Getting Started

Learn the first alpha workflow

This guide mirrors the quickstart that ships with the installer and adds a visual walkthrough of the main work areas in RuleEngineers, advanced rulegolfing software for cellular automata.

RuleEngineers sequence editor and pattern tabs

1. Start on the right

Draw and edit your first pattern

The rule starts out completely empty, with no cells being born or surviving. Begin by creating or editing a sequence tab on the right. Editing G0 defines the starting pattern there, while editing later generations changes the rule so the previous generation evolves into the result you paint.

That is the core rulegolfing loop: define a target, make a rule edit, and see whether the next generation behaves more like what you want.

Each tab in the tab bar is a specific pattern that you can control. Use Ctrl+N or press the + button to create a new tab. The greyed out cells are there to prevent you from accidentally breaking previous patterns.

RuleEngineers Pattern Viewer showing the live rule preview

2. Preview the rule

Use the Pattern Viewer as a live dynamics preview

The Pattern Viewer shows how the current rule behaves. Use Enter, Space, Backspace, and R to play, step, rewind, and reset the preview while you evaluate the rule you are building during rulegolfing.

RuleEngineers Pattern Viewer selection and copy workflow

3. Select a region

Use the Pattern Viewer as your copy source

When inspecting for common evolutionary sequences, use Shift+LMB drag to select a rectangular region in the Pattern Viewer, then press Ctrl+Shift+N to copy it into a new sequence-editor pattern tab.

4. Useful shortcuts

Keep the main keyboard flow close at hand

  • Enter plays or pauses the Pattern Viewer preview.
  • Space steps the Pattern Viewer preview forward.
  • Ctrl+N creates a new pattern tab.
  • Ctrl+Shift+N copies the selected Pattern Viewer region into a new sequence-editor tab.
  • Ctrl+S saves the session as a .rerule file.
  • Alt+R exports the current rule as a Golly ruletable.
  • Alt+E exports Hensel notation when the rule is 2-state.

Example exported 2-state rule from this session: B3-ckqy5k/S23-ck4y.

Example setup

A quick first session

1. Build the first sequence

Launch RuleEngineers, choose 2 or 3 states, create a pattern tab, and start by editing the sequence editor on the right because the rule begins empty. For example, you can create a glider pattern from Conway's Game of Life.

2. Preview the dynamics

Use the Pattern Viewer on the left as a live preview of the current rule's dynamics, then step it with Space or play/pause it with Enter to judge whether your latest rulegolfing move helped.

3. Copy, refine, and save

Select a region in the Pattern Viewer with Shift+LMB drag, copy it into a new tab with Ctrl+Shift+N, refine G1, G2, or later generations, then save the session as a .rerule file.

Download the packaged GettingStarted.md

Next step

Expand this into a deeper pattern-finding guide

If you want to go beyond the basics, the site now includes a Tutorials section for longer workflows such as finding spaceships and other useful patterns.

Start with the spaceship guide

tutorial-01.html walks through finding a basic spaceship from aligned generations, so it is a natural follow-up once you are comfortable with the Pattern Viewer and sequence editor.

Open the Tutorials library