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ZERO_DEPS.md

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Zero-dependency policy

Chisel’s runtime is stdlib only (pyproject.toml has dependencies = []). This is intentional: install anywhere Python 3.11+ runs, minimal supply-chain surface for core behavior (important for supply-chain–aware deployments), and predictable behavior in sandboxes. For how agents should interpret results under this model, see LLM_CONTRACT.md.

What is allowed

Layer Allowed
Core package chisel/ Python standard library only
CLI / HTTP MCP / stdio MCP Same — http.server, sqlite3, subprocess for git, etc.
Optional extras in pyproject.toml Declared separately; not imported at runtime unless the extra is installed

Optional extras (not part of “core zero-dep”)

  • [mcp] — pulls in the mcp PyPI package only for the stdio MCP entrypoint (chisel-mcp). The HTTP server (chisel serve) does not need it.
  • [dev] — pytest, ruff, etc., for contributors only.

Installing chisel-test-impact with no extras gives a fully functional CLI and HTTP MCP server.

Tree-sitter, LSP, or “better parsers” (item 7)

They are not in the default package. Higher-accuracy parsing would normally add native or heavy dependencies (tree-sitter bindings, language servers). That would violate the strict zero-dep constraint for the default install.

The supported extension path — without changing the default wheel — is:

  1. register_extractor() in ast_utils.py — your code (or a separate optional package you publish) can register a tree-sitter-backed extractor at runtime if the user has installed those deps in their environment.
  2. CHISEL_BOOTSTRAP — set to a dotted import path; Chisel loads that module when ChiselEngine starts (see chisel/bootstrap.py). Use it to call register_extractor() without wrapping the CLI yourself.
  3. Fork / vendor — advanced users can maintain a fork with optional accelerators; the upstream project stays stdlib-only.

Full guide: CUSTOM_EXTRACTORS.md · example: examples/chisel_bootstrap_example.py.

So: strict zero-dep applies to what we ship as chisel-test-impact on PyPI with default installs. Optional plug-ins and user-registered extractors live outside that guarantee unless we add a clearly named optional extra (which would document non-zero deps for that path only).

CI

  • scripts/check_version.py — version strings stay aligned.
  • scripts/benchmark_chisel.py — smoke timing on a tiny repo (guards egregious regressions).