# Stdlib The stdlib is the set of native functions compiled into every Deft runtime (implemented in Zig under `src/host/plugins/` and `src/host/stdlib/`) and registered before any script runs. They need no import and are available in every host — the `deft` scripting binary, `retro`, `retra`, and `hydra`. Do not confuse the stdlib with stdext (`deft/stdext`), the Deft-language extension package that ships `html`, `markdown`, `syntax`, `semantic`, themes, and the TUI plumbing. stdext is imported like any other package (see Modules and Imports); stdlib functions are simply there. This category is the catalogue, organised by namespace — one page per function family. Language-level semantics for the collection functions live in Collections, Lazy Sequences, Transducers, and Error Handling. ## How To Read This Page Each entry lists the function name, argument shape, and brief purpose. The canonical form for invocation depends on context — see Syntax and Style. Quick rules: - Bare names work at statement position for top-level calls: `echo $x`, `incr i`. - Postfix `$var(call)` works for single-arg calls on a variable: `$x(len)`, `$xs(first)`. - Prefix `[name args]` is canonical and required inside larger expressions or for slash-namespaced calls: `[fs/read "path"]`, `[sqlite/query $db "sql"]`. ## Function Families | Page | What it covers | |---|---| | I/O | `echo`, `puts`, `gets`, `open`, `close`, `log` — channels and streams | | Math | Bare numeric verbs plus the specialised `math/` namespace | | Strings | Core string ops, display-width layout, raw bytes | | Types | `type`, `is?`, predicates, coercion, metadata | | Schema | `schema/*` — validate and convert values against deftype schemas | | Results | `ok` / `err`, predicates, `unwrap`, `throw` | | Refs | Mutable state cells and watches | | Lists | Persistent list operations | | Maps | Persistent map operations, tagged maps, nested access | | Arrays | Mutable arrays | | Sets | Set operations | | Sequence Functions | Lazy `map` / `filter` / `reduce` and friends | | Utility | `identity`, `apply`, `curry`, `eval`, `reload`, `pretty` | | Chars | Character classification predicates | | Clock | TCL-style time and formatting | | Regex | PCRE2 regular expressions | | Logging | Levelled `log/*` verbs | | Filesystem | `fs/*` — read, write, watch, paths | | OS | `os/*` — process, environment, subprocesses, signals | | Data Formats | `json/*` and `yaml/*` | | XML | `xml/*` — parse, build, and serialize XML documents | | HTML | `html/*` — parse, query (CSS selectors), and extract text from HTML | | Crypto | Hashing, HMAC, encoding, symmetric crypto | | Compress | gzip, tar, and tarball helpers | | Theme | Load, edit, and save theme files | | Introspection | `deft/*`, `info/*`, `capture/*`, `capabilities` | | Tasks | Stream and future consumer verbs | ## Namespaces With Their Own Guides Several namespaces are large enough that their manual chapters live with the platform, network, or tooling topic they belong to: | Namespace | Guide | |---|---| | `vfs/*` | VFS | | `sqlite/*` | SQLite | | `config/*` | Configuration | | `pub/*` | Pubsub | | `runtime/*`, `gc/*` | Runtimes | | `rpc/*` | RPC | | `pg/*` | PostgreSQL | | `net/*` | TCP/UDP | | `http/ws-*` | WebSockets | | `dns/*` | DNS | | `http/*` (client) | HTTP Client | | `http/*` (server) | HTTP Server | | `mcp/*` | MCP | | `dialog/*` | Dialogs | | `tui/*`, `draw/*`, `surface/*`, `scene/*`, `gl/*`, `color/*`, `clipboard/*`, `editor/*`, `term/*` | TUI Overview, Graphics | | `pkg/*` | Packages | | `debug/*` | Debug Server | | `ffi/*` | FFI | Smaller namespaces (`assert/*`, `keymap/*`, `keyval/*`, `lang/*`, `uuid/*`, `bin/*`, `image/*`, `dbus/*`, `worker/*`, `import/*`, and the rest) are documented per symbol in the Help app's Reference tab, alongside the `packages/help/docs/` files in the source tree. ## Availability The core namespaces are compiled into every build. A few are gated: - TUI hosts (`retro`, `retra`, built with `-Denable-tui=true`) add the `tui/*`, `draw/*`, `surface/*`, `scene/*`, `gl/*`, `color/*`, `clipboard/*`, `editor/*`, and `term/*` namespaces. - FFI builds (`-Dffi=true`) add `ffi/*`. - `dialog/*` exists everywhere, but the scripting binary renders it on stdin/stdout while the TUI hosts draw real dialogs. ## Discovering Stdlib Functions at Runtime

[capabilities]                                # what's compiled in
[info/modules]                                # what's loaded
[info/defs]                                   # defs in the current ns

For up-to-date listings, the canonical sources are the plugin files under `src/host/plugins/` and `src/host/stdlib/` in the codebase. The plugin registry is auto-generated at build time.