greentic-dev – schema-aware developer toolkit

greentic-dev is the command-line toolbox we use to design, validate, and iterate on Greentic components before they ever hit production. It bundles a schema-aware flow runner, mock services, a transcript viewer, and component tooling into one workspace so that building new automation feels repeatable and safe.

If you want to:

prove that a flow YAML matches the latest component schema,
spin up a new component repo that already understands describe APIs, JSON Schema, and CI guardrails,
emulate Greentic services locally without real credentials, and
inspect transcripts that show which values came from defaults vs overrides,

…then this repository is where you start.

What lives in this workspace?

Crate / folder	Purpose
`src/dev_runner/`	Validates flows by compiling each node’s describe() schema.
`crates/dev-viewer`	Renders transcripts and highlights defaults/overrides so you can reason about configs.
`greentic-dev component …`	Scaffolds, validates, and packs components (reusing the internal xtask tooling).
`docs/`	High-level guides (runner, mocks, viewer, scaffolder, developer guide).
`scripts/build_pages.py`	Builds the GitHub Pages site by combining Rustdoc output with the markdown guides.

You will also find mock-service helpers for HTTP, NATS, and vault-like secrets in the built-in runner modules, ready to be wired into flows.

Install

From crates.io:

cargo install greentic-dev

Want faster installs from prebuilt release artifacts?

cargo install cargo-binstall
cargo binstall greentic-dev

cargo binstall greentic-dev installs the full companion tool bundle (including greentic-component, packc, greentic-secrets, and greentic-gui) so you don't need to install them separately.

Need the latest commit or working from a fork?

cargo install --git https://github.com/greentic-ai/greentic-dev greentic-dev
# or from the current checkout
cargo install --path .

You do not need to clone this repository just to use the CLI—cargo install greentic-dev is all that’s required. Clone the repo only if you plan to contribute or hack on the tooling itself.

Once installed, greentic-dev becomes a single entry point for flow validation (greentic-dev flow …), deterministic pack builds (greentic-dev pack …), local pack runs, and component/MCP diagnostics.

Requirements

Rust 1.89+ (the repo pins this via rust-toolchain.toml)

Component commands use the greentic-component crate in-process; install greentic-component if you want to invoke its CLI directly.

Pack commands use packc in-process; install greentic-pack/packc if you want the standalone CLI.

Flow authoring: config flows now live inside component.manifest.json under dev_flows. If a flow is missing, run greentic-component flow update to regenerate config flows. greentic-dev flow add-step defaults to --manifest ./component.manifest.json --flow default and edits pack flows in flows/<flow-id>.ygtc.

Quick start: validate → build → run

Validate the flow schema
```
greentic-dev flow validate -f examples/flows/min.ygtc --json
```
Prints the canonical FlowBundle (including the hash_blake3) so you can diff config changes or feed it into CI.
Build a deterministic pack
```
greentic-dev pack build \
  -f examples/flows/min.ygtc \
  -o dist/demo.gtpack \
  --component-dir fixtures/components
```
Uses the component resolver to fetch schemas/defaults, validates each node against component-provided describe payloads, and emits a .gtpack with stable hashes.
Run the pack locally
```
greentic-dev pack run \
  -p dist/demo.gtpack \
  --mocks on \
  --allow api.greentic.dev
```
Spins up the desktop runner with mocks, writes transcripts plus run.json under .greentic/runs/<timestamp>/, and prints the RunResult (status, node summaries, failures) to stdout. Add --otlp <url> or --artifacts <dir> to forward telemetry or keep outputs elsewhere.

Have an MCP provider to inspect? Enable the optional feature and run:

cargo run --features mcp -- mcp doctor fixtures/providers/dev

which validates a toolmap.yaml (or directory) and reports tool health before you wire nodes to it.

Why schema awareness matters

Flows in Greentic are YAML documents describing a set of nodes. Historically it was easy to typo a field or forget a required input; you would only discover the mistake at runtime. The runner in this repository flips that around:

Load your flow YAML.
For each node, call the component’s describe() (or use a registered schema stub).
Compile the JSON Schema (Draft 7) and validate the node configuration.
Merge defaults, capture resolved config, schema ID, and validation log in a transcript.

Because validation happens before execution, you can run it on every commit or as part of CI:

greentic-dev flow validate -f examples/flows/min.ygtc --json

The validation command is deliberately fast—it skips tool execution but still produces canonical JSON so you know exactly what would enter the runner.

If you prefer not to install the CLI globally while developing, use cargo run -p greentic-dev -- flow … instead.

