strands-wasm

WASM build tooling and monorepo developer guide. Describes the WebAssembly component architecture, build pipeline, WIT contracts, and cross-package development workflow.

How it works

The TypeScript SDK is compiled into a WebAssembly component (strands-agent.wasm). Python loads this component via wasmtime-py and drives it.

The WIT contract (wit/agent.wit) defines what crosses the WASM boundary:

• Exports (TS implements, Python calls): The api interface — agent construction, streaming, conversation management. All model provider HTTP calls (Bedrock, Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini) happen inside the WASM guest.
• Imports (Python implements, TS calls back into): tool-provider for executing Python-defined tools, and host-log for routing log entries to Python's logging framework.

In WIT terminology, the WASM component is the "guest" and Python is the "host". When the TS agent loop decides a tool needs to run, it calls the tool-provider import which crosses the WASM boundary back to Python where the actual tool function lives.

Getting started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Python 3.10+

First-time setup

git clone https://github.com/strands-agents/harness-sdk.git
cd harness-sdk
npm install
npm run dev -- bootstrap

bootstrap installs toolchains, links strandly to your PATH, generates type bindings, builds all layers, installs strands-py-wasm, and runs all tests. If this command doesn't enable development out of the box, file an issue.

Architecture

Build pipeline

Changes flow through a pipeline. Each layer compiles into the next:

graph TD
    WIT["wit/agent.wit"] -->|generate| TS_GEN["strands-ts/generated/"]
    WIT -->|generate| WASM_GEN["strands-wasm/generated/"]

    TS_GEN --> TS["strands-ts (npm build)"]
    TS -->|esbuild bundle| WASM_BUNDLE["strands-wasm (ESM bundle)"]
    WASM_GEN --> WASM_BUNDLE
    WASM_BUNDLE -->|componentize-js| WASM["agent.wasm (WASM component)"]
    WASM -->|wasmtime-py| PY["strands-py-wasm (Python package)"]

Loading

Directory	Language	What it is
wit/	WIT	Interface contract between the WASM guest and host
strands-ts/	TypeScript	Agent runtime: event loop, model providers, tools, hooks, streaming
strands-wasm/	TypeScript	Bridges the TS SDK to WIT exports, compiles to a WASM component
strands-py-wasm/	Python	Python wrapper: Agent class, @tool decorator, direct WASM host
strandly/	TypeScript	Dev CLI that orchestrates build, test, lint, and CI
team/	Markdown	Governance and cross-SDK process docs (tenets, decisions, PR guidelines, designs/ proposals)

Generated code

strandly generate produces type bindings from wit/agent.wit into:

• strands-ts/generated/ (gitignored)
• strands-wasm/generated/ (gitignored)
• strands-py-wasm/src/strands/_generated/ (committed)

Generated files are created by running strandly generate (or bootstrap). Do not edit them by hand. CI runs strandly generate --check and fails if they are stale.

Tests

Layer	Framework	Location
TypeScript SDK	vitest	strands-ts/src/**/__tests__/ (unit), strands-ts/test/ (integ)
Python wrapper	pytest	strands-py-wasm/tests/

Add tests alongside the code you change. Bug fixes should include a test that reproduces the original issue.

Making changes

Each layer depends on the layers above it in the pipeline. The validate command rebuilds and tests exactly the layers your change affects.

What you changed	Validate command
WIT contract (wit/agent.wit)	strandly validate wit
TS SDK internals	strandly validate ts
TS SDK public API	strandly validate ts-api
WASM bridge (strands-wasm/entry.ts)	strandly validate wasm
Pure Python (strands-py-wasm/)	strandly validate py

TS internals vs. public API: The WASM bridge (strands-wasm/entry.ts) imports specific types and functions from strands-ts/. If your change modifies something the bridge imports, it is a public API change — use validate ts-api. If the bridge does not import it, use validate ts.

WIT contract changes cascade to every layer. After running validate wit, fix any compile errors in strands-wasm/entry.ts and the language wrappers. The build will not succeed until every layer matches the new contract.

Dev CLI

strandly <command> [options]

Most commands accept layer flags (--ts, --wasm, --py). No flags means all layers.

Command	What it does
bootstrap	First-time setup: install, link, generate, build, install py-wasm, test
setup	Install toolchains (--node, --python)
link	Install strandly on PATH as a live symlink to this repo
generate	Regenerate type bindings from WIT (--check)
build	Compile layers (--ts, --wasm, --py)
test	Run tests (--py, --ts, or a specific [file])
check	Lint and type-check (--ts, --wasm, --py)
fmt	Format all code (--check to verify without writing)
validate <layer>	Rebuild and test the layers affected by a change
ci	Full pipeline: generate, format, lint, build, test
rebuild	Clean rebuild: clean, generate, build
clean	Remove all build artifacts
example <name>	Run an example (--py, --ts)

Code style

Language	Formatter	Linter
TypeScript	prettier	tsc --noEmit
Python	ruff format	ruff check

strandly fmt       # format everything
strandly check     # lint everything

Comments are normative statements that describe what code does or why a decision was made. Avoid TODO's without associated issues, notes-to-self, and parenthetical asides.

Submitting a PR

• Run strandly ci before pushing. This is the same pipeline CI runs.
• Keep PRs focused on a single change.
• Use conventional commit messages: feat:, fix:, refactor:, docs:, etc.