Getting started

Install the CLI, write a config, validate it, then explore — formatting, the REPL, and the language server, and finally rendering a documentation site with wdoc.

1. Install

Install the wcl CLI from a source checkout:

cargo install --git https://github.com/wiltaylor/wcl -p wcl --locked

2. Write a config

Declare a schema with decorators, then author data that matches it. @inline(0) binds the block label to a field; @default supplies a value when one is omitted; @children collects every nested block of a kind.

// site.wcl
@block("service")
type Service {
  @inline(0)   name: utf8
  @default(80) port: u32
  region: utf8
}

@document
type Config {
  @children("service") services: list<Service>
}

service "web" {
  region = "us-east-1"
}
service "api" {
  port   = 9090u32
  region = "eu-west-1"
}

3. Check & evaluate

wcl check validates the document against its @document schema — exit 0 is OK, 1 a parse error, 2 a schema violation. wcl eval (alias wcl get) reads any value out by dotted path; --json emits a machine-readable form.

wcl check site.wcl
wcl eval  site.wcl services
wcl get   site.wcl services --json

4. Format & edit

wcl fmt reformats canonically while preserving comments and blank-line grouping. wcl set rewrites a field at a dotted path with a new WCL expression, following imports back to the file that declares it (quote shell-special values).

wcl fmt site.wcl --in-place
wcl set site.wcl service.web.region '"eu-west-2"'
wcl set site.wcl service.api.port 9091u32

5. Editor support

wcl lsp is a full language server (diagnostics, completion, hover, go-to-definition, code actions). It speaks stdio by default.

6. (Optional) Render docs with wdoc

If you want a static documentation site for your project, drop page blocks into a .wcl file and let wcl wdoc render them. The very page you're reading is built this way.

wcl wdoc serve docs/main.wcl              # live preview at http://127.0.0.1:8080
wcl wdoc build docs/main.wcl --out _site  # one-shot static build

Next: skim the features tour, then keep the WCL language reference handy while you author.