scylladb/.github/copilot-instructions.md

ScyllaDB Development Instructions

Project Context

High-performance distributed NoSQL database. Core values: performance, correctness, readability.

Build System

Modern Build (configure.py + ninja)

# Configure (run once per mode, or when switching modes)
./configure.py --mode=<mode>  # mode: dev, debug, release, sanitize

# Build everything
ninja <mode>-build  # e.g., ninja dev-build

# Build Scylla binary only (sufficient for Python integration tests)
ninja build/<mode>/scylla

# Build specific test
ninja build/<mode>/test/boost/<test_name>

Running Tests

C++ Unit Tests

# Run all tests in a file
./test.py --mode=<mode> test/<suite>/<test_name>.cc

# Run a single test case from a file
./test.py --mode=<mode> test/<suite>/<test_name>.cc::<test_case_name>

# Examples
./test.py --mode=dev test/boost/memtable_test.cc
./test.py --mode=dev test/raft/raft_server_test.cc::test_check_abort_on_client_api

Important:

• Use full path with .cc extension (e.g., test/boost/test_name.cc, not boost/test_name)
• To run a single test case, append ::<test_case_name> to the file path
• If you encounter permission issues with cgroup metric gathering, add --no-gather-metrics flag

Rebuilding Tests:

• test.py does NOT automatically rebuild when test source files are modified
• Many tests are part of composite binaries (e.g., combined_tests in test/boost contains multiple test files)
• To find which binary contains a test, check configure.py in the repository root (primary source) or test/<suite>/CMakeLists.txt
• To rebuild a specific test binary: ninja build/<mode>/test/<suite>/<binary_name>
• Examples:
  • ninja build/dev/test/boost/combined_tests (contains group0_voter_calculator_test.cc and others)
  • ninja build/dev/test/raft/replication_test (standalone Raft test)

Python Integration Tests

# Only requires Scylla binary (full build usually not needed)
ninja build/<mode>/scylla

# Run all tests in a file
./test.py --mode=<mode> <test_path>

# Run a single test case from a file
./test.py --mode=<mode> <test_path>::<test_function_name>

# Examples
./test.py --mode=dev alternator/
./test.py --mode=dev cluster/test_raft_voters::test_raft_limited_voters_retain_coordinator

# Optional flags
./test.py --mode=dev cluster/test_raft_no_quorum -v  # Verbose output
./test.py --mode=dev cluster/test_raft_no_quorum --repeat 5  # Repeat test 5 times

Important:

• Use path without .py extension (e.g., cluster/test_raft_no_quorum, not cluster/test_raft_no_quorum.py)
• To run a single test case, append ::<test_function_name> to the file path
• Add -v for verbose output
• Add --repeat <num> to repeat a test multiple times
• After modifying C++ source files, only rebuild the Scylla binary for Python tests - building the entire repository is unnecessary

Code Philosophy

• Performance matters in hot paths (data read/write, inner loops)
• Self-documenting code through clear naming
• Comments explain "why", not "what"
• Prefer standard library over custom implementations
• Strive for simplicity and clarity, add complexity only when clearly justified
• Question requests: don't blindly implement requests - evaluate trade-offs, identify issues, and suggest better alternatives when appropriate
• Consider different approaches, weigh pros and cons, and recommend the best fit for the specific context