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 generated from macro definition files:

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

Generation Process

Generation requires a one-time setup step to create a virtual environment and install Python dependencies, followed by running the generation target:

cmake --build . --target setup_code_gen  # create venv and install dependencies (once)
cmake --build . --target code_gen        # generate code

By default, CODEGEN_VENV_DIR points to .venv in the project root. The setup_code_gen target creates a venv there and installs the required packages. The code_gen target then uses the venv's Python interpreter to run generation.

Python Dependencies

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

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

Version Control

The generated .h files are checked into version control. This means:

• Developers without Python 3 can still build the project using the committed files
• CI/CD systems don't need to run code generation if files are up to date
• Changes to generated files are visible in code review

Modifying Generated Code

Do not manually edit generated files. Any changes will be overwritten the next time code_gen is run.

To modify the generated classes:

• Edit the macro files in include/xrpl/protocol/detail/
• Edit the Mako templates in cmake/scripts/codegen/templates/
• Edit the generation scripts in cmake/scripts/codegen/
• Update Python dependencies in cmake/scripts/codegen/requirements.txt
• Run cmake --build . --target code_gen to regenerate

Adding Common Fields

If you add a new common field to TxFormats.cpp or LedgerFormats.cpp, you should also update the corresponding base classes and templates manually:

Base classes:

• TransactionBase.h - Add getters for new common transaction fields
• TransactionBuilderBase.h - Add setters, and if the field is required, add it to the constructor parameters
• LedgerEntryBase.h - Add getters for new common ledger entry fields
• LedgerEntryBuilderBase.h - Add setters, and if the field is required, add it to the constructor parameters

Templates (update to pass required common fields to base class constructors):

• cmake/scripts/codegen/templates/Transaction.h.mako
• cmake/scripts/codegen/templates/LedgerEntry.h.mako

These files are not auto-generated and must be updated by hand.