The sljit Tier-2 in-process JIT was replaced by the tcc tier in c2a3f6ad
(2026-06-25) and removed outright in 5b7e69b4 (2026-07-15). That removal
reworded the C-level comments but touched no markdown, so the prose still
described sljit as a live, default-on backend.
Backends today are static -> gcc -> tcc: gcc is the development default when
it is on PATH, tcc is the toolchain-free path for players. Both are external
compilers invoked as a subprocess that produce a DLL; neither is an in-process
JIT. docs/ARCHITECTURE.md, docs/BUILDING.md, docs/EXECUTION_MODEL.md,
docs/COMPILING_OVERLAYS.md and README.md already said this correctly and are
unchanged here.
- THIRD_PARTY_ATTRIBUTION.md: the sljit entry claimed code vendored at
lib/sljit/ and compiled into the runtime. That directory does not exist.
Replaced with a TinyCC entry, which was missing entirely despite tcc being
the compiler intended to reach end users.
- docs/internal/SLJIT_PERSIST_CACHE.md: deleted. It documented the persisted
shard cache of a subsystem that no longer exists, as "implemented" and
"default-on". docs/internal/README.md updated to point at the current model
instead of a dead link.
- docs/ASYNC_OVERLAY_COMPILE.md: superseded-in-part header. Deliberately NOT
rewritten sljit->tcc: the passages about serializing .sljit blobs,
overlay_sljit_deserialize and an in-memory JIT registry describe a mechanism
tcc never used, so renaming it would trade one false claim for another. The
async worker/file-handoff design and the CPS work remain accurate.
- docs/OVERLAY_CACHE_V2.md: sljit dropped from the dispatch priority chain.
- ISSUES.md: Issue #7 closed as superseded — the backend it reported against
was deleted rather than fixed.
- docs/internal/COSIM_ORACLE.md: sljit_helpers left CPUState with the tier.
- Dated session logs (RECURSION_BUG.md 25.5, BACKDROP_PRELOAD.md,
ecosystem-watch.md) keep their narrative and get a pointer to the removal.
One thing this does not fix: docs assert the tcc toolchain is "downloaded at
release-packaging time and bundled beside the game exe". runtime/src/main.cpp
does look for <exe_dir>/overlay_toolchain/, but no script in this repository
creates it. The attribution entry now states only what the code does and notes
that if packaging supplies the bundle, it happens outside this repo and must
carry the TinyCC notice. Flagged rather than papered over.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Root-caused on Tomba 1: overlay_autocompile_cmd's bare 'python' resolved
through PATH to the devkitPro MSYS2/Cygwin python (usr/bin precedes the
Windows install), which segfaults (exit 0x0B00, signal 11) under the
kill-on-close job spawn BEFORE writing a byte — so every compile failed
with '(no output captured)' and nothing pointed at the cause; the title
silently ran interpreted.
At configure time, resolve the command's first token exactly as
cmd.exe /C will (SearchPathA with .exe), print the binding once, and
warn loudly when msys-2.0.dll/cygwin1.dll sits beside the resolved
interpreter, recommending the Windows launcher form 'py -3 ...'.
Also fail loudly up front when the token doesn't resolve at all.
Doc'd in ASYNC_OVERLAY_COMPILE.md. Title game.toml fixes (python ->
py -3) ship separately in each game repo.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The user-requested async overlay tiering (interp-now / compile-async / native-next, gcc-if-present
else sljit, always async, file-based handoff) is LARGELY ALREADY IMPLEMENTED — overlay_capture.c
(autocapture on interp pressure) + autocompile.c (background compile via a configured command,
toolchain-probed, watcher thread, file-based) + the code_provider abstraction. It just needed
CPS wiring.
This commit:
- overlay_loader_apply_live_policy: when the active backend is gcc, force sljit-live OFF so a gcc
box is gcc>interp (NOT the previous complementary gcc+sljit). Toolchain-less boxes stay
sljit>interp. PSX_OVERLAY_SLJIT_LIVE still overrides. ("mutually exclusive" per user.)
- ASYNC_OVERLAY_COMPILE.md: re-headed to reflect the feature is built+validated under CPS, with
the deltas this session added (compile_overlays --cps from §25.5, the gcc-only policy, the
dev-config overlay_autocompile_cmd --cps).
VALIDATED under CPS: autocapture fires -> background compile_overlays --cps produces CPS overlay
DLLs -> loader loads them -> dispatch_native rises; gcc box shows 0 sljit shards; ce_profile flat.
The native overlay cache auto-builds as you play (each scene compiles on its first sustained
visit). PRODUCTION game.toml overlay_autocompile_cmd still needs --cps appended when CPS ships.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Build plan for the next session: interp-now / compile-async / native-next overlay tiering
(gcc-if-toolchain-present else sljit, mutually exclusive, always async). FILE-BASED handoff —
the worker writes .dll/.sljit artifacts; the dispatch fiber loads them via the existing
try_load_region / deserialize paths, so the candidate table stays single-threaded (no race).
Motivated by the CPS title screen being interp-bound (12.2M interp vs 14.8K native) because its
overlays aren't gcc-compiled + the sync sljit JIT-on-miss hitches the dispatch thread.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Matthew Stanley