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gwernnet.cabal

Path: build/gwernnet.cabal | Language: Cabal | Lines: ~177

Cabal build configuration defining the gwern.net Haskell library and executables.

Overview​

gwernnet.cabal is the central build configuration for all Haskell code in the gwern.net build system. It defines:

  • A shared library (gwernnet) containing 50+ modules for site generation
  • 9 executable tools for various build and maintenance tasks
  • Common dependencies and compiler options shared across all components

The configuration uses Cabal 3.0 features like common stanzas to reduce duplication and ensure consistent settings across all build targets.

Package Metadata​

cabal-version: 3.0
name:          gwernnet
version:       2026.1.21.0
license:       CC0-1.0
author:        Gwern Branwen
maintainer:    Gwern Branwen
build-type:    Simple
synopsis:      Gwern.net build + maintenance tools (internal)
category:      Web

The version follows a date-based scheme: YYYY.M.DD.patch

Library Modules​

The library exposes 50+ modules organized by function:

Core Build​

ModulePurpose
AnnotationMain annotation/metadata system
LinkMetadataLink metadata processing
LinkMetadataTypesType definitions for metadata
TypographyPandoc typography transforms
UtilsCommon utilities

Annotation Scrapers​

ModulePurpose
Annotation.ArxivarXiv paper metadata
Annotation.BiorxivbioRxiv/medRxiv metadata
Annotation.GwernnetInternal site metadata
Annotation.OpenReviewOpenReview paper metadata
Annotation.PDFPDF document metadata
ModulePurpose
LinkArchiveArchive.org integration
LinkAutoAutomatic link annotation
LinkBacklinkBacklink generation
LinkIDLink identification
LinkIconLink type icons
LinkLiveLive preview popups

Text Processing​

ModulePurpose
ParagraphParagraph transforms
ColumnsList column layout
InflationDollar inflation adjustment
Text.RegexVendored regex module

Metadata Handling​

ModulePurpose
Metadata.AuthorAuthor name processing
Metadata.DateDate parsing/formatting
Metadata.FormatFormat detection
Metadata.TitleTitle processing

Configuration Modules​

All Config.* modules contain constants, test cases, and whitelists:

  • Config.GenerateSimilar, Config.Inflation, Config.Interwiki
  • Config.LinkArchive, Config.LinkAuto, Config.LinkID
  • Config.LinkIcon, Config.LinkLive, Config.LinkSuggester
  • Config.Metadata.Author, Config.Metadata.Format, Config.Metadata.Title
  • Config.Misc, Config.Paragraph, Config.Tags, Config.Typography
  • Config.XOfTheDay

Other Modules​

ModulePurpose
BlogBlog post generation
CycleCycle detection utilities
GenerateSimilarSimilar link recommendations
GTXGTX file handling
ImageImage processing
InterwikiInterwiki link expansion
QueryDatabase queries
TagsTag system
TestTest utilities
UniqueUnique ID generation
XOfTheDayDaily featured content

Executables​

hakyll​

Main site generator using Hakyll static site framework.

executable hakyll
  main-is: hakyll.hs
  build-depends: gwernnet
  ghc-options: -threaded -rtsopts

preprocess-markdown​

Markdown preprocessing before Pandoc.

executable preprocess-markdown
  main-is: preprocess-markdown.hs
  build-depends: gwernnet

generateLinkBibliography​

Creates bibliography pages from link metadata.

executable generateLinkBibliography
  main-is: generateLinkBibliography.hs
  ghc-options: -threaded -rtsopts

generateDirectory​

Generates directory/index pages.

executable generateDirectory
  main-is: generateDirectory.hs
  ghc-options: -threaded -rtsopts

Creates backlink pages showing what links to each page.

executable generateBacklinks
  main-is: generateBacklinks.hs
  ghc-options: -threaded -rtsopts

checkMetadata​

Validates metadata consistency.

executable checkMetadata
  main-is: checkMetadata.hs

guessTag​

Suggests tags for content.

executable guessTag
  main-is: guessTag.hs

changeTag​

Batch tag modification.

executable changeTag
  main-is: changeTag.hs
  ghc-options: -threaded -rtsopts

Creates "similar links" recommendations.

executable generateSimilarLinks
  main-is: generateSimilarLinks.hs

Common Stanza​

All components share settings via the gwern-common stanza:

common gwern-common
  default-language: Haskell2010
  hs-source-dirs: .

  ghc-options:
      -O2
      -Wall
      -Wno-missing-home-modules

  build-depends:
      base, HTTP, aeson, array, async, ...

Compiler Options​

OptionPurpose
-O2Optimization level 2
-WallEnable all warnings
-Wno-missing-home-modulesSuppress module location warnings
-threadedEnable threading (some executables)
-rtsoptsEnable runtime options (some executables)

Key Dependencies​

Core​

PackagePurpose
pandoc==3.1.3Document conversion
pandoc-typesPandoc AST types
hakyll==4.16.2.0Static site generator

Web/Network​

PackagePurpose
HTTPHTTP client
http-conduit==2.3.8Streaming HTTP
http-typesHTTP type definitions
network-uriURI parsing

Data/Text​

PackagePurpose
aesonJSON parsing
textText type
bytestringBinary data
containersMaps, sets
vectorEfficient arrays

Regex​

PackagePurpose
regex-baseRegex abstraction
regex-tdfaTDFA regex engine

Other​

PackagePurpose
titlecaseTitle case conversion
tagsoupHTML parsing
edit-distanceString similarity
rp-treeSimilarity search
cryptohashHashing

Version Pins​

Some dependencies have exact version pins to ensure reproducible builds:

hakyll==4.16.2.0
http-conduit==2.3.8
pandoc==3.1.3

Building​

cd build/
cabal build all          # Build everything
cabal build hakyll       # Build just hakyll
cabal run hakyll -- ...  # Run with arguments

See Also​