3. Architecture

Intent DSL
   ↓ parse
Semantic / Component-Theme IR    named members: id / class / role / mat_slot / intent_state
   ↓ resolve                     phase evaluation, geometry expansion, theme injection, derived blockstate
block-array IR                   voxel grid + palette + block entities + entities   ← universal pivot
   ↓ serialize                   per edition, version, format backend
.nbt (Java) / .litematic / .schem / .mcstructure (Bedrock)

3.1 The block-array IR is the universal pivot

Every format’s frontend and backend meets at this layer, and diff, IoU, and serialization all happen here. It holds a voxel grid, a palette, block entities, and entities, and is neutral to format, edition, and version.

It is the output target of the forward direction and the input destination of the reverse one (Ecosystem Interop).

3.2 The Intent IR is rich and carries invariants

A named member carries id, class, role, mat_slot, intent_state, and resolved_state (Blockstate Model).

A raw import does not produce a valid Intent IR. It reaches one only after a semantic lift, and an artifact’s progress along that path is semantic_level: raw | grouped | lifted.

3.3 Redstone sub-layers

When redstone is described logically (Redstone), three IR layers with distinct roles sit between the Intent IR and the block-array IR, the same separation HDL uses:

Logic IR      logical expressions, dependency DAG. Edition-neutral, zero delay
Netlist IR    cells and nets. Logical cell selection. Still no delay
Placement IR  cell coordinates + actual wire length. Delay and ticks determined here

The logic is edition-neutral; the place-and-route result (tiles, timing) is edition-specific. Delay is not carried in the Logic or Netlist IR. The Placement IR determines it.

3.4 What the split buys

The block-array IR at the bottom is shared across forward and reverse directions and across every format. The member/Intent IR above it is an independent type with invariants: every member has an intent_state, every slot is resolved, and so on.

That separation lets serialization, diff, lint, and IoU evaluation be shared at the bottom layer while the semantic layer stays type-safe.