ChadScript

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What is ChadScript? ​

ChadScript is an ahead-of-time compiler for a TypeScript-like language. Write TypeScript-style code, run chad build, and get a standalone native binary — no Node.js, no runtime.

Key characteristics ​

  • TypeScript syntax — classes, interfaces, async/await, closures, template literals, destructuring. If you write TypeScript, the syntax is immediately familiar.
  • Native compilation via LLVM — produces ELF binaries on Linux and Mach-O binaries on macOS. Startup is typically sub-2ms.
  • Batteries included — HTTP, SQLite, fetch, crypto, JSON, filesystem — all built in, backed by proven C libraries.
  • Single-binary deploy — chad build app.ts -o app produces one self-contained file you can copy anywhere.
  • Self-hosting — the compiler is written in ChadScript and compiles itself to a native binary.

What ChadScript is not ​

ChadScript is a practical, statically-typed subset of TypeScript. It is not a full TypeScript compiler. There is no any, no eval, no runtime type inspection, no dynamic imports. Most npm packages won't work. If you need full npm compatibility or dynamic JavaScript features, use Node, Bun, or Deno.

See it in production ​

chadsmith.dev/hn is a live Hacker News clone running as a ChadScript binary — SQLite database, HTTP server, and embedded HTML/CSS/JS assets, shipped as a single file.

Install ​

bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cs01/ChadScript/main/install.sh | sh

First steps ​