davesnx/setup/setup-mlx

Setup mlx

mlx adds JSX expressions to OCaml. Three tools take part: mlx-pp (package mlx), ocamlmerlin-mlx (Merlin reader, gives editors diagnostics and completion), and ocamlformat-mlx (formatter). To write mlx code, use the mlx-syntax skill.

Work from the project root, the directory that holds dune-project.

1. Pick the package manager

• dune.lock/ exists, or dune-workspace contains (pkg enabled): dune

package management.

• _opam exists, or confirm a switch is active with opam switch show: use opam.

2. Install the tools

opam:

opam install mlx ocamlmerlin-mlx ocamlformat-mlx

Dune package management: add mlx, ocamlmerlin-mlx, and ocamlformat-mlx to (depends ...) in the (package ...) stanza of dune-project, then run dune pkg lock. Dune's dev-tools list does not include these packages, so they must be regular dependencies.

Done when command -v mlx-pp ocamlmerlin-mlx ocamlformat-mlx prints three paths (opam), or the lock solution lists all three packages (dune).

3. Declare the dialect

Look for (dialect with (name mlx) in dune-project. If absent, append:

(dialect
 (name mlx)
 (implementation
  (extension mlx)
  (merlin_reader mlx)
  (format
   (run ocamlformat-mlx %{input-file}))
  (preprocess
   (run mlx-pp %{input-file}))))

merlin_reader needs (lang dune 3.16) or newer. If the project declares an older version, raise it and tell the user, because a lang bump can change other dune defaults. Keep (merlin_reader mlx) as written: Merlin resolves the name to the ocamlmerlin-mlx binary itself.

Once declared, dune treats .mlx files as modules. dune files need no change.

4. Formatting

dune fmt formats .mlx files through the format action above. ocamlformat-mlx skips every file with a warning when the project root has no .ocamlformat. If none exists, create one with version = <output of ocamlformat --version>. If one exists for plain ocamlformat, keep both binaries on the same base version: version = 0.29.0 accepts ocamlformat-mlx 0.29.0.1.

5. Check ocaml-lsp-server

ocamllsp --version

Release 1.25.0 added .mlx support. If the version is lower or the binary is missing, run opam install "ocaml-lsp-server>=1.25.0" under opam, or dune tools exec ocamllsp under dune package management, which installs the current release. Editor plugins: VS Code OCaml Platform 2.0.0 or newer, ocaml_mlx.nvim for Neovim, emacs-mlx for Emacs.

6. Verify

dune build
dune ocaml merlin dump-config . | grep READER

Done when the build passes and every .mlx module shows (READER (mlx)). With no .mlx file in the project yet, the grep prints nothing; skip it.

Report what was installed, the stanza added, any lang dune bump, and the ocamllsp version.