path: root/docs/design/module-inventory.org

#+TITLE: Module Inventory — init.el Load Graph
#+AUTHOR: Craig Jennings
#+DATE: 2026-05-24

* Purpose

Living per-module inventory for the [[file:init-load-graph.org][init.el load-graph refactor]]. The
spec's module-category table is the seed; this file is the per-module truth as
each module is inspected and classified. A module moves from [[*Pending
classification][Pending classification]] into [[*Classified modules][Classified
modules]] once its source has been read and its load-graph header written.

Phase 1 exit criterion: every module required by =init.el= (102 total) is
represented here with a category and target load shape, every eager survivor
has a documented reason, and top-level timer/process/network side effects are
identified. Classification proceeds in batches; the header-validation test
=tests/test-init-module-headers.el= enforces the contract on each classified
module.

This inventory is independent from the helper inventory owned by
=utility-consolidation.org=.

* Status

- Phase 1 (Inventory and Contracts), in progress.
- Batch 1 (Foundation, Layer 1): classified. 7 modules.
- Batch 2 (Text/editing command modules, Layer 2): classified. 9 modules.
- 16 of 102 modules classified.
- No load-order changes have been made; =init.el= keeps its current eager order.

* Legend

Category key (a module may carry two, e.g. =F/S=):

- =F= foundation or shared library/config
- =C= core eager UX
- =P= package configuration (usually hook/command/package loaded)
- =D= domain workflow with a possible eager reason
- =S= startup side-effect / timer / process owner
- =O= optional, entertainment, experimental, rarely used
- =L= pure-ish library / command helpers, easy to load directly

Load shape: =eager= | =hook= | =mode= | =command= | =after-load=.

Direct test load: =yes= | =conditional= | =no= — can the module be loaded
directly in batch without first loading the rest of init?

* Classified modules

** Batch 1 — Foundation (Layer 1)

| Module | Layer | Cat | Current | Target | Runtime requires | Top-level side effects | Direct load |
|--------+-------+-----+---------+--------+------------------+------------------------+-------------|
| =system-lib= | 1 | F/L | eager | eager | none (auth-source on demand) | none | yes |
| =user-constants= | 1 | F | eager | eager | none | file writes: creates configured dirs/files at load | conditional |
| =host-environment= | 1 | F/L | eager | eager | none (battery on demand) | none | yes |
| =system-defaults= | 1 | F/S | eager | eager | autorevert, server, bookmark, host-environment, user-constants | global setq, display-warning advice, display-buffer-alist entry, one key remap | conditional |
| =keyboard-compat= | 1 | F/S | eager | eager | host-environment | adds emacs-startup-hook | yes |
| =keybindings= | 1 | F/C | eager | eager | user-constants, which-key, free-keys | defines cj/custom-keymap + cj/jump-map, binds global keys, which-key labels | conditional |
| =config-utilities= | 1 | C/O | eager | eager | cl-lib, cl-generic, eieio, find-lisp, profiler | defines cj/debug-config-keymap, binds C-c d | yes |

Every Batch 1 module stays eager: each satisfies a spec eager-reason condition
(shared helpers, path constants, core Emacs behavior, or the global keymap
owner). Reasons are recorded in each module's load-graph header.

** Batch 2 — Text/editing command modules (Layer 2)

The =custom-*= text-command helpers. Each is eager only to register a =C-;=
submap (or direct bindings) at load; none has a necessary eager reason, so all
are deferral candidates for Phase 3 (registration API) and Phase 4
(command/autoload). Target load shape is command-driven.

| Module | Layer | Cat | Current | Target | Runtime requires | Top-level side effects | Direct load |
|--------+-------+-----+---------+--------+------------------+------------------------+-------------|
| =custom-case= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings | cj/case-map under C-; c; remaps capitalize-region | yes |
| =custom-comments= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings | cj/comment-map under C-; C | yes |
| =custom-datetime= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings | cj/datetime-map under C-; d | yes |
| =custom-buffer-file= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | external-open, mm-decode, system-lib | cj/copy-buffer-content-map, cj/buffer-and-file-map; C-; b registration boundp-guarded | conditional |
| =custom-line-paragraph= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings (expand-region on demand) | cj/line-and-paragraph-map under C-; l | yes |
| =custom-misc= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings | align-regexp advice; direct C-; bindings | yes |
| =custom-ordering= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | cl-lib, keybindings (org-config on demand) | cj/ordering-map under C-; o | yes |
| =custom-text-enclose= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings (change-inner on demand) | cj/enclose-map under C-; s | yes |
| =custom-whitespace= | 2 | L/C | eager | command | keybindings | cj/whitespace-map under C-; w | yes |

* Hidden dependencies found

Discoveries that belong to Phase 2 (make dependencies explicit). Recorded here,
not fixed here.

