Crate Map
Workspace crate dependencies and responsibilities.
The Achronyme workspace contains 19 crates. All share the same version and Rust edition. They are organised into four tiers: leaves with no workspace dependencies, vocabulary crates, IR/compiler stack, and top-level orchestration.
Crate overview
| Crate | Path | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
diagnostics | diagnostics/ | Spans, errors, suggestions, rustc-style renderer (zero-dep leaf) |
memory | memory/ | FieldElement<F> (BN254/BLS12-381/Goldilocks), FieldBackend trait, heap arenas, GC |
ach-macros | ach-macros/ | Proc macros: #[ach_native], #[ach_module] |
achronyme-parser | achronyme-parser/ | Lexer, Pratt+recursive-descent parser, owned AST types |
resolve | resolve/ | Symbol table, builtin registry, unified dispatch resolver (Movimiento 2) |
lysis-types | lysis-types/ | InstructionKind<F>, NodeId shared with the Lysis VM |
constraints | constraints/ | Variable, LinearCombination, R1CS + Plonkish system, Poseidon, binary export |
ir-core | ir-core/ | SSA leaf: Instruction<F>, SsaVar, Visibility, IrType |
ir-forge | ir-forge/ | ProveIR templates, AST→ProveIR compiler, Lysis lift walker (lifts ProveIR to BOC bytecode for the Lysis VM) |
ir | ir/ | IR passes (DCE, CSE, const-fold, taint), module loader, inspector, ProveIR orchestration |
zkc | zkc/ | Constraint compiler: R1CS backend, Plonkish backend, witness ops, oracle scaffold |
akronc | akronc/ | Bytecode compiler for the Akron VM (was compiler) |
akron | akron/ | Register-based general-purpose bytecode VM (was vm) |
artik | artik/ | Witness-computation SSA VM (was witness) — see Artik |
lysis | lysis/ | Third VM, BOC executor: runs lifted bytecode and emits SSA IR via the interning sink — in progress |
circom | circom/ | Circom 2.x frontend: lexer, parser, analysis, lowering — see Circom Frontend |
proving | proving/ | Groth16 (arkworks), PlonK (halo2-KZG), Solidity verifier generation |
achronyme-std | std/ | Standard library via NativeModule trait |
cli | cli/ | Command-line interface, proof orchestration |
Crate renames (post-cleanup)
A structural cleanup renamed three crates and split ir into three:
| Old name | New name | Reason |
|---|---|---|
vm | akron | Distinguish from the witness VM and the in-progress Lysis VM |
witness | artik | Match the bytecode magic ARTK and the file extension .artik |
compiler | akronc | Disambiguate from the constraint compiler zkc; “akron compiler” |
ir | ir-core + ir + ir-forge | Break dependency cycles; expose SSA primitives as a leaf crate |
The old names appear in git history pre-2026-04-18 and in some legacy file-path comments — they all map mechanically to the new names.
Dependency tiers
Tier 0 — Foundation (zero workspace deps)
diagnostics, memory, ach-macros, lysis-types. Pure leaves. Together they define the universal vocabulary of the workspace: spans, errors, field elements, opcode token shapes, and proc macros.
Tier 1 — Vocabulary
achronyme-parser (depends on diagnostics) — surface AST.
resolve (depends on achronyme-parser, diagnostics) — symbol table, builtin registry, ModuleGraph. Hosts SymbolId, CallableKind, Availability. After Movimiento 2, all dispatch (method call, Type::MEMBER, native call) goes through resolve rather than ad-hoc table lookups.
constraints (depends on memory) — LinearCombination, ConstraintSystem, PlonkishSystem, Poseidon parameters, .r1cs/.wtns binary writers in iden3 format.
ir-core (depends on memory, diagnostics) — SSA Instruction<F>, SsaVar, Visibility, IrType. Leaf crate so ir and ir-forge can both depend on it without forming a cycle.
