Enchantrix/AUDIT-DX.md

Developer Experience (DX) Audit

Onboarding

Time to First Build

• How long?

The first build is very fast.

time go build -o trix cmd/trix/main.go

Output:

real	0m0.242s
user	0m0.408s
sys	0m0.203s

Dependencies

• Easy to install?

Go module dependencies are automatically handled by the go command (e.g., go build), which is standard and easy for Go developers.

The project has a couple of external dependencies for development:

• mkdocs and mkdocs-material for documentation, installed via pip.
• task for running scripts in Taskfile.yml.

The README.md clearly states the mkdocs dependency. The task dependency is implied by the presence of Taskfile.yml. Adding an "Installation" or "Setup" section to the README.md to list all development dependencies would be a small improvement.

Documentation

• Clear enough?

The documentation is excellent.

• The README.md provides a great starting point with clear installation instructions, quick start examples, and an overview of the project structure.
• The docs directory contains a well-organized MkDocs site with more in-depth documentation.
• The CLAUDE.md file is a fantastic and forward-thinking addition for AI-assisted development.
• The rfcs directory provides valuable insight into the design decisions of the project.

Gotchas

• Undocumented issues?

1. task dependency: The use of task is not explicitly mentioned in the README.md. A new developer might need to install it (npm install -g @go-task/cli).
2. Go 1.25 covdata issue: When running tests with Go 1.25, an error go: no such tool "covdata" can occur. This requires a one-time fix: go env -w GOTOOLCHAIN=go1.25.0+auto. This should be documented.

Development Workflow

Local Development

• Hot reload?
  • Not applicable for this CLI tool.
• Fast feedback loop?
  • Yes. The fast build and test times provide a quick feedback loop.
• Easy debugging?
  • Yes. Standard Go debugging tools (e.g., Delve) can be used. No special configuration is needed.

Testing

• Fast test runs?
  • Yes, the entire test suite runs in under 4 seconds.

  real	0m3.883s
  user	0m8.490s
  sys	0m4.064s
  

• Easy to run single test?
  • Yes, the CLAUDE.md file provides clear instructions for running single tests using the standard go test -run command.
• Good test output?
  • Yes, the task test command provides verbose output, including test names, status, and a final coverage percentage. The output is easy to read and understand.

Build System

• Intuitive commands?
  • Yes, the Taskfile.yml provides a clear and intuitive set of commands (test, build, fmt, vet). The standard go commands also work as expected.
• Clear error messages?
  • Yes, the build system's error messages (from go build, go test, etc.) are standard and clear to Go developers.
• Incremental builds?
  • Yes, Go's build system provides incremental builds by default.

Tooling

• IDE Support - Editor configs?
  • There are no editor-specific configurations (e.g., .vscode/, .editorconfig) in the repository. Adding an .editorconfig file would be a good practice to ensure consistent formatting across different editors.
• Linting - Auto-fixable?
  • The task vet command runs go vet, which is a standard linter for Go. It does not provide auto-fixing. More advanced linters like golangci-lint could be added for more comprehensive checks and auto-fixing capabilities.
• Formatting - Pre-commit hooks?
  • The task fmt command runs go fmt. There are no pre-commit hooks configured to automatically format code before committing. This would be a valuable addition to maintain a consistent code style.
• Type Checking - Type hints?
  • Go is a statically typed language, so type checking is a core feature.

CLI/Interface

Help Text

• Useful --help?

The --help output is clear and well-structured, thanks to the Cobra library.

trix is a command-line tool for working with the .trix file format, which is used for storing encrypted data.

