Implementation Guides

Quick, actionable guidance for extending Hatch functionality. These guides focus on what you need to know to get started, not exhaustive implementation details.

When to Use These Guides

You're working on Hatch and need to:

• Add support for a new dependency type (installer)
• Customize package loading or validation
• Work with the package registry system
• Understand how installation coordination works

Available Guides

Adding Functionality

• Adding CLI Commands - Add new commands to the CLI (10-minute read)
• Adding New Installers - Support new dependency types (5-minute read)
• Package Loading Extensions - Custom package formats and validation (3-minute read)

Working with Existing Systems

• Registry Integration - Package discovery and caching (4-minute read)
• Installation Orchestration - How dependency installation is coordinated (3-minute read)

Key Patterns to Know

Hatch uses these patterns consistently:

• Strategy Pattern - Multiple installers implement the same interface (DependencyInstaller)
• Registry Pattern - Global installer_registry maps dependency types to installers

The code is well-documented and often clearer than additional documentation.