| name | memphis-rebuild-rust |
| description | Rebuild Memphis NAPI binary after Rust crate changes and verify the runtime will see the new code. Use whenever crates/memphis-{core,operator,napi,vault,tui,case-index,embed}/ source has been modified. |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read |
| paths | ["crates/**/*.rs","crates/**/Cargo.toml"] |
Rebuild NAPI binary after Rust crate changes
The TS host loads the compiled crates/memphis-napi/index.node at module-load time and ESM caches it. Rust source edits are silent until the binary is rebuilt — this is the #1 source of "I changed the code but Memphis still behaves the old way" reports.
When to run this skill
Trigger automatically (via the paths: glob) any time a crates/**/*.rs file is modified in the session. Trigger manually:
- After
git pull that includes Rust crate changes (CI builds artifacts upstream but local checkouts ship source-only)
- After landing a hotfix that touched a crate
- When the operator reports "Memphis isn't picking up my fix"
Steps
1. Sanity-check the source/binary delta
ls -la crates/memphis-napi/index.node
git log --format='%h %ai %s' -1 -- 'crates/**/*.rs'
If the latest Rust commit timestamp is after the binary's mtime, the runtime is stale. Proceed.
2. Build the workspace
npm run build:rust 2>&1 | tail -10
Confirms no compile errors. The script (scripts/run-rust.sh) builds all crates in workspace and copies the NAPI shared library into crates/memphis-napi/index.node.
3. Verify the binary moved
ls -la crates/memphis-napi/index.node
Mtime must be later than the latest Rust commit timestamp from step 1. If unchanged, the build silently failed — re-run with --release or check target/debug/libmemphis_napi.so exists.
4. Tell the operator they need to restart
The TS host process loads .node once at startup. A running memphis serve / TUI session will keep using the old binary in memory. Inform the operator:
Rebuild done. If Memphis is currently running, it needs a restart to pick up the new binary — pkill memphis (or close the TUI) then start fresh.
5. Optional: run targeted tests
If the change touched provider.rs, chat.rs, or loop_engine.rs:
cargo test -p memphis-operator --lib provider:: 2>&1 | tail -20
cargo test -p memphis-core --lib loop_engine:: 2>&1 | tail -20
Anti-patterns
- Don't assume the binary is fresh because compilation finished. The script silently exits 0 even if the copy step is skipped — verify mtime.
- Don't suggest
--release reflexively. Debug builds are 5–10× faster to iterate; release is for tagged versions.
- Don't forget restart messaging. Building without restarting = same effect as not building.
Reference memories
feedback_napi_rebuild_after_rust_changes.md — root-cause documentationfeedback_truth_model_silent_catch.md — same family ("what's actually running ≠ what source says")feedback_install_root_anchoring.md — same family for path resolution
