Initial commit: wanderbooks accounting semantics engine
This commit is contained in:
commit
b5d1d9ac43
1 file changed
+114
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
|
||||
# AGENTS.md — wanderbooks
|
||||
|
||||
Operating manual for agents working in this repo. Read this first, then the
|
||||
docs it points to. The short version: this is an engine-first, clean-room
|
||||
rebuild of canonical double-entry bookkeeping, done the storytold way —
|
||||
agents verify against oracles, track parity automatically, and never ship
|
||||
what they haven't demonstrated.
|
||||
|
||||
## What this is
|
||||
|
||||
`wanderbooks` is a from-scratch implementation of double-entry bookkeeping
|
||||
semantics, built to become a full bookkeeping application (engine now, UI
|
||||
later). The reference points:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Semantic oracle:** GnuCash. It is open source with open file formats
|
||||
(XML/SQLite), which makes it both the spec and the reference implementation
|
||||
we diff against. See `docs/oracle.md`.
|
||||
- **Workflow reference:** QuickBooks Online and Xero — for *what the UI must
|
||||
do*, never for code. We observe behavior; we write our own implementation.
|
||||
- **Method reference:** storytold/ArtCraft's app-cloning pipeline
|
||||
(screenshot-in-the-loop, render oracles, automated parity floors). We adapt
|
||||
it to accounting: semantic oracles instead of pixel oracles.
|
||||
|
||||
## The non-negotiables
|
||||
|
||||
1. **Money is `Money`.** Exact `Decimal` plus a currency code. Binary floats
|
||||
(`f32`/`f64`) never appear in money paths — not for amounts, not for
|
||||
rates, not for "temporary" calculations. If you need a ratio, it is a
|
||||
`Decimal`.
|
||||
2. **Every entry balances.** Debits equal credits exactly. No epsilon.
|
||||
3. **Posted is forever.** Posted entries are immutable. Corrections are
|
||||
reversing entries linked by `reversal_of`. There is no edit, no delete.
|
||||
4. **Reports are pure functions of a ledger.** If a report needs state that
|
||||
isn't in the ledger, the ledger model is wrong — fix the model.
|
||||
5. **Clean room.** Build from public specs and observed behavior only:
|
||||
GnuCash documentation and file formats, the IFRS conceptual framework,
|
||||
IRS publications for tax-adjacent logic later. GnuCash itself is GPL —
|
||||
read its docs, never copy its code. This repo is MIT OR Apache-2.0.
|
||||
Never disassemble or copy from proprietary software.
|
||||
|
||||
## Verification protocol (read this twice)
|
||||
|
||||
There is no UI yet, so "seeing what it's building" means **showing the
|
||||
numbers**. The analog of storytold's screenshot-in-the-loop:
|
||||
|
||||
- A green `cargo test` is necessary but **not sufficient**. Every behavior
|
||||
change must be demonstrated through the public API with human-readable
|
||||
output: print the trial balance, the P&L, the balance sheet. Show the
|
||||
numbers moving the way accounting says they should.
|
||||
- New behavior needs new tests in `crates/ledger-core/tests/invariants.rs`
|
||||
(or a new test file for a new crate). Tests encode accounting law, not
|
||||
implementation details: prefer "the accounting equation holds" over
|
||||
"this function returns that struct".
|
||||
- **Golden files are sacred.** `tests/golden/*.json` hold hand-verified
|
||||
expected reports for canonical fixtures. If a change intentionally alters
|
||||
output, recompute the expected numbers *by hand from accounting principles*,
|
||||
update the golden, and explain the recomputation in the commit message.
|
||||
Never edit a golden to match output you haven't verified — that is how
|
||||
oracles die.
|
||||
- The randomized invariant test (`random_balanced_journals_preserve_invariants`)
|
||||
is the always-on property oracle. Extend it when you add invariants.
|
||||
|
||||
## Parity tracking
|
||||
|
||||
`docs/parity.md` is the parity catalog: every semantic feature we intend to
|
||||
clone, with status. Rules:
|
||||
|
||||
- Every feature change updates `docs/parity.md` in the same commit.
|
||||
- The **floor never decreases**: the count of `done` items is monotonic.
|
||||
CI will enforce this once the catalog is machine-readable (roadmap phase 3);
|
||||
until then, it is enforced by review — yours.
|
||||
- Statuses are `done` (implemented + tested + golden-covered), `partial`,
|
||||
`todo`. No other statuses. `done` requires all three.
|
||||
|
||||
## Engine-first architecture
|
||||
|
||||
- All mutations are commands on `Ledger` (`create_entry`, `add_line`,
|
||||
`post_entry`, `reverse_entry`, `add_account`). Struct fields stay private;
|
||||
no other mutation path may exist.
|
||||
- `ledger-core` depends only on `rust_decimal`, `thiserror`, `chrono`,
|
||||
`serde`, `serde_json`. New dependencies need justification in the commit
|
||||
message. No I/O, no networking, no time-source in the core.
|
||||
- Future crates (`ledger-store`, `ledger-import`, `ledger-oracle`, `books-app`)
|
||||
depend inward toward the core, never the reverse. See `docs/architecture.md`.
|
||||
|
||||
## Working here
|
||||
|
||||
- Rust stable, edition 2024. `cargo test` must pass; `cargo clippy` should be
|
||||
clean; `cargo fmt` before committing.
|
||||
- Conventional commits: `feat:`, `fix:`, `docs:`, `test:`, `refactor:`.
|
||||
One logical change per commit. The commit message explains the *accounting*
|
||||
reasoning, not just the code.
|
||||
- You have a very large context window. Use it: when working on semantics,
|
||||
load the whole `ledger-core` crate plus `docs/requirements.md` rather than
|
||||
guessing from snippets.
|
||||
- If a requirement in `docs/requirements.md` conflicts with code, the
|
||||
requirement wins — then fix the code, and say so.
|
||||
|
||||
## Docs index
|
||||
|
||||
| Read this | When you need |
|
||||
|---|---|
|
||||
| `docs/requirements.md` | What the engine must do (R-1…), what is future work |
|
||||
| `docs/architecture.md` | Crate layout, command pattern, dependency rules |
|
||||
| `docs/oracle.md` | How we prove correctness: golden files, property tests, GnuCash diffing |
|
||||
| `docs/parity.md` | Feature catalog and the non-regression floor |
|
||||
| `docs/glossary.md` | Debit/credit and friends, for agents new to accounting |
|
||||
| `plan/STATUS.md` | Where the project stands right now |
|
||||
| `plan/roadmap.md` | Phase plan: semantics → oracle harness → egui app → workflow parity |
|
||||
|
||||
## License
|
||||
|
||||
MIT OR Apache-2.0. New files carry no license headers; the license files at
|
||||
the repo root cover the tree.
|
||||
Reference in new issue
Block a user