docs: add agent guidelines

2026-08-02 10:49:05 -04:00
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+# slate32 Agent Guidelines
+
+ESP32 firmware (C++/Arduino) hosting Lua apps off an SD card. C++ owns the panel, touch,
+network and persistence; everything user-visible is Lua under `sdcard/`.
+
+## Build and Test
+
+```sh
+nix develop -c make test    # C++ unit tests, Lua tests, and the stub check
+nix develop -c pio run      # firmware -> .pio/build/esp32-32e/firmware.bin
+nix develop -c make stubs   # regenerate stubs/slate32.lua after any binding change
+```
+
+`make test` fails if `stubs/slate32.lua` drifts from the bindings. Regenerate rather than
+hand-editing it.
+
+## Binding Conventions
+
+Accessors are `getName` / `setName` / `isName`. Bare names are actions (`gui.fillRect`,
+`wifi.scan`) or pure conversions (`gui.color`, `http.urlencode`). A missing getter is fine;
+an accessor without a prefix is not.
+
+Namespaces have one job each: `gui` device primitives and the live frame, `ui` widgets and
+palette, `settings` persisted preferences, `sys` process and runtime, plus `wifi`/`http`/
+`fs`/`input`/`log`.
+
+**A setter that requires a follow-up call is a bug in the setter.** `settings.setTimezone()`
+applies the TZ itself; `settings.setRotation()` applies the frame and re-clips. The one
+unavoidable exception is the theme, because C cannot reload the Lua palette — `ui.setTheme()`
+is the seam that pairs them, and apps call that, never `settings.setTheme()`.
+
+**Persisted intent is not live state.** `settings.getRotation()` is what the user saved;
+`gui.getRotation()` is the frame being drawn. They diverge on purpose while an app rotates
+the panel transiently (touch calibration does). Never resolve one from the other.
+
+Settings live in C++ (`src/settings.h`) because the firmware reads rotation and calibration
+before any `lua_State` exists, and calibration again on every touch. Lua reaches them through
+bindings so there is one writer.
+
+## Status Bar
+
+`sdcard/lib/statusbar.lua` paints the top strip; the firmware only clips apps out of it and
+calls `draw(home)` on a timer. **Invalidation is entirely Lua's**: `draw()` compares each
+field against what it last painted and keys the whole cache on `gui.getRotation()` and
+`ui.themeName`. A new app gets a fresh `lua_State`, so an empty cache already means "repaint
+everything".
+
+The one change Lua cannot observe is an app that painted over the bar while fullscreen —
+apps toggle through `statusbar.setFullscreen()`, which drops the cache. Do not add
+invalidation flags on the C++ side; the facts that drive the bar are only knowable in Lua.
+
+## Emulator
+
+Full instructions in `.pi/skills/test-e32r40t-firmware/SKILL.md`. Two things that cost time:
+
+- The launcher logs `[lua] home ready`, not "launcher ready". It is `/apps/home`, an app like
+  any other.
+- `wait-frame` is an e-ink command and hangs on this board. Use `wait-idle SECONDS` between
+  captures, and `wait-log` for everything semantic.
+
+Pure Lua logic belongs in `test/*.lua` against `test/fake_device.lua`, which is the single
+definition of the binding surface for host tests. Renaming a binding means editing that file.
+Reserve the emulator for the panel, touch and SD.