externalize-operator

Externalize Operator Workflow

Tagging (includes save)

externalize_op tags the operator AND writes it to disk in one step (it calls Update() internally). No separate save is needed.

1. Tag and externalize: externalize_op on the operator (auto-detects type if omitted)
2. Verify: get_externalization_status to confirm dirty state and file path
3. Inspect: Verify file exists in embody/ via file inspection

Re-exporting After Changes

save_externalization force re-exports an already-externalized operator. Use it after modifying an operator in TD when you need to update its file on disk.

Excluding Runtime State from TDXN Exports (tdxn_exclude:<par> tags)

When a parameter holds runtime state (a session file path, a negotiated port, a live readout) rather than configuration, keep its value out of committed .tdxn files by tagging the operator itself - one tag per parameter, using the colon-suffixed form of the exclude tag:

op('deck_a').tags.add('tdxn_exclude:file')

The operator and its other parameters export normally; the named parameter's constant value is omitted (expressions/binds still export - references are configuration). The bare tdxn_exclude tag on a COMP is different: it makes the whole COMP invisible to TDXN. The suffixed tag round-trips in the .tdxn, so the omission is visible and survives reconstruction; it takes effect at the COMP's next export (Save tdxn, Update, or project save). A tag naming a nonexistent parameter logs a WARNING at export. Users can manage these visually: the tagger's Actions menu on a TDXN COMP has Exclude from tdxn, a drop-zone panel that toggles tdxn_exclude:<par> for dragged parameters and whole-COMP tdxn_exclude for dragged COMPs, listing every exclusion in the subtree with a per-row x to remove it.

A third form targets a DAT's live contents instead of a parameter: tdxn_exclude:dat_content (a reserved name, so it never trips the unknown-parameter warning). Use it for DATs whose rows are runtime state with no authored value -- a log ring buffer, a status readout. Those are normally force-captured even when Embed DATs is OFF, because Embody refuses to drop content that exists nowhere else on disk; this tag is the only sanctioned way past that net, so apply it only where losing the content is the intent. The operator itself still exports in full (parameters, position, wiring, tags) and returns empty on reconstruction, and the save-time content check reads the same rule, so it never flags the DAT or files it as its own file.