Quickstart

July 19, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

This page is for contributors and developers who want to clone the repo, set up a local environment, build, and run tests.

If you want the user manual, see USAGE.md. If you want the full contribution workflow, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

1. Prerequisites

You need:

  • a C compiler, gcc or clang
  • make
  • libncurses-dev
  • libreadline-dev
  • libarchive-dev
  • python3
  • python3-venv
  • cmark
  • lcov
  • llvm-symbolizer or equivalent LLVM tooling for sanitizer traces

On Debian or Ubuntu, the typical install set is:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential clang llvm libncurses-dev libtinfo-dev libreadline-dev libarchive-dev python3-venv cmark lcov

2. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/robkam/ytreenova.git
cd ytreenova

3. Create the local Python environment

scripts/setup_dev.sh

That script creates .venv in the repo root and installs the pinned Python dependencies.

Afterwards, activate it in each new shell:

source .venv/bin/activate

4. Build

make

For sanitizer enabled debugging:

make clean
make DEBUG=1

5. Validation

Use these commands to check the repo after changes:

pytest
make qa-clean-code
make qa-code-quality
make qa-all

Start with focused build and test commands, then use the broader validation gate when you want the full local check.

6. If you use Codex or another AI client

The repository includes optional Codex related configuration under:

  • .codex/config.toml
  • .ai/codex.md

If you use VSCodium with the Codex extension or another AI client, the setup should be easy to adapt. The main things to check are:

  • your editor points at the repo root
  • your AI client can adapt .ai/codex.md
  • your client can adapt the repo's .codex/config.toml

You may need to adjust the path settings in your clone to suit your setup.

7. Where to look next