tap method GitHub issue

• • Use case
• • Placement: .object.tap
• • What the block receives
• • Status

{"vibecode": {
    "doc": "tap",
    "role": "Ruby-style tap method on Caspian objects for inline side effects in chains; placement settled on .object.tap with the block receiving the underlying value (not the helper) and the helper returning the underlying value so chains survive",
    "key_concepts": ["tap_method", "ruby_style_chaining", "side_effect_in_chain",
        "object_meta_helper_placement", "helper_returns_underlying_value"],
    "status": "brainstorm — placement settled 2026-05-27; not in V1 core"
}}

Ruby's tap pattern: receive a value in a block, run side-effecting logic on it, return the value unchanged so the chain continues.

In Caspian, tap lives on the .object meta-helper, not on the value directly. The block receives the underlying value, and .object.tap returns the underlying value (not the helper) so chains survive:

$foo.object.tap do($same_as_foo)
    log($same_as_foo)
end.do_more     # continues on $foo

The main method namespace stays clean, and chain ergonomics are preserved. Cost: one extra .object. in the syntax compared to Ruby's bare .tap.

Use case GitHub issue

Brief use of a value without breaking a chain or assigning to a throwaway variable:

do_something.object.tap do($x)
    log($x)
end.do_more

Returns the value do_something produced; the log call is a side-effect inserted into the chain.

Placement: .object.tap GitHub issue

Two readings were considered:

• On the value directly ($foo.tap). Matches Ruby exactly but adds tap to every object's main method namespace, where it competes with domain methods on every class.
• On the .object meta-helper ($foo.object.tap). Keeps the main method namespace clean — .object is where meta-operations live.

The objection raised against .object.tap was that "the chain continues from .object, not from $foo" — but that's only true if the helper's methods return the helper. They don't have to. .object.tap returns the underlying value, not the helper. Chains survive.

So the placement is .object.tap. Main namespace stays clean, chain ergonomics preserved, cost is one extra .object. in the syntax.

What the block receives GitHub issue

The block receives the underlying value — the same value the chain will continue on:

$foo.object.tap do($same_as_foo)
    log($same_as_foo)
end

Not the .object helper. The helper exists to host the tap method; inside the block, you want the actual value.

Status GitHub issue