Usage:
  trix [command]

Available Commands:
  base64      Apply the base64 sigil
  blake2b-256 Apply the blake2b-256 sigil
  blake2b-384 Apply the blake2b-384 sigil
  blake2b-512 Apply the blake2b-512 sigil
  blake2s-256 Apply the blake2s-256 sigil
  completion  Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
  decode      Decode a .trix file
  encode      Encode a file to the .trix format
  gzip        Apply the gzip sigil
  hash        Hash a file using a specified algorithm
  help        Help about any command
  hex         Apply the hex sigil
  json        Apply the json sigil
  json-indent Apply the json-indent sigil
  md4         Apply the md4 sigil
  md5         Apply the md5 sigil
  reverse     Apply the reverse sigil
  ripemd160   Apply the ripemd160 sigil
  sha1        Apply the sha1 sigil
  sha224      Apply the sha224 sigil
  sha256      Apply the sha256 sigil
  sha3-224    Apply the sha3-224 sigil
  sha3-256    Apply the sha3-256 sigil
  sha3-384    Apply the sha3-384 sigil
  sha3-512    Apply the sha3-512 sigil
  sha384      Apply the sha384 sigil
  sha512      Apply the sha512 sigil
  sha512-224  Apply the sha512-224 sigil
  sha512-256  Apply the sha512-256 sigil

Flags:
  -h, --help   help for trix

Use "trix [command] --help" for more information about a command.

The large number of sigil commands in the root help output could be overwhelming. Grouping the sigil commands under a single sigil subcommand (e.g., trix sigil base64) might improve the user experience.

The help text for the encode subcommand is clear, but it's missing information about how to apply sigils.

Encode a file to the .trix format

Usage:
  trix encode [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help            help for encode
  -i, --input string    Input file (or stdin)
  -m, --magic string    Magic number (4 bytes)
  -o, --output string   Output file

The README.md shows that sigils are passed as positional arguments (e.g., trix encode --output message.trix --magic TRIX base64), but this is not mentioned in the help text. Adding a [sigils...] to the Usage string would make this clearer.

Similarly, the decode subcommand is also missing the [sigils...] positional argument in its usage string.

Decode a .trix file

Usage:
  trix decode [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help            help for decode
  -i, --input string    Input file (or stdin)
  -m, --magic string    Magic number (4 bytes)
  -o, --output string   Output file

Error Messages

• Actionable?

Yes, the error messages are actionable and provide good feedback to the user. For example, providing an invalid hash algorithm to the hash command produces the following output:

Error: invalid hash algorithm: invalid-algorithm
Usage:
  trix hash [algorithm] [flags]

Flags:
  -h, --help           help for hash
  -i, --input string   Input file (or stdin)

This is a good error message because it:

1. Clearly states what is wrong ("invalid hash algorithm").
2. Shows the invalid value that was provided ("invalid-algorithm").
3. Prints the usage information for the command, which helps the user correct the input.

Progress Feedback

• Long operations?

  • The tool is designed for local data transformation and is very fast. There are no long-running operations that would require progress feedback.

Configuration

• Sensible defaults?

  • The CLI has sensible defaults. For example, the input and output flags default to stdin and stdout, respectively, which is a common and useful convention for CLI tools.

Pain Points

• Undocumented Dependencies: The task dependency and the GOTOOLCHAIN fix for Go 1.25 are not documented, which could cause minor frustration for new contributors.
• CLI Usability: The large number of sigil commands in the root help output can be overwhelming, and the encode/decode help texts are missing information about sigils.
• Lack of Automated Tooling: The absence of pre-commit hooks for formatting and more advanced linting means that maintaining code quality relies more on manual developer effort.

Suggestions for Improvement

1. Documentation:

   • Add a "Development" or "Contributing" section to the README.md that explicitly lists all development dependencies (task, mkdocs).
   • Add a note about the GOTOOLCHAIN fix for Go 1.25 to the "Development" section.

2. CLI:

   • Consider grouping the sigil commands under a single sigil subcommand (e.g., trix sigil base64) to declutter the root command's help output.
   • Add [sigils...] to the Usage string for the encode and decode subcommands to make it clear that they accept sigils as positional arguments.

3. Tooling:

   • Add an .editorconfig file to ensure consistent formatting across different editors.
   • Add a pre-commit hook (e.g., using Husky or a similar tool) to automatically run go fmt before each commit.
   • Consider adding a more advanced linter like golangci-lint to the Taskfile.yml and the pre-commit hooks to catch a wider range of issues automatically.