Build CLI Reference

The build domain compiles SystemPrompt components. It builds the core Rust workspace and MCP extensions.

Why Build Exists

SystemPrompt is built with Rust and needs compilation:

• Core - The main SystemPrompt workspace (CLI, extensions, libraries)
• MCP - MCP server extensions

The build domain provides convenient wrappers around cargo and build scripts.

Quick Reference

Subcommand	Description
build core	Build the Rust workspace
build mcp	Build MCP extensions

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Build Core

Build the main SystemPrompt Rust workspace.

Basic Build

# Build in debug mode
systemprompt build core

# Build in release mode
systemprompt build core --release

Build Options

Flag	Description
--release	Build with optimizations (slower build, faster runtime)
--package, -p	Build specific package only
--features	Enable feature flags
--verbose, -v	Show detailed build output

Build Specific Package

# Build only the CLI
systemprompt build core --package systemprompt-cli

# Build only an extension
systemprompt build core --package systemprompt-web

Feature Flags

# Build with specific features
systemprompt build core --features "analytics,scheduler"

# Build with all features
systemprompt build core --features "full"

Verbose Output

# Show cargo output
systemprompt build core -v

# Very verbose (shows all commands)
systemprompt build core -vv

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Build MCP

Build MCP (Model Context Protocol) server extensions.

Build All MCP Servers

# Build all MCP servers
systemprompt build mcp

# Build in release mode
systemprompt build mcp --release

Build Specific MCP Server

# Build specific MCP server
systemprompt build mcp --server filesystem

# Build multiple servers
systemprompt build mcp --server filesystem --server github

Build Options

Flag	Description
--release	Build with optimizations
--server	Build specific MCP server(s)
--verbose, -v	Show detailed output

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Build Process

What Happens During Core Build

1. Cargo check - Verify code compiles
2. Build dependencies - Compile dependency crates
3. Build workspace - Compile all workspace members
4. Copy assets - Copy static assets to output
5. Generate bindings - Create any necessary bindings

What Happens During MCP Build

1. Find MCP crates - Discover MCP server crates
2. Build each server - Compile as standalone binary
3. Copy to output - Place binaries in expected location

Output Locations

Component	Debug Location	Release Location
CLI	target/debug/systemprompt	target/release/systemprompt
Extensions	target/debug/	target/release/
MCP Servers	target/debug/	target/release/

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Quick Build Commands

For convenience, most builds are done via just:

# Build everything (debug)
just build

# Build everything (release)
just build-release

# Build and run
just run

# Clean build artifacts
just clean

Justfile Targets

Command	Description
just build	Build debug
just build-release	Build release
just clean	Remove build artifacts
just test	Run tests
just check	Run cargo check
just clippy	Run linter

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Common Workflows

Development Build

# Quick build for development
systemprompt build core

# Or using just
just build

Production Build

# Optimized build
systemprompt build core --release
systemprompt build mcp --release

# Or using just
just build-release

Incremental Development

# Build only changed packages
systemprompt build core

# Watch and rebuild (if using cargo-watch)
cargo watch -x "build --package systemprompt-cli"

Build Single Extension

# Build only the web extension
systemprompt build core --package systemprompt-web

Build Single MCP Server

# Build only filesystem MCP server
systemprompt build mcp --server filesystem

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Troubleshooting

Build Errors

# Run check to see errors without building
cargo check

# Use verbose mode to see full error output
systemprompt build core -vv

Dependency Issues

# Update dependencies
cargo update

# Clean and rebuild
just clean
just build

Linking Errors

If you see linking errors:

1. Check required system libraries are installed
2. Verify correct Rust toolchain: rustup show
3. Try clean build: just clean && just build

Missing Features

# List available features for a package
cargo read-manifest --manifest-path Cargo.toml | jq '.features'

# Build with required features
systemprompt build core --features "required-feature"

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Environment Requirements

Rust Toolchain

• Rust version: 1.75+ (check with rustc --version)
• Cargo: Included with Rust

System Dependencies

Platform	Dependencies
Ubuntu/Debian	build-essential, libssl-dev, pkg-config
macOS	Xcode Command Line Tools
Windows	Visual Studio Build Tools

Install Dependencies (Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev pkg-config

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Related Resources

Playbooks:

• systemprompt core playbooks show cli_build - Build operations
• systemprompt core playbooks show build_extension-checklist - Extension development
• systemprompt core playbooks show build_mcp-checklist - MCP server development
• systemprompt core playbooks show build_rust-standards - Rust coding standards

Guides:

• Building Extensions - Create custom extensions
• Building MCP Servers - Create MCP servers

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