Examining the transcript

Use the viewer to inspect the result:

cargo run -p dev-viewer -- --file .greentic/transcripts/min-<timestamp>.yaml

You will see output like:

inputs:
  client_id: abc (override)
  client_secret: null (default)

so you immediately know which fields rely on defaults versus user input.

Cheatsheet: validate, view, iterate

Action	Command
Validate a flow	`greentic-dev flow validate -f <flow>.ygtc [--json]`
Build a pack	`greentic-dev pack build -f <flow>.ygtc -o dist/out.gtpack`
Run a pack locally	`greentic-dev pack run -p dist/out.gtpack [--mocks on] [--allow host]`
Verify a built pack	`greentic-dev pack verify -p dist/out.gtpack [--policy strict
Init a pack from distributor	`greentic-dev pack init --from pack://org/name@1.0.0 [--profile dev]`
Scaffold a pack workspace	`greentic-dev pack new -- --name demo-pack` (delegated to packc)
View transcript	`cargo run -p dev-viewer -- --file .greentic/transcripts/<file>.yaml`
Scaffold a component	`greentic-dev component new <name>`
Add a remote component	`greentic-dev component add component://org/name@^1.0 [--profile dev]`
Validate a component	`greentic-dev component validate --path <dir>`
Pack a component	`greentic-dev component pack --path <dir>`
List component templates	`greentic-dev component templates --json`
Scaffold with org defaults	`greentic-dev component new --name echo --org ai.greentic`
Doctor a component workspace	`greentic-dev component doctor --path ./echo` (delegated)
Set default org/template	`greentic-dev config set defaults.component.org ai.greentic`
Serve GUI packs locally	`greentic-dev gui serve [--config <path>]`
Stage a GUI dev pack	`greentic-dev gui pack-dev --dir <assets> --output <pack-dir>`
Inspect MCP tool map (feature)	`greentic-dev mcp doctor <toolmap>`
Run full test suite	`cargo test`
Lint everything	`cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings`
Format	`cargo fmt`

Need to exercise only the component integration tests? Use make itests—it automatically skips when greentic-component is not on your PATH. Component commands above delegate to the greentic-component CLI, so new subcommands or flags are available here as soon as they land upstream.

Distributor profiles (for `component add` / `pack init`)

Configure distributor endpoints and tokens in ~/.greentic/config.toml (or point GREENTIC_CONFIG to an alternate file):

[distributor.default]
url = "https://distributor.greentic.cloud"
token = "env:GREENTIC_TOKEN" # resolved via environment variable

[distributor.dev]
url = "http://localhost:7070"
token = ""

Select a profile with --profile <name> or set GREENTIC_DISTRIBUTOR_PROFILE.

For a deeper, example-driven walkthrough, see docs/programmer-guide.md.

GUI dev workflow (packs + greentic-gui)

greentic-dev gui serve runs greentic-gui against a local set of GUI packs. It discovers config in this order: ./gui-dev.yaml, ./.greentic/gui-dev.yaml, ~/.config/greentic-dev/gui-dev.yaml. Defaults: bind 127.0.0.1:8080, domain localhost:8080. greentic-gui is spawned from --gui-bin, greentic-gui on PATH, or cargo run -p greentic-gui.

Example gui-dev.yaml:

tenant: did:web:example
domain: localhost:8080
layout_pack: ./packs/layout
auth_pack: ./packs/auth
skin_pack: ./packs/skin
feature_packs:
  - ./packs/billing
env:
  LOG_LEVEL: debug

greentic-dev gui pack-dev stages a minimal GUI pack from static assets:

greentic-dev gui pack-dev --dir dist --output ./packs/layout --kind layout --entrypoint index.html
greentic-dev gui pack-dev --dir dist --output ./packs/billing --kind feature --feature-route /invoices --feature-html invoices.html

Use --manifest to supply a custom manifest or --build-cmd/--no-build to control local builds. Output must be empty; assets are copied to output/gui/assets, and a manifest is generated if not provided.

Creating a component – the “why” and the “how”

Below is the workflow we follow when creating a new component that we can validate and iterate locally. Each step highlights why it matters inside the Greentic ecosystem.

1. Scaffold with `greentic-dev component`

greentic-dev component templates --json | jq '.[0]'
greentic-dev component new my-component --org ai.greentic
cd component-my-component

Why: The scaffold wires up provider metadata, a greentic-interfaces-guest hello world, and a sensible default manifest so you can build immediately without vendoring WIT.

