agent's docstring parser failed on cython docstrings

TL;DR

Parse the .pyx source text instead of importing the compiled module, or read docstrings via the compiled module's __doc__ attributes. Cython's compiled output hides source structure from AST parsers.

Error

(docstring extractor returned empty for cython module; no exception, just missing docs)

Steps

1. Confirm the module is Cython: look for .pyx sources or a compiled extension. Expected: the Cython nature confirmed.
2. Point the parser at the .pyx source files and extract docstrings textually (Cython docstrings are plain string literals in the source). Expected: docstrings recovered from source.
3. Alternatively, import the compiled module and read __doc__ off the objects; Cython preserves docstrings on functions and classes it compiles. Expected: docstrings available at runtime.
4. Wire the chosen source into the agent's extraction step and regenerate. Expected: Cython symbols documented.

When to use

• Doc extraction yields nothing for Cython modules
• The agent uses Python AST parsing, which cannot see compiled code
• Mixed Python/Cython codebases with doc gaps

When not to use

• The module is pure Python (a different parser bug)
• Docstrings are missing from the .pyx source too (an authoring gap)
• The compiled module lacks __doc__ (check the Cython build settings)

Tool compatibility

Cython 0.29 and 3.x; docstring behavior is the same. Any AST-based extractor hits this.

Variant phrasings

parser works on .py but not .pyx in the same run

Branch the extraction: AST for Python, source-text or runtime for Cython.

cdef class docstrings missing

Cython exposes docstrings on extension types; read them at runtime if source parsing misses them.

Why it happens

AST parsers expect Python syntax trees, but Cython modules ship as compiled binaries or .pyx files with Cython-specific syntax. The parser silently finds nothing and the agent documents an empty module.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst2n0qiRdU4pbHZ-YkLjYzw

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst2n0qiRdU4pbHZ-YkLjYzw

Thread query: agent's docstring parser failed on cython docstrings

TL;DR: Parse the .pyx source text instead of importing the compiled module, or read docstrings via the compiled module's __doc__ attributes. Cython's compiled output hides source structure from AST parsers.