Guides
Choose a guide for the task you are doing. If you are learning August for the first time, start with the book; it introduces the language in order.
Understand and change a project
| Task | Guide |
|---|---|
| Explore a codebase through its generated views | Understand a project |
| Validate dates, durations, URLs, identifiers, paths or text | Use domain values |
| Choose byte, scalar, UTF-16 or grapheme operations | Measure text |
| Explain a failure and retain its typed cause | Add error context |
| Model a fixed set of data outcomes | Describe a finite choice |
| Pass a pure function or capture immutable values | Pass a small function |
| Try an entry fragment without a permanent project | Try a snippet |
| Review unfamiliar code or an agent's change | Change a module |
| Generate and check the neighboring explanations | Compiled specifications |
| Reuse and inspect application or test providers | Reuse service wiring |
| Verify behavior and substitute test dependencies | Unit tests |
| Inspect a diagnostic or find a fix | Diagnostics |
| Use completion, navigation, context, or native builds | VS Code and CLI |
Build and distribute an application
For the experimental revision-bearing edit protocol and native evidence gates, see Make a checked change.
| Task | Guide |
|---|---|
| Build your first HTTP service | Weather API |
| Add endpoints, pages, streams, or crypto | Web applications |
| Create or consume a source library | Packages |
| Build and deploy a Linux application image | Docker |
| Edit, run, and test inside a container | VS Code Dev Containers |
| Measure execution time or HTTP throughput | Performance |
| Assess a trial deployment | Production readiness |
For exact rules, consult the language reference and library API pages. Complete projects show the files, formatted source, and compiled specs together.
To choose a package by task, start with the library catalog. It includes ordinary repository imports, native host requirements, ownership and tests.