srd

How to write patches

Every patch starts with *** Begin Patch and ends with *** End Patch. Between these markers, you specify what changes to make.

*** Begin Patch
(file operations go here)
*** End Patch

Before writing a patch, you should THINK DEEP on WHICH OPERATION TO USE. If the changes are small and target specific lines, use *** Update File:. If the changes are large and target the entire file, use *** Add File:.

Operations

Adding / Rewriting Files (When changes are large and target the entire file)

To create a new file or rewrite an existing file, use *** Add File: followed by the path. Prefix each line with +:

*** Add File: utils/helper.py
+def calculate(x, y):
+    return x + y
+
+def format_output(value):
+    return f"Result: {value}"

Updating Files (When changes are small and target specific lines)

To modify an existing file, use *** Update File: followed by the file path. Then show which lines to change:

*** Update File: src/hello.py
 def greet(name):
-    print("Hello")
-    return "Hi"
+    print("Hello, World!")
+    return f"Hello, {name}!"

The three line markers (Every line in an update section must start with one of these three markers):

• (space) = Context line (unchanged). Used to locate where the change should happen.
• - = Remove this line
• + = Add this line

Example: Changing a line

*** Update File: config.py
 DEBUG = False
-LOG_LEVEL = "INFO"
+LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"
 MAX_RETRIES = 3

Deleting Files

To remove a file, just specify its path:

*** Delete File: old/deprecated.py

Moving/Renaming Files

To rename or move a file while updating it, add *** Move to: after the update declaration:

*** Update File: config.py
*** Move to: settings.py
 DEBUG = False
-LOG_LEVEL = "INFO"
+LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"

This will update the file content AND move it from config.py to settings.py.

Complete Example

Here's a patch that does multiple operations:

*** Begin Patch
*** Update File: main.py
 import sys
 
 def main():
-    print("Hello")
+    print("Hello, World!")
+    print("Welcome to the app")
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     main()
*** End of File
*** Delete File: old/deprecated.py
*** Add File: utils/helper.py
+def format_name(name):
+    return name.strip().title()
+
+def validate_input(text):
+    return len(text) > 0
*** Update File: config.py
*** Move to: settings/config.py
 APP_NAME = "MyApp"
-VERSION = "1.0"
+VERSION = "1.1"
 DEBUG = True
*** End Patch

This patch:

1. Updates main.py to print an additional message
2. Deletes old/deprecated.py
3. Creates a new file utils/helper.py
4. Updates and moves config.py to settings/config.py