Canisters

In ICE, Canisters are treated as specialized Tasks. When you define a canister, ICE generates a Scope containing lifecycle tasks.

Defining a Canister

Use the canister builder facade to define canisters.

import { canister } from "@ice.ts/runner";

export const backend = canister.motoko({
  src: "canisters/backend/main.mo"
}).make();

Generated Tasks

Defining the canister above automatically creates the following tasks:

• backend:build: Compiles the Wasm.
• backend:install: Installs the canister (initial).
• backend:deploy: Smart deploy (handles install vs upgrade).
• backend:status: Checks if the canister is running.

Arguments

You can define typed installation and upgrade arguments using the builder.

export const backend = canister.motoko({ src: "..." })
  .installArgs(({ ctx }) => ({
     admin: ctx.users.default.principal
  }))
  .make();

Canister Types

1. Motoko: Compiles Motoko source code.
2. Rust: Compiles Rust projects (requires Cargo.toml).
3. Custom: Uses pre-compiled Wasm and Candid files.
4. Remote: Connects to an existing canister on the network (useful for integration testing against live services).