Inspect checked C bindings

Use incan inspect bindings when you need to review the raw C contract accepted by the compiler without reading generated Rust or reconstructing facts from the original vocabulary syntax.

Review a project from the terminal

Run the command from the project root:

incan inspect bindings

The default text output lists each checked binding with its source module, header, logical system-library capability, source location, resources, symbols, output outcomes, enums, and plain structures. This is the quickest form for reviewing whether a private binding says what its public façade expects.

Pass a source file when the binding is not reachable from the project's normal entrypoint:

incan inspect bindings src/sqlite.incn

When PATH is a directory, inspection selects src/main.incn when it exists and otherwise src/lib.incn. Local imports reachable from that entrypoint are included through the ordinary checked module graph.

Produce JSON for another tool

Use the JSON format for an editor integration, audit tool, or reproducible review artifact:

incan inspect bindings . --format json

The report includes schema_version: 1, deterministic binding ordering, structural C types, and source anchors. Consumers should read the documented fields rather than parsing text output. See the binding inspection JSON schema for the exact contract.

Match the project's selected source view

Pass the same package features and SDK profile that the build or review uses when declarations are conditional:

incan inspect bindings . --format json --features sqlite --sdk-profile minimal

Inspection applies the normal package-feature and SDK-profile selection rules before typechecking. The result therefore describes the selected source graph rather than every declaration that could exist under a different configuration.

Diagnose a failed inspection

Inspection is strict. If parsing, imports, typechecking, or the host-target C probe fails, the command emits the ordinary compiler diagnostic and no partial report.

Use the diagnostic to correct the binding declaration or selected environment, then run the inspection again. Do not weaken an exact C type, ownership mode, output contract, enum carrier, or plain layout merely to obtain JSON: a partial or guessed report would defeat the purpose of the command.

Know where the report stops

The report describes the checked language declaration. It does not read incan.lock, resolve or download artifacts, compile C/C++ shims, select a concrete compiler or SDK, classify a private bridge and public façade, or provide editor navigation. incan inspect codegraph additionally marks the checked binding and direct C calls admitted inside unsafe:, but it has the same boundary: those are language-contract facts, not artifact, runtime, façade, or editor receipts. Use [oven.interop] and incan lock for declared physical requirements and locked package inputs; later Oven resolution and editor projections have separate lifecycles.

For the language-side recipes, see Work with checked C bindings. For the reason these facts stay separate, see How checked C interop is structured.