xisto.json and xisto.lock

A project has two files at its root. Both are written by xisto init and xisto add; you can edit xisto.json by hand.

xisto.json

What the project is and what you asked for:

{
  "name": "hello-nest",
  "main": "src/main.ts",
  "dependencies": {
    "@nestjs/common": "*",
    "@nestjs/core": "*",
    "@nestjs/platform-express": "*"
  }
}

Field	Meaning
name	the project's name; xisto build names the executable after it
main	the entry that xisto build and xisto run compile when no file is given
dependencies	the packages added directly, name → spec

A dependency's spec is one of:

• "*": the registry's default branch;
• a revision of the registry, such as "v1.2";
• "SOURCE[#FOLDER][@REF]": a git repository (URL or path), optionally one folder of it, optionally at a revision.

A dependency written here by hand is resolved and locked by the next xisto install.

xisto.lock

Every package, direct and indirect, pinned by commit; one line per package, so it diffs cleanly:

{
  "@nestjs/common": {"source": "https://github.com/xistolang/packages", "subdir": "@nestjs/common", "commit": "<sha>"},
  "rxjs": {"source": "https://github.com/xistolang/packages", "subdir": "rxjs", "commit": "<sha>", "indirect": true}
}

Field	Meaning
source	the git repository (URL or path)
subdir	the package's folder in that repository (only when set)
ref	the revision asked for (only when set)
commit	the exact commit installed
indirect	true for a package that is there because another package needs it (only when set)

Commit xisto.lock with the project. xisto install restores exactly what it lists into .xisto/pkgs/, which is not committed.

A package's xisto.json

A package (in xistolang/packages or any repository) has its own xisto.json: name, version, implements ({"<npm name>": "^x"}), main, and optionally native (C files such as ["native/x.c"]), needs and dependencies (name → version).