Introduction

sigil-stitch is a Rust library for type-safe, import-aware, width-aware code generation across multiple languages. It combines two ideas: JavaPoet’s builder model for constructing structured code, and the Wadler-Lindig algorithm for width-aware formatting. You describe code with builders and format specifiers, and the library handles imports, name conflicts, indentation, and line breaking.

Where the ideas come from

JavaPoet’s builder model. JavaPoet (by Square) introduced the idea of building code with CodeBlock format strings and structural Spec types (TypeSpec, FunSpec, etc.). You write a format string like "const user: %T = getUser()", pass a TypeName for the %T slot, and the library renders the type reference and tracks the import. sigil-stitch adopts this model directly, extending it from Java-only to multiple languages.

Wadler-Lindig pretty printing. The pretty crate implements the Wadler-Lindig algorithm, which decides where to break lines based on a target width. sigil-stitch uses this via the %W (soft line break) specifier – you mark where breaks can happen, and the algorithm decides where they should happen. Without %W, output is rendered with direct string concatenation (no pretty-printer overhead).

Four key properties

Ergonomic multi-language. CodeBlock, TypeName, and all spec types have no language generic parameter. The language enters when FileSpec materializes a declaration or when a renderer receives &dyn RendererLang. Semantic TypeName and spec values can be reused across targets that support their intent. Literal text inside a CodeBlock is already target syntax and is only portable where that syntax is shared.

Import-aware. When you use %T with a TypeName::Importable, the library records that import. At render time, FileSpec collects all imports from every code block, deduplicates them, and resolves naming conflicts automatically. If two modules export a type named User, the first one encountered keeps the simple name User and the second gets an aliased name (e.g., OtherUser). You never write import statements by hand.

Width-aware. Place %W in a format string to mark a soft line break. When the output fits within the target width, %W produces a space. When it doesn’t fit, %W produces a newline with proper indentation. This is the Wadler-Lindig algorithm at work, via the pretty crate. You pass the target width to FileSpec::render(width), and the same code blocks produce different layouts for different widths.

Multi-language. RendererLang owns final-rendering policy, while each CodeLang adapter validates declaration intent and owns its target grammar. sigil-stitch ships with adapters for TypeScript, JavaScript, Rust, Go, Python, Java, Kotlin, Swift, Dart, Scala, Haskell, OCaml, C, C++, C#, Lua, Bash, and Zsh. The shared container types work with every adapter; each value must still be representable by its selected target.

Design philosophy

Specs lower to structured blocks. Specs record target-independent declaration intent. Their .emit() facade performs validation and delegates target grammar to the selected language adapter, producing CodeBlock trees rather than type-bearing strings. The renderer and import collector therefore remain independent of declaration kinds while retaining structured type references.

Minimal dependencies. The runtime dependencies are pretty (v0.12) for Wadler-Lindig formatting, serde (v1, with derive) so every spec can round-trip to JSON or YAML, and snafu for structured errors. Everything else – parsing format strings, collecting imports, resolving conflicts, rendering output – is implemented in sigil-stitch itself.

Two builder flavours. Spec builders (TypeSpec, FunSpec, FieldSpec, FileSpec, EnumVariantSpec, PropertySpec, AnnotationSpec, ProjectSpec) use an owning chain pattern – every setter takes mut self and returns Self, so you chain calls fluently:

extern crate sigil_stitch;
use sigil_stitch::prelude::*;
fn main() {
let body = CodeBlock::of("todo!()", ()).unwrap();
let fun = FunSpec::builder("greet")
    .returns(TypeName::primitive("string"))
    .body(body)
    .build()
    .unwrap();
}

CodeBlockBuilder is different: its methods take &mut self and return &mut Self, so you keep the builder in a let mut binding and call methods on it:

extern crate sigil_stitch;
use sigil_stitch::prelude::*;
fn main() {
let mut cb = CodeBlock::builder();
cb.add_statement("return user", ());
let block = cb.build().unwrap();
}

Quick orientation

There are three levels of abstraction, and you can use whichever fits:

• CodeBlock for code fragments. Use format specifiers (%T, %S, %L, %W) to interpolate values. Good for function bodies, one-off statements, and anything that doesn’t need structural metadata.
• Specs (FunSpec, TypeSpec, FieldSpec, ParameterSpec, etc.) for declaration intent. They carry semantic facts such as visibility, annotations, type parameters, and modifiers; the selected adapter validates and lowers them to target syntax.
• FileSpec to render a complete file. It orchestrates the three-pass pipeline: materialize specs into code blocks, collect and resolve imports, then render everything with proper formatting. Pass a target width to file.render(80) and get a String back.

For multi-file output, ProjectSpec collects multiple FileSpecs and can render them all at once or write them to disk.

What’s next

Continue to Getting Started for a hands-on walkthrough, or jump to Architecture for the full technical picture.