- =system-defaults= reads =env-bsd-p= (host-environment) and =user-home-dir=
  (user-constants) at *load* time, but declares both only via
  =eval-when-compile=. The compiled module therefore cannot load standalone —
  it works at startup only because =init.el= requires host-environment and
  user-constants earlier. Phase 2 fix: promote the two =eval-when-compile=
  requires to plain runtime =require=. (Test
  =test-system-defaults-functions.el= was updated to require host-environment
  so the unit loads in isolation; the production fix is still pending.)
- =custom-buffer-file= registers its =C-; b= submap behind =(when (boundp
  'cj/custom-keymap) ...)= and declares =cj/custom-keymap= only via
  =eval-when-compile=. Loaded standalone without keybindings, the =boundp= guard
  is nil and the binding silently drops. That guard is the
  "define-if-not-present" shim the spec warns against. Phase 2/3 fix: require
  keybindings (or use the registration API once it exists) and drop the guard.

* Pending classification

The remaining 86 modules required by =init.el=, awaiting per-module inspection.
Each batch reads these against their source and moves them into [[*Classified
modules][Classified modules]] with a load-graph header. Suggested batch order
follows the spec: text/editing command modules, then UI, then programming, then
Org, then optional integrations.

- [ ] ai-config
- [ ] ai-vterm
- [ ] auth-config
- [ ] browser-config
- [ ] calendar-sync
- [ ] calibredb-epub-config
- [ ] chrono-tools
- [ ] coverage-core
- [ ] coverage-elisp
- [ ] dashboard-config
- [ ] dev-fkeys
- [ ] diff-config
- [ ] dirvish-config
- [ ] dwim-shell-config
- [ ] elfeed-config
- [ ] erc-config
- [ ] eshell-config
- [ ] eww-config
- [ ] external-open
- [ ] flycheck-config
- [ ] flyspell-and-abbrev
- [ ] font-config
- [ ] games-config
- [ ] gloss-config
- [ ] help-config
- [ ] help-utils
- [ ] httpd-config
- [ ] hugo-config
- [ ] jumper
- [ ] keyboard-macros
- [ ] latex-config
- [ ] linear-config
- [ ] local-repository
- [ ] lorem-optimum
- [ ] mail-config
- [ ] markdown-config
- [ ] media-utils
- [ ] modeline-config
- [ ] mousetrap-mode
- [ ] music-config
- [ ] nerd-icons-config
- [ ] org-agenda-config
- [ ] org-babel-config
- [ ] org-capture-config
- [ ] org-config
- [ ] org-contacts-config
- [ ] org-drill-config
- [ ] org-export-config
- [ ] org-noter-config
- [ ] org-refile-config
- [ ] org-reveal-config
- [ ] org-roam-config
- [ ] org-webclipper
- [ ] pdf-config
- [ ] popper-config
- [ ] prog-c
- [ ] prog-general
- [ ] prog-go
- [ ] prog-json
- [ ] prog-lisp
- [ ] prog-python
- [ ] prog-shell
- [ ] prog-training
- [ ] prog-webdev
- [ ] prog-yaml
- [ ] quick-video-capture
- [ ] reconcile-open-repos
- [ ] restclient-config
- [ ] selection-framework
- [ ] slack-config
- [ ] system-commands
- [ ] system-utils
- [ ] telega-config
- [ ] test-runner
- [ ] text-config
- [ ] tramp-config
- [ ] transcription-config
- [ ] ui-config
- [ ] ui-navigation
- [ ] ui-theme
- [ ] undead-buffers
- [ ] vc-config
- [ ] video-audio-recording
- [ ] vterm-config
- [ ] weather-config
- [ ] wrap-up