Tier 2 — IR and circuit compilation
ir-forge (depends on ir-core, achronyme-parser, resolve, diagnostics, lysis-types, circom for lowering hooks)
ProveIR data types (ProveIR, CircuitExpr, CircuitNode, CaptureDef), AST→ProveIR compiler (ProveIrCompiler), Lysis lift walker (the AST→Bytecode half of the BOC pipeline). The single layer where compile-time symbolic circuit reasoning happens. See ProveIR.
ir (depends on ir-core, ir-forge, resolve)
IR orchestration: passes (const_fold, cse, dce, bool_prop, taint, bound_inference), evaluator, module loader, inspector graph builder. Hosts the CircomLibraryHandle trait.
zkc (depends on ir-core, constraints, memory)
The constraint compiler. R1CS backend (compile_to_r1cs), Plonkish backend, witness operations (WitnessOp), Lysis-vs-circom oracle scaffolding for cross-mode equivalence checks.
circom (depends on achronyme-parser, diagnostics, ir-forge, resolve)
Full Circom 2.x frontend. Lifts non-inlinable function bodies to Artik via lowering::artik_lift.
Tier 3 — Bytecode + VMs
akronc (depends on achronyme-parser, resolve, diagnostics)
Bytecode compiler for the Akron VM. Owns the bytecode optimizer (peephole, const-fold, dead-store elim).
akron (depends on memory, constraints, ir, ir-forge)
Register-based general-purpose VM. 42 opcodes, mark-sweep tri-color GC, 64-bit tagged values. Loads .achb files via akron::loader. Hosts prove {} execution at runtime via the ProveHandler trait.
artik (depends on memory)
Dedicated witness-computation VM. ~25 opcodes, SSA-style registers, no heap, no GC. Loads .artik blobs embedded in WitnessOp::ArtikCall.
lysis (depends on memory, artik, lysis-types)
Third VM — in progress. BOC executor: structural template instantiator with hash-consing interner that runs lifted bytecode and emits SSA IR via the interning sink. See Lysis VM. Walker lives in ir-forge::lysis_lift; oracle scaffold in zkc::lysis_oracle.
Tier 4 — Top-level orchestration
proving (depends on constraints, memory)
In-process Groth16 (ark-groth16 + ark-bn254) and PlonK (halo2 KZG, PSE fork). Generates Solidity verifiers for on-chain Groth16 verification.
achronyme-std (depends on akron, memory, ach-macros)
Standard library natives via the NativeModule trait. 16 natives, registered through #[ach_native] proc macros.
cli (depends on akron, akronc, ir, ir-forge, zkc, circom, proving, resolve, achronyme-std)
User-facing binary. Dispatches ach run, ach circuit, ach circom, ach prove, ach inspect, ach init. Owns the DefaultCircomWitnessHandler and the ProveHandler implementations injected into Akron.
Dependency graph
Key entry points
| Task | Crate | Function |
|---|---|---|
Parse .ach source | achronyme-parser | parse_program(source) |
Parse .circom source | circom | circom::parser::parse_circom(source) |
| Compile bytecode | akronc | Compiler::compile(&program) |
| Compile prove block | ir-forge | ProveIrCompiler::compile_prove_block(...) |
| Compile circom template | circom | compile_to_prove_ir(source) |
| Instantiate ProveIR | ir | ProveIR::instantiate(captures, ...) |
| Lower AST to IR (circuit) | ir | IrLowering::lower_circuit(source, pub, wit) |
| Optimize IR | ir | passes::optimize(&mut program) |
| Compile to R1CS | zkc | compile_to_r1cs(program) |
| Compile to Plonkish | zkc | PlonkishCompiler::compile_ir(program) |
| Generate witness | zkc | compile_to_r1cs_with_witness(program, inputs) |
| Run Akron VM | akron | Vm::run(function) |
| Run Artik | artik | artik::execute_with_budget(program, ctx, budget) |
| Run Lysis (in-progress) | lysis | lysis::execute(program, sink) |
| Lift Circom function to Artik | circom | lowering::artik_lift::lift(...) |
| Lift ProveIR to Lysis | ir-forge | lysis_lift::Walker::lift(...) |
| Generate Groth16 proof | proving | proving::groth16::prove(cs, witness, pk) |
| Generate PlonK proof | proving | proving::halo2_proof::prove(cs, witness, pk) |
| Solidity verifier | proving | proving::solidity::generate(...) |
| Run CLI | cli | main() → command dispatch |
Cross-references
- For the full pipeline, see Pipeline Overview.
- For SSA + optimization details, see IR & Optimization.
- For the constraint backends, see Backends.
- For VM internals, see Akron VM, Artik VM, Lysis VM.
- For ProveIR and templates, see ProveIR.
- For diagnostics, see Diagnostics.
- For Circom internals, see Circom Frontend.