_URL | A PostgreSQL connection URL for the typed-query tests. | unset: the Postgres tests skip | tests |
JACKET_STDLIB_TARGETS_PART | K/N: the stdlib-by-target check takes every Nth module and target pair from the Kth, so CI can split it. | 1/1 | tests |
JACKET_TEST_CODEGEN_UNITS | Passes -codegen_units N to the native build tests, to run them split into several modules. | unset | tests |
JAIC_ABI_CLANG | The clang the C ABI tests compare against. | clang | tests |
JAIC_ABI_CROSS | Cross targets the C ABI tests also compile for, as a comma list of specs. | unset | tests |
JAIC_CORPUS_ROOT | The checkout whose corpus/upstream and stdlib the corpus sweep parses. | the repository | tests |
JAIC_CORPUS_STAGE | How far the corpus sweep takes each file. | parse | tests |
JAIC_KEEP_TEST_TMP | When set, test scratch directories are kept after the test. | unset: scratch directories are removed | tests |
JAIC_PRELUDE_TEST_CHILD | Marks the child process of the prelude-selection tests, which run themselves again with JAIC_PRELUDE set. | unset | tests |
JAIC_REQUIRE_TOOLCHAIN | 1, or a comma list of tool names: a missing tool fails the test instead of skipping it. Always on under CI. | unset: a test whose tool is missing skips | tests |
JAIC_SPECULATIVE_BODIES | When set, checks queued bodies speculatively first, like -dev_speculative_bodies (only in a jaic built with the speculative-bodies feature). | unset | jaic, tests |
JAIC_TEST_LIBRARY_MARKER | A file the native-link test's library writes to, to show it was loaded. | unset | tests |
JAIC_TEST_TMPDIR | Where test scratch directories are made. | the system temporary directory | tests |
JAIC_WASM_TEST | A value the WebAssembly test passes to the program, which prints it back. | unset | tests |
JAILSP_ENFORCE_SCALE_BUDGET | 1: the language server scale test fails when a case is over its budget. | unset: the budget is only reported | tests |
JAI_FUZZ_VERBOSE | When set, the fuzz harness prints each input it checks. | unset | fuzzing |
JAI_IDE_AUDIT_REVISION | Read at build time: the revision the language server coverage audit stamps into its report. | unset | tests |
TYPING_FUZZ_DUMP | A directory the typing-session rig writes the failing document to. | unset | tests |
Standard variables
| Variable | Meaning | When unset | Read by |
|---|---|---|---|
ANSICON | Set by ANSICON; marks a Windows console that takes ANSI control codes. | unset | jaic, jacket |
CC | The C compiler the native tests build their helper libraries with. | cc | tests |
CI | Set by CI services: the build status lines are plain, and a missing test tool fails instead of skipping. | unset | jaic, jacket, tests |
CLICOLOR_FORCE | The same as FORCE_COLOR. | unset | jaic, jailint |
COLUMNS | The width the live status line is fitted to. | the terminal's width | jaic |
ConEmuANSI | ON marks a Windows console that takes ANSI control codes. | unset | jaic, jacket, jailint |
DEVELOPER_DIR | The Xcode installation whose SDK and libclang jaic uses. | xcode-select -p | jaic |
FORCE_COLOR | Anything but 0 turns colour on even when output is not a terminal. | unset | jaic, jailint |
GITHUB_ACTIONS | Set by GitHub Actions: tests that need a capable filesystem stop skipping. | unset | tests |
GITHUB_TOKEN | Sent with jacket upgrade's release lookups, which raises GitHub's rate limit. | unset | jacket |
HOME | Locates the user cache when neither JAIC_CACHE_DIR nor XDG_CACHE_HOME is set. | unset | jaic |
INSTA_UPDATE | always rewrites the test snapshots instead of failing on a difference. | unset | tests |
LANG | See LC_ALL. | unset | jaic, jailint |
LC_ALL | With LC_CTYPE and LANG: a UTF-8 locale selects the Unicode diagnostic layout. | unset | jaic, jailint |
LC_CTYPE | See LC_ALL. | unset | jaic, jailint |
LIB | On Windows, the library directories the MSVC linker searches; set by a developer prompt. | found from the Visual Studio and Windows SDK installs | jaic |
LIBRARY_PATH | Extra library directories compile-time code may load native libraries from on Windows. | unset | jaic |
LLVM_PREFIX | The LLVM install to use when the llvm-sys variable above is unset. CI sets both. | llvm-config --prefix, then Homebrew's llvm@<major> or /usr/lib/llvm-<major> | jaic, jacket |
LLVM_SYS_231_PREFIX | The LLVM install jaic is built against; its bin/ supplies clang, wasm-ld and the LLVM tools. The name carries the LLVM version (LLVM_SYS_<major><minor>_PREFIX). | unset | jaic, jacket |
MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET | The macOS version native output targets. When it is set, jaic links through cc instead of calling ld itself. | the SDK's | jaic |
NO_COLOR | Any value turns colour off. | unset | jaic, jacket, jailint |
PATH | Where tools such as the linker, clang and wasm-ld are searched for. | the process's | jaic, jacket, jailsp, tests |
PATHEXT | The executable extensions tried when a test looks a tool up on Windows. | the Windows default | tests |
ProgramFiles | Where Visual Studio and the Windows SDK are looked for. | C:\Program Files | jaic |
ProgramFiles(x86) | See ProgramFiles. | C:\Program Files (x86) | jaic |
RUST_BACKTRACE | When set, an internal compiler error shows the Rust backtrace. | unset | jaic |
SDKROOT | The macOS SDK cc links against. When it is set, jaic links through cc instead of calling ld itself. | unset | jaic |
SystemRoot | Locates the Windows system tools jacket upgrade uses. | C:\Windows | jacket |
TERM | dumb turns colour, layout characters and the live status line off. | unset | jaic, jacket, jailint |
WT_SESSION | Set by Windows Terminal; it gets the Unicode diagnostic layout. | unset | jaic, jailint |
XDG_CACHE_HOME | The user cache root; jaic uses its jaic folder. | unset | jaic |