2026-06-05 12:15:54 +02:00
# Documentation Map
A central index of the documentation in this repo. The goal of the project is to
build KiCad with WASM and run it in a browser.
> Note: per-area `README.md` files stay next to the code they describe (they're linked
> below). Cross-cutting guides live under `docs/`. Per-feature design notes live under
> [`features/`](features/).
## Start here
- [Project README ](../README.md ) — overview, prerequisites, quick start, project structure
- [CLAUDE.md ](../CLAUDE.md ) — project/agent context and contribution conventions
## Build
jspi cleanup: remove the asyncify-era residue — dead code, conditionals, pipeline scaffolding, stale prose
The runtime is JSPI-only; this removes everything that still pretended
otherwise. Three exhaustive sweeps (C++/JS+build+CI/tests+docs) drove
the inventory; every deletion verified by grep closure + full gates.
Broken-right-now fixes:
- deploy-staging.yml passed the retired opt_level input — the workflow
could not even start. Removed.
- env.sh carried dead exports with a live -sASYNCIFY=1 inside
(WASM_LDFLAGS/PTHREAD_LDFLAGS, zero consumers). Removed; the
WASM_LEGACY_EXCEPTIONS rationale rewritten to the real reason.
- docker/build.sh exported PCBJAM_ASYNC_BACKEND (read nowhere). Gone.
Dead weight removed:
- binaryen submodule (nothing builds or invokes it), wasm-opt-bench
workflow + scripts/bench/, get-wasm-opt.sh, diagnostics.js (242 lines
of Asyncify-API-only code), the KICAD_PIPELINE background-postprocess
scaffolding (existed to parallelize the deleted wasm-opt phase; the
postprocess is a seconds-long node script and now runs inline),
build-monitor's dead asyncify rows, sched-context orphan build
output, dead .gitignore entries, the .jspi-assets spike dir (the two
wf-result research JSONs moved to docs/features/async/migration-evidence/).
- bindings: fiber_park.h + its 12 embind registrations (broken-if-
called under JSPI), the kicadOpenFileStart/OPEN_JOB starter route,
main_stack_runner.h + 5 includes, the always-null context-sleep weak
hook in nanosleep_yield.c.
- shim: the backend field (installed-flag idempotency instead),
noteContextWait (dead both sides), the __wxAsyncifyDump alias (+ the
WasmTool fallback and string-dump normalize branch).
- web: the emscripten-6-ignored mainScriptUrlOrBlob option in boot.ts
(gerber-demo keeps it: it loads the deployed CDN release, which
predates emscripten 6 — noted inline).
Conditionals: all 'backend === jspi' checks reduced to scheduler-
presence checks; races_quiescent re-keyed from Asyncify.state (vacuous)
to real backlog quiescence (resumeReady/mutatorQueue — NOT _windowLive,
which is the probing activation's own window by definition).
Renames (identifiers only, no file renames): ASYNC_LINK_FLAGS→
JSPI_LINK_FLAGS and Makefile ASYNC_LDFLAGS→JSPI_LDFLAGS,
kicadCollabFiberBusy→kicadCollabBusy (embind + web + tests),
collab_common.h fiber*→apply*/coroutine naming, asyncifySignatures→
wasmTrapSignatures (lists byte-identical).
Tests: the two remaining vacuous [wx-asyncify]/fiber-resume-refused
asserts re-keyed to live JSPI beacons; eeschema-load's failure message
no longer sends the developer to a deleted script; wait-beacons' dead
families/parser deleted; lane-0 legacy-glue guards removed (lane 0 is
unconstructible); the embind test.fail re-gated with the JSPI reason
(plain embind invokers cannot suspend — verified still failing);
lint-determinism now scans tests/jspi (166 files clean);
eeschema-collab local-move gated to chromium (~50% flaky on FF even
solo; pcbnew twin covers both engines).
