WIP native code ASE and LAMMPS export

.gitignore

@@ -1,8 +1,21 @@
 *Manifest.toml
+!export/Manifest.toml
 /docs/Manifest.toml
 /docs/build/
 scratch
 /docs/src/literate_tutorials
 .vscode
 .ipynb_checkpoints
 .CondaPkg
+
+# Export feature artifacts
+export/deployments/
+export/**/build/
+export/**/*.so
+export/**/*.log
+export/examples/**/deployments/
+
+# Python
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+.venv/

README.md

@@ -15,6 +15,32 @@
 - Version 0.9.0 onwards is technically compatible with Julia 1.10, but some unit tests show unexplained increases in fit accuracy, hence we highly recommend to use it only with Julia 1.11.
 - Version 0.10 migrates internally to `EquivariantTensors.jl` for improved maintainability, flexibility for model building and different execution backends. User-facing API remains unchanged; existing code should mostly continue to work. Note however that support for the fast evaluator used for some Hessian calculations has been (temporarily) dropped. This series of minor releases is compatible with Julia 1.12
 
+## Supported Interfaces
+
+ACE potentials can be used through multiple interfaces:
+
+- **Julia** - Native interface for fitting and development
+- **Python/ASE** - Via the [`ase-ace`](export/ase-ace/) package
+- **LAMMPS** - Plugin for large-scale MD simulations
+- **C library** - Compiled shared library for embedding in other codes
+
+| Interface | Threading | Startup | Julia Required | Best For |
+|-----------|-----------|---------|----------------|----------|
+| Julia (native) | Multi-threaded | JIT warmup | Yes | Fitting, development |
+| [`ACECalculator`](export/ase-ace/) | Multi-threaded | 5-10s | Yes (subprocess) | Prototyping |
+| [`ACEJuliaCalculator`](export/ase-ace/) | Multi-threaded | 10-30s | Yes (managed) | Self-contained scripts |
+| [`ACELibraryCalculator`](export/ase-ace/) | Single-threaded | Instant | No | Deployment |
+| [LAMMPS plugin](export/lammps/) | MPI + OpenMP | Instant | No | Large-scale MD |
+
+**Python/ASE**:
+```bash
+pip install ase-ace  # or: pip install ./export/ase-ace from this repo
+```
+
+**LAMMPS**: See [`export/lammps/`](export/lammps/) for the plugin and usage examples.
+
+**Deployment**: Use [`export/scripts/build_deployment.jl`](export/scripts/) to create self-contained packages with compiled libraries and bundled dependencies.
+
 ## Contributing
 
 Contributions are very welcome. Until clear guidelines and practices are established, we recommend to open an issue where the bugfix or enhancement can be discussed, before starting a pull request. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner.

export/.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Python virtual environment
+.venv/
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+
+# uv lock file (generated)
+uv.lock
+
+# Test artifacts
+test/build/
+test/lammps/*.dump
+test/lammps/*.log
+test/lammps/log.lammps
+
+# LAMMPS plugin build
+lammps/plugin/build/