docs: environment variables + CLI settings reference (#151)

2026-07-14 13:10:59 +01:00
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+# Maintaining these reference docs
+
+`ENVIRONMENT.md` and `SETTINGS.md` are **generated from source**. They carry a "Generated from `main @ <hash>`" line and *will* drift as the code adds knobs. This is the repeatable procedure to refresh them — by hand, or with an AI assistant (e.g. Claude) doing the tedious extraction and table editing.
+
+## Where the truth lives
+
+| Doc | Source of truth | What to scan for |
+|---|---|---|
+| `ENVIRONMENT.md` | `c/glm.c` (and other `c/*.c`) | every `getenv("...")` call — the default and the trailing `/* comment */` |
+| `SETTINGS.md` | `c/coli`, `c/openai_server.py` | every `add_parser(...)` and `add_argument(...)` |
+
+Nothing else defines these. If a knob isn't at one of those call sites, it isn't real.
+
+## Step 1 — extract the current state
+
+Run against the commit you're documenting (use `upstream/dev`, not a local branch):
+
+```bash
+cd <repo>
+git fetch upstream
+HASH=$(git rev-parse --short upstream/dev); echo "documenting $HASH"
+
+# Environment variables (defaults + inline comments):
+git grep -n 'getenv("' upstream/dev -- 'c/*.c'
+
+# CLI settings:
+git grep -nE 'add_parser\(|add_argument\(' upstream/dev -- c/coli c/openai_server.py
+
+# Quick sanity: how many distinct env vars exist now?
+git grep -hoE 'getenv\("[A-Z0-9_]+"\)' upstream/dev -- 'c/*.c' \
+  | sed -E 's/getenv\("(.*)"\)/\1/' | sort -u | wc -l
+```
+
+## Step 2 — diff against what's documented
+
+```bash
+# vars currently in the code:
+git grep -hoE 'getenv\("[A-Z0-9_]+"\)' upstream/dev -- 'c/*.c' \
+  | sed -E 's/getenv\("(.*)"\)/\1/' | sort -u > /tmp/code_vars.txt
+# vars currently in the doc (crude: grab `VAR` cells):
+grep -oE '`[A-Z0-9_]{2,}`' docs/ENVIRONMENT.md | tr -d '`' | sort -u > /tmp/doc_vars.txt
+
+comm -23 /tmp/code_vars.txt /tmp/doc_vars.txt   # in code, NOT documented -> add these
+comm -13 /tmp/code_vars.txt /tmp/doc_vars.txt   # documented, NOT in code -> remove these
+```
+
+## Step 3 — update the tables (AI-assisted)
+
+Paste the Step-1 output to Claude with a prompt like:
+
+> Here are all the `getenv()` sites in `c/glm.c` at commit `<hash>`, and the current `ENVIRONMENT.md`.
+> For each variable: confirm the **default** and **effect** from the code (the ternary default and the `/* comment */`).
+> Update the tables in place — keep the existing grouping (Common / Performance / CUDA / Advanced / Set-by-CLI), add any new variables to the right group, remove any that no longer exist, and fix any default that changed.
+> Do **not** invent behavior: if the comment is thin, describe only what the code literally does. Update the "Generated from" hash to `<hash>`.
+
+Same pattern for `SETTINGS.md` with the `add_argument` output.
+
+Rules that keep it honest:
+- **Defaults come from the ternary**, e.g. `getenv("CTX")?atoi(...):4096` → default `4096`.
+- **Effect comes from the code + inline comment only** — never from memory or assumption.
+- A variable with no flag stays env-only; note it as such.
+- Keep experimental/debug knobs in the **Advanced** section so nobody mistakes them for supported surface.
+
+## Step 4 — verify
+
+- Re-run the Step-2 diff — both `comm` outputs should be empty.
+- Spot-check 3–5 defaults by eye against `git grep`.
+- Bump the "Generated from `main @ <hash>`" line in both docs.
+
+## Cadence
+
+Refresh when: a release is cut, or `git grep -c 'getenv(' c/glm.c` changes, or someone reports a knob that isn't documented. A one-line CI check (compare the code-var count to a committed number) can flag drift automatically.