As fast as C, as ergonomic as TypeScript.
ChadScript is a natively-compiled systems language with TypeScript syntax. Write familiar TypeScript, run chad build, get a standalone ELF or Mach-O binary via LLVM — no Node.js, no JVM, no runtime.
The compiler is self-hosting: tens of thousands of lines of TypeScript that compile themselves to a native binary. You install it with curl, not npm.
Status: Alpha — self-hosting and usable for real projects. The compiler catches type mismatches at compile time instead of crashing at runtime.
| Milestone | Status |
|---|---|
| Proof of concept | Done |
| Standard library + external linking | Done |
| Self-hosting (3-stage) | Done |
| Performance (LLVM -O2) | Done |
| Testing (470+ tests, CI) | Done |
| Compile-time error coverage | Done |
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cs01/ChadScript/main/install.sh | shRequires LLVM (brew install llvm / apt install llvm clang).
import { httpServe, Router, Context } from "chadscript/http";
type Post = {
id: number;
title: string;
};
const posts: Post[] = [
{ id: 1, title: "ChadScript ships v1" },
{ id: 2, title: "Native speed, TypeScript syntax" },
];
const app: Router = new Router();
app.get("/api/posts", (c: Context) => {
return c.json(posts);
});
app.get("/api/posts/:id", (c: Context) => {
const id = c.req.param("id");
return c.json({ id });
});
httpServe(3000, (req: HttpRequest) => app.handle(req));your-app.ts → ChadScript parser → AST → LLVM IR → opt → llc → clang → ./your-app
The same LLVM backend used by Clang, Rust, and Swift. Direct calls into C libraries — SQLite, libcurl, openssl — with zero FFI overhead. The output is a standard native binary: run it, ship it, containerize it.
TypeScript is familiar to tens of millions of developers, and LLMs are well-trained on it. ChadScript uses a statically-safe subset where every type is known at compile time:
- Null safety —
stringis never null. Usestring | nulland?.for optional values. - GC-managed memory — Boehm GC handles allocation. No use-after-free, no double-frees.
- Compile-time checks — type mismatches, invalid method calls, and unsafe patterns are caught before your code runs.
- IDE support —
chad initgeneratestsconfig.jsonwith ChadScript types. VS Code language services work out of the box.
No npm install. Everything ships with the compiler:
| Module | What it does |
|---|---|
fetch |
HTTP client (libcurl) |
Router, httpServe |
HTTP server with routing |
fs |
File system |
sqlite |
Embedded SQLite database |
crypto |
Hashing, random bytes |
JSON |
Typed JSON parse/stringify |
child_process |
Spawn subprocesses |
WebSocket |
WebSocket server |
Map, Set |
Hash map and set |
RegExp |
Regular expressions |
console |
Prints any type correctly |
ArgumentParser |
CLI argument parsing |
git clone https://github.com/cs01/ChadScript && cd ChadScript
chad run examples/hello.ts
chad run examples/parallel.ts # async/await + Promise.all
chad run examples/query.ts # SQLite
chad run examples/http-server.ts # http://localhost:3000
chad run examples/hackernews/app.ts # Hacker News clone — live at https://chadsmith.dev/hnSee examples/ for the full list: grep tool, word counter, WebSocket chat, TUI apps, and more.