Determinism is non-negotiable. Build-time decisions are preferred and runtime behavior must remain optional and non-authoritative.

Emitters only read TargetIR and write files. They must never read policy, infer intent, or decide features.

irgen is not a framework, not a runtime platform, and not a template engine. It generates projects that use existing frameworks.

irgen avoids SSR runtime and implicit behavior to keep output deterministic and easy to audit. SSG provides most benefits with fewer costs.

Is this intent, constraint, or execution? Does it belong in DSL, policy, lowering, or emitter? Can it be decided deterministically?

Avoid overloading the DSL or letting target concerns leak upward. Explicit beats clever.

irgen favors clarity over magic, structure over templates, and decisions over guesses. It is built for developers who think in systems.