dcr/docs/commands/dcr-gen.md

dcr gen

Generates IDE and build tool integration files for C/C++ development environments.

Usage

dcr gen project-info
dcr gen project-info --release
dcr gen compile-commands
dcr gen compile-commands --debug
dcr gen vscode
dcr gen vscode --release
dcr gen clion
dcr gen clion --debug

Subcommands

dcr gen project-info

Outputs project metadata as JSON array.

dcr gen project-info [--debug | --release]

Outputs structured information about the project (root project + all workspace members if present):

[
  {
    "name": "my-project",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "root": "/path/to/root",
    "profile": "debug",
    "language": "c++",
    "standard": "c++17",
    "compiler": "g++",
    "kind": "bin",
    "sources": ["/path/to/root/src/main.cpp", ...],
    "include_dirs": ["/path/to/dep/include", ...],
    "lib_dirs": ["/path/to/dep/lib", ...],
    "libs": ["somelib", ...],
    "cflags": ["-Wall", ...],
    "ldflags": ["-lm", ...]
  }
]

This is useful for integrating DCR projects with custom build tools or scripts.

dcr gen compile-commands

Generates compile_commands.json for use by clangd, clang-tidy, and other tools.

dcr gen compile-commands [--debug | --release]

Writes ./compile_commands.json containing compilation database entries for all source files. This file is recognized by:

• LSP servers (clangd, clang-tools-extra)
• Linters (clang-tidy)
• Format tools (clang-format)

The entries include:

• Full compiler command with flags
• Source file path
• Object file output path
• Project root as working directory

dcr gen vscode

Generates Visual Studio Code integration files.

dcr gen vscode [--debug | --release]

Creates .vscode/ directory with:

• launch.json: Debug configurations (one per binary target, debug + release variants)
• tasks.json: Build/run/clean tasks using dcr commands
• settings.json: Clangd configuration pointing to compile_commands.json
• extensions.json: Recommends clangd, disables cpptools
• compile_commands.json: Compilation database (same as dcr gen compile-commands)

Usage in VSCode:

• Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and select "Debug: Start Debugging" to run debugger
• Press Ctrl+Shift+B to run the build task
• Clangd will provide IntelliSense and diagnostics based on compile_commands.json

dcr gen clion

Generates JetBrains CLion integration files.

dcr gen clion [--debug | --release]

Creates .idea/ directory with:

• externalTools.xml: Registers DCR build/clean/gen commands as external tools
• customTargets.xml: Defines build targets for debug and release
• misc.xml: Points CLion to compile_commands.json for compilation database
• .idea/.gitignore: Ignores auto-generated files
• runConfigurations/*.xml: Debug run configs (one per binary target)
• compile_commands.json: Compilation database (same as dcr gen compile-commands)

Usage in CLion:

• Build/clean via Tools → DCR → Build Debug/Release/Clean
• Run/debug via Run → Run Configurations (dropdown) → select generated config
• Code completion and diagnostics come from the compilation database

Config values used

• package.name
• build.compiler
• build.language
• build.standard
• build.kind
• build.target
• build.platform
• build.cflags
• build.ldflags
• build.debug / build.release
• build.exclude
• build.include
• build.pkg_config
• build.roots
• build.src_disable
• Workspace members (if [workspace] is present)

Workspace support

When running dcr gen in a workspace root, all commands process both the root project and all workspace members:

• project-info returns an array with entries for each member + root
• compile-commands includes entries from all members
• vscode and clion generate unified configurations that work across all members

Troubleshooting

Clangd not picking up includes

• Ensure compile_commands.json exists in the workspace root
• In VSCode settings, verify clangd.arguments includes --compile-commands-dir=<workspace-root>
• Rebuild via dcr gen compile-commands if sources or dependencies changed

Debug configuration not working

• Verify binary paths in launch.json match actual build output (target/<profile>/binary-name)
• For workspace projects, each member's debug config uses its own target/ directory
• Ensure GDB/LLDB is installed: gdb --version or lldb --version

CLion not recognizing includes

• Regenerate via dcr gen clion --debug
• File → Invalidate Caches → Invalidate and Restart
• Verify .idea/misc.xml points to correct compile_commands.json path

Notes

• Profiles default to debug if not specified
• Generation does not require the project to be built first
• Generated files are safe to commit; they are generated from dcr.toml and thus repeatable
• IDE configurations may be customized after generation, but changes will be overwritten on next dcr gen run
• For multi-binary projects, vscode and clion generate debug configs for all binaries (both debug + release variants)