debug-formatter

Testing & Quality

Debug a SQL formatter bug. Use when the user reports incorrect formatting output — wrong whitespace, misplaced comments, blank lines, etc.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/LalitMaganti/syntaqlite/blob/HEAD/.agents/skills/debug-formatter/SKILL.md

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debug-formatter

Debug a SQL formatter bug using red-green testing and pipeline tracing.

Instructions

1. Reproduce (RED)

Add a failing test to syntaqlite/tests/fmt_comments.rs (comment bugs) or the relevant tests/fmt_diff_tests/*.py file. Always eprintln! the actual output:

#[test]
fn descriptive_name() {
    let input = "...";
    let out = fmt(input);
    eprintln!("=== actual ===\n{out}=== end ===");
    assert_eq!(out, "...\n");
}

Run it and confirm RED:

cargo test -p syntaqlite --features fmt,sqlite --test fmt_comments TEST_NAME -- --nocapture

2. Trace the pipeline

Work through these layers to find the root cause:

Layer	File	What to check
Grammar	`syntaqlite-buildtools/parser-nodes/*.synq`	`fmt { }` block; `clause("KW", field)` expands to `IF_SET → LINE → KEYWORD → NEST(LINE, CHILD)`
Bytecode compiler	`syntaqlite-buildtools/src/dialect_codegen/fmt_compiler.rs`	How `Fmt::Clause`, `Fmt::Keyword` compile to opcodes
Interpreter	`syntaqlite/src/fmt/interpret.rs`	Main loop in `interpret_node`; state = `running` (committed doc) + `pending` (deferred line breaks)
Comment drain	`syntaqlite/src/fmt/comment.rs`	`drain_before(offset)` respects `has_non_comment_text` guard; `drain_keyword_interior()` skips it for multi-word keywords
flush_drain	`interpret.rs`	Integrates `DrainResult { trailing, leading }` into running/pending; when `leading != NIL`, pending is dropped
Doc renderer	`syntaqlite/src/fmt/doc.rs`	Wadler-style; `hardline` always breaks, `line` breaks if group broken

3. Common bug patterns

Blank line between comments: Two consecutive drains both produce hardline + comment + hardline; back-to-back hardlines = blank line. Fix via continuation flag on drain_keyword_interior.
Comment on wrong side of keyword: flush_drain for interior comments runs before keyword text is emitted. Check flush vs keyword append ordering in the Keyword match arm.
Comment lost: has_non_comment_text guard stops drain_before when a keyword sits between the comment and target offset. Multi-word interiors need skip_text_check: true.
Pending dropped: flush_drain with leading != NIL zeroes pending. If pending held a LINE from the clause template, that break is lost.

4. Fix and verify (GREEN)

cargo test -p syntaqlite --features fmt,sqlite --test fmt_comments TEST_NAME -- --nocapture
cargo test -p syntaqlite --features fmt,sqlite
cargo build -p syntaqlite-cli && tools/run-integration-tests

All 7 integration suites must pass (including ~650 idempotency checks).