@macroforge/mcp-server/docs/declarative-macros/declarative-macros.md

MCP server for Macroforge documentation and code analysis

# Declarative Macros

Declarative macros let you define build-time code transformations entirely in TypeScript. They use
pattern-matching syntax inspired by Rust's `macro_rules!`, adapted to TypeScript's grammar. No Rust
knowledge and no native build step are required — you define the macro in the same `.ts` file where
you use it.

## Quick Example

```typescript
import { macroRules } from '@macroforge/core/rules';

const $vec = macroRules`
  () => []

  ($($x:Expr),+) => {
    const __v: unknown[] = [];
    $( __v.push($x); )+
    __v
  }
`;

// Usage — expanded at build time:
const empty = $vec(); // → []
const xs = $vec(1, 2, 3);
```

The `$vec` definition is erased from the output, and every `$vec(...)` call site is replaced with
the matched arm's expansion. Here `xs` becomes:

```typescript
const xs = (() => {
    const __v$1 = [];
    __v$1.push(1);
    __v$1.push(2);
    __v$1.push(3);
    return __v$1;
})();
```

Two things are happening in that output that are worth understanding early:

- The block body is wrapped in an **IIFE** because the call sits in expression position, and the
  trailing expression gets an injected `return`. See
  [Expansion & Hygiene](/docs/declarative-macros/expansion).
- `__v` was renamed to `__v$1` by **hygiene**, so the macro can't collide with a `__v` at the call
  site.

## When to use declarative macros

| Use a declarative macro when…                                              | Use a [Rust macro](/docs/custom-macros) when…                    |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The transformation is syntactic — you can express it as pattern → template | You need to inspect resolved types, fields, or the type registry |
| You want it to live next to the code that uses it                          | You want to publish reusable macros as a package                 |
| You don't want a Rust toolchain in the build                               | You need to derive from a type's structure (`@derive(...)`)      |

Declarative macros run as a **pre-pass**, before derive and attribute macros. The full order is:
declarative expansion → attribute macros → derive macros → codegen. That means a declarative macro
can expand _into_ a class carrying `@derive(...)`, and the derive will still see it.

## The `$` prefix is required

A macro binding's name **must** start with `$`. This is not a convention — discovery skips any
binding that doesn't start with `$`, so `const vec = macroRules\`…\`` is simply not registered as a
macro.

The `$` prefix also marks a reserved namespace: a `$`-prefixed call whose callee isn't a declarative
macro is dispatched to the [proc-macro fallback](/docs/declarative-macros/cross-file) instead.

## Section contents

- **[Defining Macros](/docs/declarative-macros/defining)** — tag form, object form, erasure, scoping
  and shadowing
- **[Patterns & Fragments](/docs/declarative-macros/patterns)** — all 11 fragment kinds and what
  each accepts
- **[Repetitions & Backtracking](/docs/declarative-macros/repetitions)** — `$( … )sep*` on both
  sides of the arrow
- **[Expansion & Hygiene](/docs/declarative-macros/expansion)** — contexts, IIFE wrapping, `__`
  renaming, composition
- **[Type-Position Macros](/docs/declarative-macros/type-macros)** — `$Macro<T>` in type position
- **[Reverse Monomorphization](/docs/declarative-macros/sharing)** — sharing a runtime helper
  instead of inlining
- **[Cross-File Macros & Diagnostics](/docs/declarative-macros/cross-file)** — importing macros, and
  every error you can hit