mtl-build

name	mtl-build
description	Build MTL library, format code, and verify compilation. Use when asked to build, verify changes, check formatting, or prepare code for commit.

Build & Verify MTL

Build Modes

Run from the repository root:

Command	Mode	Use when
./build.sh	Release	Default. Optimized build for testing and deployment
./build.sh debug	Debug + ASAN	Debugging with AddressSanitizer (-O0 -g). Slower but catches memory bugs
./build.sh debugonly	Debug only	Debug symbols without ASAN. Faster than debug for general development
./build.sh unit	Unit gtest	Configures build_unit/ with -Denable_unit_tests=true, builds it, and runs tests/unit/UnitTest. Combine with debug (e.g. ./build.sh debug unit) to run under ASan via LD_PRELOAD

Format Code

./format-coding.sh

• ./format-coding.sh --check previews changes (non-mutating check/diff mode for every tool, exits 1 if anything would change) instead of writing to disk. Always use this to inspect a formatting change's blast radius before running the real, mutating command on a working tree that has uncommitted work in it.
• Requires clang-format-14 (install via sudo apt install clang-format-14)
• CI rejects improperly formatted code — always run before committing
• Formats all C/C++ source files in the repository, plus Python (isort then black) under python/ and tests/, Markdown, and Shell scripts

Verification Checklist

After building, verify:

1. Build completes without errors
2. Key artifacts exist:
   • build/lib/libmtl.so — shared library
   • build/tests/KahawaiTest — integration test binary
   • build/app/RxTxApp — reference application
3. Run ./format-coding.sh and check for any formatting changes

Common Build Errors

Error	Fix
Missing meson / ninja	sudo apt install meson ninja-build
Missing libnuma-dev	sudo apt install libnuma-dev
Missing libjson-c-dev	sudo apt install libjson-c-dev
Missing libpcap-dev	sudo apt install libpcap-dev
Missing libgtest-dev	sudo apt install libgtest-dev
Missing libssl-dev	sudo apt install libssl-dev
Missing systemtap-sdt-dev	sudo apt install systemtap-sdt-dev (for USDT probes)
DPDK not found / wrong version	Build DPDK first: see build docs
Stale build directory	rm -rf build && ./build.sh or use MCP tool mtl_clean_rebuild
Permission errors in build/	sudo rm -rf build && ./build.sh