rippled/include/xrpl/protocol_autogen

Protocol Autogen

This directory contains auto-generated C++ wrapper classes for XRP Ledger protocol types.

Generated Files

The files in this directory are automatically generated at CMake configure time from macro definition files:

• Transaction classes (in transactions/): Generated from include/xrpl/protocol/detail/transactions.macro by scripts/generate_tx_classes.py
• Ledger entry classes (in ledger_objects/): Generated from include/xrpl/protocol/detail/ledger_entries.macro by scripts/generate_ledger_classes.py

Generation Process

The generation happens automatically when you configure the project (not during build). When you run CMake, the system:

1. Creates a Python virtual environment in the build directory (codegen_venv)
2. Installs Python dependencies from scripts/requirements.txt into the venv (only if needed)
3. Runs the Python generation scripts using the venv Python interpreter
4. Parses the macro files to extract type definitions
5. Generates type-safe C++ wrapper classes using Jinja2 templates
6. Places the generated headers in this directory

When Regeneration Happens

The code is regenerated when:

• You run CMake configure for the first time
• The Python virtual environment doesn't exist
• scripts/requirements.txt has been modified

To force regeneration, delete the build directory and reconfigure.

Python Dependencies

The code generation requires the following Python packages (automatically installed):

• pcpp - C preprocessor for Python
• pyparsing - Parser combinator library
• Jinja2 - Template engine

These are isolated in a virtual environment and won't affect your system Python installation.

Version Control

The generated .h files are not checked into version control - they are listed in .gitignore. This means:

• Every developer needs Python 3 installed to configure the project
• CI/CD systems must run CMake configure to generate the files
• Generated files are always fresh and match the current macro definitions

Modifying Generated Code

Do not manually edit files in this directory. Any changes will be overwritten the next time CMake configure runs.

To modify the generated classes:

• Edit the macro files in include/xrpl/protocol/detail/
• Edit the Jinja2 templates in scripts/templates/
• Edit the generation scripts in scripts/
• Update Python dependencies in scripts/requirements.txt
• Run CMake configure to regenerate