How to Write Meson meson.build from a Source Inventory

Meson files rot when they call get_option('warning_level') that nobody locked. The inventory named a C mailer and a static util library. Skip wrapdb. Tests stay NONE.

The matching generator is the Meson meson.build from a Source Inventory (Version-Locked, No Invented Options) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).

Print the option lock table first

Write Meson meson.build files from a source inventory. Version-lock the Meson pin. Do not invent options or extra targets. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.

Paste these fields before you hit run:

Source inventory I lock (names, kinds, srcs I allow): [Sources]
Meson version I lock (or UNKNOWN): [Version]
Options I lock (or NONE): [Options]
Language I lock (or UNKNOWN): [LangCode]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent (options, extra srcs, wrap files, extra targets): [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language for comments: [Lang]
Test targets I allow (or NONE): [Tests]

That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.

Write meson.build targets only from the source inventory

Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.

Walk the Generate list in order:

1. Honesty ledger: Sources, Version, Options, LangCode, Tests, Lang. Forbidden: invented option, extra srcs, wrap file.
2. Option lock table: each Options line quoted. If a build needs an option not listed, write NOT IN INPUTS.
3. project(): meson_version from Version or VERSION UNKNOWN. default_options only from Options or NONE.
4. meson.build: targets only from Sources. srcs only listed files. Do not add a wrap file unless Sources named it.
5. Refuse list: cmake_minimum_required, bazel_dep, Buck2 prelude, invented get_option('foo').
6. Tests: quote Tests or write NONE. Do not add a catch-all test() glob.
7. Never: do not write a wrapdb URL. Do not invent a C++ standard if LangCode is UNKNOWN.
8. Compliance pass: quote Banned and Never hits. Cut them. Format as Format.

If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.

Refuse CMake dumps and extra wrap files

Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.

Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:

• Meson meson.build from Sources and Options only. Not CMake and not Bazel.
• Never invent options, extra srcs, or wrap files.
• Only Tests named in Inputs.
• No emojis.

When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.

Keep test() NONE if the inventory omitted it

Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.

Tags on the card (meson meson.build, source inventory lock, no invented options) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.

Fill the card, then run

Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.