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llama-patch-changes

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Use when changing mesh-llm's llama.cpp patch queue, upstream pin, prepare/build scripts, or carried RPC, MoE, and mesh-hook llama.cpp patches.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/Mesh-LLM/mesh-llm/blob/HEAD/.agents/skills/llama-patch-changes/SKILL.md

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llama-patch-changes

Use this skill when editing the llama.cpp patch queue, refreshing patches from a llama.cpp checkout, updating the pinned upstream SHA, or changing build scripts that prepare or consume patched llama.cpp.

Boundaries

  • Keep durable llama-side changes in third_party/llama.cpp/patches/*.patch.
  • Keep the upstream pin in third_party/llama.cpp/upstream.txt.
  • Keep LLAMA_CPP_SHA as a compatibility mirror of upstream.txt while this repository still has legacy readers.
  • Do not add a submodule, vendor a llama checkout, or depend on the old Mesh-LLM llama.cpp fork.
  • Do not treat edits in .deps/llama.cpp as durable until the patch queue has been regenerated and committed.
  • Do not add llama-stage ABI/static in-process patches unless the task explicitly asks for that integration pass.
  • Prefer small, reviewable llama commits with one capability per patch.

Local Flow

Prepare the pinned upstream checkout and current patch queue:

scripts/prepare-llama.sh pinned

For actual llama-side editing, prefer a normal llama.cpp checkout or branch where commits can be named and inspected. Base the branch on upstream ggml-org/llama.cpp master, then carry the Mesh-LLM patch commits on top.

After editing and committing in that llama checkout, regenerate the patch queue from its upstream merge base:

rm -rf /path/to/mesh-llm/third_party/llama.cpp/patches
mkdir -p /path/to/mesh-llm/third_party/llama.cpp/patches
git format-patch \
  --output-directory /path/to/mesh-llm/third_party/llama.cpp/patches \
  "$(git merge-base HEAD upstream/master)..HEAD"

If the llama checkout uses origin for upstream instead of upstream, replace upstream/master with origin/master.

Validation

Validate that patches apply in a clean checkout:

tmp_llama="$(mktemp -d /tmp/mesh-llm-llama.XXXXXX)"
rm -rf "$tmp_llama"
LLAMA_WORKDIR="$tmp_llama" scripts/prepare-llama.sh pinned

For normal mesh-llm validation, use the repository build workflow:

just build

For Rust-only fallout from build-system or runtime call-site changes:

cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo check -p mesh-llm

Run Cargo commands serially. This repo frequently hits Cargo lock conflicts when multiple Cargo commands run at once.

Updating The Upstream Pin

Test the queue against current upstream without moving the pin:

scripts/prepare-llama.sh latest
just build
cargo test -p mesh-llm --lib

If the queue applies and validation passes, update both pin files:

cp third_party/llama.cpp/upstream.txt /tmp/old-llama-upstream.txt
git -C .deps/llama.cpp rev-parse "$(cat .deps/llama.cpp/.git/mesh-llm-upstream-sha)" > third_party/llama.cpp/upstream.txt
cp third_party/llama.cpp/upstream.txt LLAMA_CPP_SHA

Commit the pin update with any patch refreshes.

Gotchas

  • scripts/prepare-llama.sh configures local git identity for git am; keep that responsibility there for fresh CI checkouts.
  • Patch files are mail-format artifacts and may intentionally contain whitespace that git diff --check reports. Do not hand-normalize patches in a way that changes or breaks git am.
  • Build outputs live under .deps/llama.cpp/build; the root llama.cpp symlink is compatibility-only.
  • Important backend flags include GGML_RPC=ON, BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF, and LLAMA_OPENSSL=OFF; preserve CPU, Metal, CUDA, Vulkan, and ROCm behavior when touching build scripts.
  • See mesh-llm/docs/LLAMA_CPP_FORK.md for the full patch-queue maintenance notes and mesh-llm/docs/LLAMA_STAGE_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md for deferred llama-stage integration.