# Faster Builds with cargo-slicer

[cargo-slicer](https://github.com/nickel-org/cargo-slicer) is a `RUSTC_WRAPPER` that stubs unreachable library functions at the MIR level, skipping LLVM codegen for code the final binary never calls.

## Benchmark Results

| Environment | Mode | Baseline | With cargo-slicer | Wall-time savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48-core server | syn pre-analysis | 3m 52s | 3m 31s | **-9.1%** |
| 48-core server | MIR-precise | 3m 52s | 2m 49s | **-27.2%** |
| Raspberry Pi 4 | syn pre-analysis | 25m 03s | 17m 54s | **-28.6%** |

All measurements are clean `cargo +nightly build --release`. MIR-precise mode reads actual compiler MIR to build a more accurate call graph, stubbing 1,060 mono items vs 799 with syn-based analysis.

## CI Integration

The workflow `.github/workflows/ci-build-fast.yml` (not yet implemented) is intended to run an accelerated release build alongside the standard one. It triggers on Rust-code changes and workflow changes, does not gate merges, and runs in parallel as a non-blocking check.

CI uses a resilient two-path strategy:
- **Fast path**: install `cargo-slicer` plus the `rustc-driver` binaries and run the MIR-precise sliced build.
- **Fallback path**: if `rustc-driver` install fails (for example due to nightly `rustc` API drift), run a plain `cargo +nightly build --release` instead of failing the check.

This keeps the check useful and green while preserving acceleration whenever the toolchain is compatible.

## Local Usage

```bash
# One-time install
cargo install cargo-slicer
rustup component add rust-src rustc-dev llvm-tools-preview --toolchain nightly
cargo +nightly install cargo-slicer --profile release-rustc \
  --bin cargo-slicer-rustc --bin cargo_slicer_dispatch \
  --features rustc-driver

# Build with syn pre-analysis (from zeroclaw root)
cargo-slicer pre-analyze
CARGO_SLICER_VIRTUAL=1 CARGO_SLICER_CODEGEN_FILTER=1 \
  RUSTC_WRAPPER=$(which cargo_slicer_dispatch) \
  cargo +nightly build --release

# Build with MIR-precise analysis (more stubs, bigger savings)
# Step 1: generate .mir-cache (first build with MIR_PRECISE)
CARGO_SLICER_MIR_PRECISE=1 CARGO_SLICER_WORKSPACE_CRATES=zeroclaw,zeroclaw_robot_kit \
  CARGO_SLICER_VIRTUAL=1 CARGO_SLICER_CODEGEN_FILTER=1 \
  RUSTC_WRAPPER=$(which cargo_slicer_dispatch) \
  cargo +nightly build --release
# Step 2: subsequent builds automatically use .mir-cache
```

## How It Works

1. **Pre-analysis** scans workspace sources via `syn` to build a cross-crate call graph (~2 s).
2. **Cross-crate BFS** from `main()` identifies which public library functions are actually reachable.
3. **MIR stubbing** replaces unreachable bodies with `Unreachable` terminators — the mono collector finds no callees and prunes entire codegen subtrees.
4. **MIR-precise mode** (optional) reads actual compiler MIR from the binary crate's perspective, building a ground-truth call graph that identifies even more unreachable functions.

No source files are modified. The output binary is functionally identical.
