inclean 0.1.0

A C/C++ #include path normalizer that rewrites includes to resolve cleanly against a minimal -I set.

inclean

A C/C++ #include path normalizer.

Many legacy C/C++ libraries #include headers by bare filename (#include "bar.h") even though the actual header lives several directories deep (src/internal/bar.h). To consume such a library a caller must add every internal directory to their -I list — which pollutes their include namespace and breaks the library's encapsulation.

inclean does a one-shot, source-level normalization. It scans every source file in the library and rewrites each #include so it resolves cleanly against a small, explicit set of allowed include directories. After running inclean, consumers only -I the allowed directories.

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Install

From source (Rust 1.91+):

cargo install --path .

Quick start

inclean is driven by an inclean.toml placed at the root of the library you want to clean up. A typical workflow:

inclean init                # write a documented starter inclean.toml
$EDITOR inclean.toml        # tell it where your headers live
inclean check               # dry-run: report every proposed change
inclean diff                # see the rewrites as a unified diff
inclean apply               # write the rewrites in place

Every command except explain takes an optional [DIR] argument — the directory containing the root inclean.toml. It defaults to ..

Example

Take a "flat" library where headers live at include/mylib/internal/foo.h but internal #includes use just the basename. The fixture under tests/fixtures/flat-library/ ships this config:

[project]
root = "."

[[rule]]
name = "base"
paths = ["src/**", "include/**"]
forms = ["quote"]
allowed_include_dirs = ["include"]
original_include_dirs = ["include/mylib/internal"]

A source line #include "foo.h" is rewritten to #include "mylib/internal/foo.h" — so the consumer only needs -Iinclude.

Commands

Command	Purpose
inclean init [DIR]	Generate a documented starter inclean.toml. Refuses to overwrite.
inclean check [DIR] [-l/--level LEVEL]	Read-only check at one of three depths. Never writes.
inclean diff [DIR]	Print a unified diff of every proposed rewrite.
inclean apply [DIR]	Apply rewrites in place. Refuses if any rule-tree conflict is present.
inclean explain FILE [INCLUDE]	Trace, layer-by-layer, which rule matches a given #include — debugging aid.

inclean check runs at one of three levels (-l config | rules | full, default full). Each level is a strict superset of the previous; see docs/configuration.md for the full breakdown.

Documentation

• docs/configuration.md — full inclean.toml schema: the five-layer matching model, inheritance, @std.* constants, actions, placeholders, exit codes.
• docs/architecture.md — code-level architecture: module map, pipeline phases, key invariants.
• CONTRIBUTING.md — toolchain, dev workflow, conventions, scope.
• CHANGELOG.md — release history.

Status

0.1 — feature-complete for v1. See CHANGELOG.md.

License

BSD 3-Clause.