The .dev directory

Elide writes a project’s build files under .dev/, beside elide.pkl. Directories appear when a command needs them; a project that only runs JavaScript will not have the same files as one that compiles Java and packages a JAR. Keep source files and persistent configuration outside this directory.

Find generated files

Path under `.dev/`	Contents
`artifacts/`	Packaged outputs, such as JARs in `jar/`, native executables in `native-image/`, and application distributions.
`jvm/classes/<source-set>/java/`	Compiled Java classes.
`jvm/classes/<source-set>/kotlin/`	Compiled Kotlin classes.
`staging/`	Intermediate packaging files and copied JVM resources.
`dependencies/m2/`	Resolved Maven artifacts and classpath files. Artifacts normally link to the Maven cache; `elide install --direct` copies them.
`dependencies/npm/`	npm installation files. The project’s `node_modules` links into this directory.
`reports/tests/`	Test reports, grouped by language and source set when reporting is enabled.
`reports/coverage/`	Coverage reports when coverage is enabled.
`telemetry/`	Local build traces when `ELIDE_BUILD_TELEMETRY` is enabled.
`elide.lock.v2.bin`	Portable task fingerprints and resolution state. This is not an ecosystem dependency lockfile.
`elide.build.bin`	Machine-local build state.
`elide.filehash.bin`	Cached file digests.

Use JAR packaging, Native Image and Testing for exact output paths. The binary state files are managed by Elide; do not edit them. The npm lockfile, aube-lock.yaml, lives at the project root, outside .dev/.

Workspaces

A workspace shares dependency artifacts and build state in the root project’s .dev/. Each member keeps compiled classes, packaged outputs and reports in its own .dev/. Maven classpath files also stay per project under .dev/dependencies/m2/, even though the dependency artifacts are shared.

Use elide classpath instead of assembling a classpath from directory contents. See Source sets and Dependencies.

Clean and rebuild

Terminal

bash

elide build clean
elide install
elide build

clean removes the selected project’s whole .dev/, including reports and local state. At a workspace root it also cleans every member; when a member is selected, it cleans that member. Save reports or packaged outputs you need before cleaning. Dependencies and outputs are recreated by later commands, which may require network access.

Project cleanup does not clear the user-wide build cache in ~/.elide/cache/entries-v2; the next build can restore outputs from that cache. Use elide build --no-cache to rebuild without cached task results. See Build cache for local and shared cache behavior.

Exclude generated project files from version control:

gitignore

.dev/
node_modules/

utf-8 · gitignore · Lines: 2

Commit the project’s manifest, source inputs and applicable dependency lockfiles. Put durable build-extension inputs outside .dev/ too, so cleaning cannot remove the files required to reproduce a build.

Elide source checkouts

The Elide repository’s contributor build adds directories such as .dev/toolchains/, .dev/codegen/, .dev/artifacts/dist/ and .dev/scratch/. These belong to the repository’s ./builder and make workflow; ordinary application projects do not need them. Adopted contributor worktrees can share toolchains and dependencies through symlinks, so follow the checkout’s build instructions when managing those directories.