Docs: DEBUG.md rewritten as the JSPI debugging guide; build.md
describes the single-phase build; docs/features/async/README.md
banner-marked historical and repointed at the NEW
23-jspi-runtime.md (current architecture: export census, turnstile,
libcontext ownership + refusal contract, embind call shapes, the
em-pthread service-wrapper trick, exception policy, known gaps).
Gates on the cleaned tree: test:e2e 725 passed / 0 failed (after the
quiescence-probe fix; the 3 other reds were verified contention flakes
solo-green or the documented FF gate), web 76/0, jspi 18/18 both
engines, vitest 295/295 + 17/17, all lints green, live-app census
clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016X9eh1s5sTx1o9Em9KBuwR
2026-08-14 09:25:32 +02:00
- [docs/build.md ](build.md ) — Docker-based KiCad WASM build system (single-phase build, outputs, memory)
2026-06-05 12:15:54 +02:00
- [docker/README.md ](../docker/README.md ) — Docker build environment, branch-specific containers, troubleshooting
- [wasm/README.md ](../wasm/README.md ) — WASM compatibility layer (overrides/shims without patching KiCad)
jspi cleanup: remove the asyncify-era residue — dead code, conditionals, pipeline scaffolding, stale prose
The runtime is JSPI-only; this removes everything that still pretended
otherwise. Three exhaustive sweeps (C++/JS+build+CI/tests+docs) drove
the inventory; every deletion verified by grep closure + full gates.
Broken-right-now fixes:
- deploy-staging.yml passed the retired opt_level input — the workflow
could not even start. Removed.
- env.sh carried dead exports with a live -sASYNCIFY=1 inside
(WASM_LDFLAGS/PTHREAD_LDFLAGS, zero consumers). Removed; the
WASM_LEGACY_EXCEPTIONS rationale rewritten to the real reason.
- docker/build.sh exported PCBJAM_ASYNC_BACKEND (read nowhere). Gone.
Dead weight removed:
- binaryen submodule (nothing builds or invokes it), wasm-opt-bench
workflow + scripts/bench/, get-wasm-opt.sh, diagnostics.js (242 lines
of Asyncify-API-only code), the KICAD_PIPELINE background-postprocess
scaffolding (existed to parallelize the deleted wasm-opt phase; the
postprocess is a seconds-long node script and now runs inline),
build-monitor's dead asyncify rows, sched-context orphan build
output, dead .gitignore entries, the .jspi-assets spike dir (the two
wf-result research JSONs moved to docs/features/async/migration-evidence/).
- bindings: fiber_park.h + its 12 embind registrations (broken-if-
called under JSPI), the kicadOpenFileStart/OPEN_JOB starter route,
main_stack_runner.h + 5 includes, the always-null context-sleep weak
hook in nanosleep_yield.c.
- shim: the backend field (installed-flag idempotency instead),
noteContextWait (dead both sides), the __wxAsyncifyDump alias (+ the
WasmTool fallback and string-dump normalize branch).
- web: the emscripten-6-ignored mainScriptUrlOrBlob option in boot.ts
(gerber-demo keeps it: it loads the deployed CDN release, which
predates emscripten 6 — noted inline).
Conditionals: all 'backend === jspi' checks reduced to scheduler-
presence checks; races_quiescent re-keyed from Asyncify.state (vacuous)
to real backlog quiescence (resumeReady/mutatorQueue — NOT _windowLive,
which is the probing activation's own window by definition).
Renames (identifiers only, no file renames): ASYNC_LINK_FLAGS→
JSPI_LINK_FLAGS and Makefile ASYNC_LDFLAGS→JSPI_LDFLAGS,
kicadCollabFiberBusy→kicadCollabBusy (embind + web + tests),
collab_common.h fiber*→apply*/coroutine naming, asyncifySignatures→
wasmTrapSignatures (lists byte-identical).
Tests: the two remaining vacuous [wx-asyncify]/fiber-resume-refused
asserts re-keyed to live JSPI beacons; eeschema-load's failure message
no longer sends the developer to a deleted script; wait-beacons' dead
families/parser deleted; lane-0 legacy-glue guards removed (lane 0 is
unconstructible); the embind test.fail re-gated with the JSPI reason
(plain embind invokers cannot suspend — verified still failing);
lint-determinism now scans tests/jspi (166 files clean);
eeschema-collab local-move gated to chromium (~50% flaky on FF even
solo; pcbnew twin covers both engines).
