Moving to Arcana 0.1

Update source files and developer tools while preserving historical programs, signatures and checkpoints.

Arcana is the language formerly named Flowscript. Arcana 0.1 includes the complete arrays, models, checked integers, standard library and runtime behavior present before the rename. Package releases start at 0.1.0.

Use @arcana/core, loadArcana, the arcana command, .arcn programs, .t.arcn tests and the Arcana editor extension. New source declares arcana "0.1";. Documentation lives at arcn.ftw.trade/docs. The old learning domain is removed, without redirects.

The package still ships as a private GitHub release tarball. No npm registry publication or license change is implied. Install the new Arcana VSIX and remove the old editor extension; move flowscript.* settings to arcana.* and update workspace language associations. The new extension's identity is ftw-trade.arcana.

Migrate a source file explicitly#

For a program whose recorded language is Flowscript 0.3:

arcana migrate strategy.flow --host host.json --output strategy.arcn
arcana check strategy.arcn --host host.json

The migration checks the historical program and its Arcana replacement, requires identical executable and authority fields, writes a new file without overwriting any existing file, and reports both artifact hashes. For an unversioned source, the host file must record its original language version. Earlier editions require source review rather than an assumed semantic upgrade. Pinned libraries and host declarations remain application-owned.

Preserve running programs#

Existing signed artifacts and checkpoints keep their original bytes and hashes. Arcana explicitly reads supported historical formats under their recorded semantics. A new format never retries as an old one after failure. Saved sources and deployments carry their language family because the two families' version numbers overlap.

The local runner recognizes the exact historical flowscript-local-v1 checkpoint envelope before compilation, verifies its original source, host, artifact and consumed input prefix, and resumes it with the historical compiler identity. It keeps that envelope's identity when saving progress. New local runs use arcana-local-v1. Never replace a checkpoint to make a failed restore start again.

A newly migrated program has a new artifact identity. Deploy it as a new version with the ordinary authorization; it does not inherit an old signature or reuse the old program's state by changing its hash.