Ecosystem & compatibility

Three wrappers, one engine. The wrappers decide which engine runs; the engine decides everything else.

Compatibility matrix

Component	Version	Engine it runs	Python / platform
Engine (pypilot)	1.3.0	n/a	Analyzes CPython 3.7–3.15. Prebuilt for Linux x64, macOS x64/arm64, Windows x64
Zed extension	1.3.0 (this repo)	The newest engine release on GitHub, or a pypilot on PATH	Zed with WASI extensions
VS Code extension	1.3.0	pypilot.helperPath if set; else the newer of a pypilot on PATH and its own copy; else downloads the version pinned in package.json (pypilotEngine, engine 1.3.0), verified by SHA-256. pypilot.engineUpdates: "latest" also offers newer releases, verified against their SHA256SUMS	VS Code 1.85+
pypilot-cli (PyPI)	1.3.0	Pins engine v1.3.0 and bundles it in its platform wheels (Windows x64, Linux x64 with glibc 2.34+, macOS arm64 and x64); elsewhere, a download verified against ENGINE_SHA256. PYPILOT_ENGINE_VERSION selects another release, verified against its SHA256SUMS	Python 3.8+

The features marked 1.3 (--json, --dry-run, diagnosticsScope, …) need engine 1.3.0 or newer, which all three wrappers now run by default. To try something newer than the latest release, build the engine from main and put it on PATH (Zed, VS Code) or in pypilot.helperPath (VS Code); see Building from source.

Throughout this site, 1.3 marks something new in 1.3.

How each wrapper picks an engine

Zed

1. A pypilot on PATH whose version is new enough.
2. Otherwise the newest non-prerelease GitHub release of pypilot-dev/pypilot with an asset for your platform, cached per version. If GitHub is unreachable, a previously downloaded copy is used.

VS Code

1. pypilot.helperPath, when set: that binary and nothing else (no download, no update offers).
2. A pypilot on PATH, and a previously downloaded copy in the extension's storage. If both exist, the newer one wins.
3. Otherwise the engine version pinned in package.json is downloaded and verified by SHA-256. See VS Code.

On each start the extension offers the pinned version when it is newer than the engine in use (with pypilot.engineUpdates: "latest", newer GitHub releases too), with Update now, Release notes or Later (a dismissed prompt stays quiet for 24 hours). An update always goes into the extension's own storage; a copy on PATH is yours and is never touched.

pypilot-cli

1. PYPILOT_ENGINE_VERSION, if set.
2. The engine bundled in the platform wheel.
3. A verified cached download of the pinned release (DEFAULT_TAG).
4. ~/.cargo/bin/pypilot, then a pypilot on PATH (not the Python script itself), if at least 1.0.2.
5. Otherwise a verified download of the pinned release, unless PYPILOT_OFFLINE=1.

See Which engine it runs.

Upgrading the pip package therefore upgrades the engine.

Release assets

Asset	Platform
pypilot-linux-x64.tar.gz	Linux x86-64
pypilot-darwin-x64.tar.gz	macOS Intel
pypilot-darwin-arm64.tar.gz	macOS Apple Silicon
pypilot-windows-x64.zip	Windows x64
SHA256SUMS, pypilot-helper.cdx.json 1.3	Checksums and SBOM, with provenance attestations

Release order

1. Engine: version bump, tag vX.Y.Z; the Release workflow uploads the assets.
2. pypilot-cli: points its pin at that tag, then publishes to PyPI. PyPI never allows reusing a version number.
3. VS Code extension: independent of the engine version (its engine pin is bumped by a pull request after each engine release).

Steps 2 and 3 start from the pin-bump pull requests the engine's ecosystem-bump workflow opens in each wrapper repository once the Release run succeeds. See Security. 4. Zed registry: the registry entry is bumped to the engine release commit.

Data-table changes need no release: installed engines refresh them from main. See Data tables.

Changelogs

• Engine and Zed extension: CHANGELOG.md and Releases
• VS Code: CHANGELOG.md
• pypilot-cli: pypilot-pip