Docs: DEBUG.md rewritten as the JSPI debugging guide; build.md
describes the single-phase build; docs/features/async/README.md
banner-marked historical and repointed at the NEW
23-jspi-runtime.md (current architecture: export census, turnstile,
libcontext ownership + refusal contract, embind call shapes, the
em-pthread service-wrapper trick, exception policy, known gaps).
Gates on the cleaned tree: test:e2e 725 passed / 0 failed (after the
quiescence-probe fix; the 3 other reds were verified contention flakes
solo-green or the documented FF gate), web 76/0, jspi 18/18 both
engines, vitest 295/295 + 17/17, all lints green, live-app census
clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016X9eh1s5sTx1o9Em9KBuwR
2026-08-14 09:25:32 +02:00
## Debugging & WASM runtime
2026-06-05 12:15:54 +02:00
jspi cleanup: remove the asyncify-era residue — dead code, conditionals, pipeline scaffolding, stale prose
The runtime is JSPI-only; this removes everything that still pretended
otherwise. Three exhaustive sweeps (C++/JS+build+CI/tests+docs) drove
the inventory; every deletion verified by grep closure + full gates.
Broken-right-now fixes:
- deploy-staging.yml passed the retired opt_level input — the workflow
could not even start. Removed.
- env.sh carried dead exports with a live -sASYNCIFY=1 inside
(WASM_LDFLAGS/PTHREAD_LDFLAGS, zero consumers). Removed; the
WASM_LEGACY_EXCEPTIONS rationale rewritten to the real reason.
- docker/build.sh exported PCBJAM_ASYNC_BACKEND (read nowhere). Gone.
Dead weight removed:
- binaryen submodule (nothing builds or invokes it), wasm-opt-bench
workflow + scripts/bench/, get-wasm-opt.sh, diagnostics.js (242 lines
of Asyncify-API-only code), the KICAD_PIPELINE background-postprocess
scaffolding (existed to parallelize the deleted wasm-opt phase; the
postprocess is a seconds-long node script and now runs inline),
build-monitor's dead asyncify rows, sched-context orphan build
output, dead .gitignore entries, the .jspi-assets spike dir (the two
wf-result research JSONs moved to docs/features/async/migration-evidence/).
- bindings: fiber_park.h + its 12 embind registrations (broken-if-
called under JSPI), the kicadOpenFileStart/OPEN_JOB starter route,
main_stack_runner.h + 5 includes, the always-null context-sleep weak
hook in nanosleep_yield.c.
- shim: the backend field (installed-flag idempotency instead),
noteContextWait (dead both sides), the __wxAsyncifyDump alias (+ the
WasmTool fallback and string-dump normalize branch).
- web: the emscripten-6-ignored mainScriptUrlOrBlob option in boot.ts
(gerber-demo keeps it: it loads the deployed CDN release, which
predates emscripten 6 — noted inline).
Conditionals: all 'backend === jspi' checks reduced to scheduler-
presence checks; races_quiescent re-keyed from Asyncify.state (vacuous)
to real backlog quiescence (resumeReady/mutatorQueue — NOT _windowLive,
which is the probing activation's own window by definition).
Renames (identifiers only, no file renames): ASYNC_LINK_FLAGS→
JSPI_LINK_FLAGS and Makefile ASYNC_LDFLAGS→JSPI_LDFLAGS,
kicadCollabFiberBusy→kicadCollabBusy (embind + web + tests),
collab_common.h fiber*→apply*/coroutine naming, asyncifySignatures→
wasmTrapSignatures (lists byte-identical).