Generated layout:

component-my-component/
├── Cargo.toml
├── provider.toml
├── README.md
├── schemas/v1/config.schema.json
└── src/lib.rs

2. Model the configuration schema

Edit schemas/v1/config.schema.json with the fields and defaults your node exposes. The runner uses this schema to validate flows and merge defaults into transcripts, so keep it authoritative. Document the same contract in the component’s README.md (or an internal docs/ folder) for flow authors.

3. Implement behaviour in `src/lib.rs`

The template already exports greentic:component/node and echoes a message, while calling into the guest crates for secrets/state/HTTP/telemetry. Replace the stub with real logic and import any extra guest modules you need (e.g., OAuth broker, lifecycle). Update provider.toml whenever capabilities, versions, or artifact paths change.

4. Build and validate

cargo component build --release --target wasm32-wasip2
greentic-dev component validate --path .

Why: cargo component produces a Preview 2 component (wasm32-wasip2) using the published guest bindings, keeping builds reproducible without bundling local WIT. greentic-dev component validate confirms the artifact and metadata agree (embedded WIT package IDs, world name, version pins) and, when WASI shims exist, inspects the manifest via the current host/runtime hooks. If WASI support is missing locally, validation still passes but prints a warning that manifest inspection was skipped.

5. Package for distribution (optional)

greentic-dev component doctor --path .
greentic-dev component pack --path .
greentic-dev pack new -- --name hello-pack    # delegated to packc

Creates packs/my-component/0.1.0/ with the .wasm, meta.json (provider metadata + SHA + timestamp), and SHA256SUMS. Use this output when publishing or handing the component to downstream teams.

6. Wire into flows and inspect transcripts

Back in the main workspace:

greentic-dev flow validate -f examples/flows/my-component.ygtc --json
greentic-dev pack build -f examples/flows/my-component.ygtc -o dist/my-component.gtpack
greentic-dev pack run -p dist/my-component.gtpack --mocks on

The validation/build steps ensure the flow matches the schema and the pack stays deterministic; the runner writes transcripts/run.json so you can review defaults vs overrides. Use the mock services (docs/mocks.md) to emulate HTTP/NATS/secret providers while you iterate, and point the viewer at .greentic/runs/<timestamp>/transcript.jsonl (or the YAML artifacts written by older flows) for a detailed walkthrough.

Before opening a PR, keep the usual guardrails clean:

cargo fmt
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test

When Greentic interface versions update, bump the guest crate version in the scaffolder and regenerate as needed so the bindings and provider metadata stay aligned.

Rust API docs (cargo doc output),
Runner, mocks, viewer, scaffolder guides, and
The developer guide (this document) so the process is documented once.

Finally, publish your component’s own schema (usually under component-<name>/gh-pages) so the runner can fetch it in describe() responses.

Additional resources

Runner guide – docs/runner.md
Mocks guide – docs/mocks.md
Viewer guide – docs/viewer.md
Scaffolder internals – docs/scaffolder.md
Developer guide (HTML) – https://greentic-ai.github.io/greentic-dev/docs/developer-guide.html
GitHub Pages index – https://greentic-ai.github.io/greentic-dev/

CLI reference

All commands are available both through the installed binary (greentic-dev …) and via cargo run -p greentic-dev -- … while developing locally.

greentic-dev flow validate -f <flow.ygtc> [--json]

greentic-dev pack build -f <flow.ygtc> -o <out.gtpack>
                        [--sign dev|none] [--meta pack.toml]
                        [--component-dir DIR]

greentic-dev pack run -p <pack.gtpack>
                      [--entry FLOW] [--input JSON]
                      [--policy strict|devok]
                      [--otlp URL] [--allow host[,..]]
                      [--mocks on|off] [--artifacts DIR]

greentic-dev component [<ARGS>...]
                      # delegates directly to the `greentic-component` CLI

greentic-dev mcp doctor <toolmap|provider> [--json]    # feature = "mcp"

Local CI checks

Run the same steps that CI executes:

ci/local_check.sh

It enforces cargo fmt, cargo clippy --all-features, cargo build --workspace --all-features --locked, and cargo test --workspace --all-features --locked -- --nocapture. The script sets up isolated CARGO_HOME/CARGO_TARGET_DIR just like CI, so if it passes locally, the workflow will pass as well.

run: Compile each node schema and validate a flow YAML. --print-schemas lists registry stubs. --validate-only skips execution (flow execution is still under development).
component …: Every invocation is forwarded to the greentic-component CLI, so any new subcommands or flags shipped there are immediately available here.

Happy building! This toolkit should make it painless to iterate on components with confidence before they enter the main platform.

greentic-dev 0.4.22