Tests: the two remaining vacuous [wx-asyncify]/fiber-resume-refused
asserts re-keyed to live JSPI beacons; eeschema-load's failure message
no longer sends the developer to a deleted script; wait-beacons' dead
families/parser deleted; lane-0 legacy-glue guards removed (lane 0 is
unconstructible); the embind test.fail re-gated with the JSPI reason
(plain embind invokers cannot suspend — verified still failing);
lint-determinism now scans tests/jspi (166 files clean);
eeschema-collab local-move gated to chromium (~50% flaky on FF even
solo; pcbnew twin covers both engines).
Docs: DEBUG.md rewritten as the JSPI debugging guide; build.md
describes the single-phase build; docs/features/async/README.md
banner-marked historical and repointed at the NEW
23-jspi-runtime.md (current architecture: export census, turnstile,
libcontext ownership + refusal contract, embind call shapes, the
em-pthread service-wrapper trick, exception policy, known gaps).
Gates on the cleaned tree: test:e2e 725 passed / 0 failed (after the
quiescence-probe fix; the 3 other reds were verified contention flakes
solo-green or the documented FF gate), web 76/0, jspi 18/18 both
engines, vitest 295/295 + 17/17, all lints green, live-app census
clean.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016X9eh1s5sTx1o9Em9KBuwR
2026-08-14 09:25:32 +02:00
- [docs/debugging/DEBUG.md ](debugging/DEBUG.md ) — debugging guide: the JSPI runtime's observability (`__wxWaitDump` , beacons), reading a SuspendError, the harnesses
- [docs/features/async/23-jspi-runtime.md ](features/async/23-jspi-runtime.md ) — the JSPI runtime architecture (scheduler/turnstile, libcontext backend, embind call shapes)
- [docs/debugging/learning.md ](debugging/learning.md ) — historical: Asyncify + consecutive modal dialogs, the lock pattern (asyncify era)
- [docs/research/threading_1.md ](research/threading_1.md ) — historical deep dive: the Asyncify single-slot `currData` collision bug and its era's fix
- [docs/research/threading_2.md ](research/threading_2.md ) — external research that pre-studied the alternatives (JSPI/WasmFX/state machines), QEMU analysis
2026-06-05 12:15:54 +02:00
## Architecture
- [wasm/README.md ](../wasm/README.md ) — WASM compatibility layer structure
- [web/README.md ](../web/README.md ) — web app (create/open KiCad projects), tech stack, URL routing, WASM artifact serving
## Testing
- [tests/README.md ](../tests/README.md ) — Playwright test infrastructure, element registry, logs, screenshots
- [tests/WHATWORKS.md ](../tests/WHATWORKS.md ) — wxWidgets-in-WASM feature coverage matrix and KiCad readiness
- [tests/GL_README.md ](../tests/GL_README.md ) — Emscripten legacy GL immediate-mode quirks (color-per-vertex)
- [tests/gal-regression/README.md ](../tests/gal-regression/README.md ) — GAL visual regression suite (native OpenGL vs WebGL WASM)
## Feature design docs
Per-feature design notes and porting records live under [`features/` ](features/ ):
- [web-init ](features/web-init/ ) — web app spec
- [schematic ](features/schematic/ ) — eeschema WASM bring-up
- [symbol-editor ](features/symbol-editor/ ) — symbol editor (eeschema kiface launcher)
- [gerbview ](features/gerbview/ ) — Gerber viewer port
- [pl-editor ](features/pl-editor/ ) — page-layout editor port (incl. file-dialog usability fixes)
- [browser-tools ](features/browser-tools/ ) — tool-activation / coroutine deep dives
- [fix-asyncify-O2-and-modal-promise-rejection ](features/fix-asyncify-O2-and-modal-promise-rejection/ ) — RTree wasm overflow bug investigation
### Archived / historical
[`features/archive/` ](features/archive/ ) holds docs whose work is done or superseded
(each carries a status banner):
- [webgl ](features/archive/webgl/ ) — WebGL-GAL strategy/plan (since implemented in `kicad/common/gal/webgl/` )
- [ipc-api ](features/archive/ipc-api/ ) — IPC-API guard cleanup TODO (revert not yet actioned)
