devtype

The DevType compiler — a statically-typed language that compiles to clean, readable JavaScript (ESM). This package ships the DevType command-line compiler as a prebuilt native binary, distributed the same way as esbuild and swc: installing devtype pulls in a single small @devshram/devtype-<platform> package containing the binary for your OS/CPU, and a thin launcher execs it.

Install

$ npm install -D devtype

No Rust toolchain required — the compiler is a native binary selected automatically for your platform. Supported platforms:

| OS | Arch | Package | | --- | --- | --- | | macOS | arm64 / x64 | @devshram/devtype-darwin-arm64, @devshram/devtype-darwin-x64 | | Linux (glibc) | x64 / arm64 | @devshram/devtype-linux-x64-gnu, @devshram/devtype-linux-arm64-gnu | | Linux (musl) | x64 | @devshram/devtype-linux-x64-musl | | Windows | x64 | @devshram/devtype-win32-x64 |

The standard library ships inside this package; the launcher points the compiler at it automatically, so your project's devtype.json needs no Std alias.

Quickstart

Create a project:

hello/
├─ devtype.json
└─ src/
   └─ Main.dt

devtype.json (note: no Std alias needed):

{
  "version": 1,
  "target": "esm",
  "outDir": "dist",
  "entries": { "main": { "module": "App.Main" } },
  "aliases": { "App": "./src" }
}

src/Main.dt:

module App.Main

import Std.Console (println)

export function main() -> Effect<Unit> {
  println("Hello from DevType!")
}

Check and build with the packaged CLI:

$ npx devtype check hello
devtype: ok

$ npx devtype build hello
Build: 1 chunk(s), 1 std module(s) + loader. Sizes: estimate.
Wrote 6 to hello/dist
devtype: ok

Run the emitted program under Node:

$ cd hello/dist
$ node --input-type=module -e '
  import fs from "node:fs";
  const m = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync("./manifest.json", "utf8"));
  const mod = await import("./" + m.chunks[m.entries.main].file);
  mod.main()();
'
Hello from DevType!

CLI

| Command | What it does | | --- | --- | | devtype check [PATH] | Parse, resolve, type-check, verify FFI companions. | | devtype build [PATH] | check, then emit + bundle to outDir. | | devtype explain-rebuild [PATH] | check, then print the per-module rebuild/cache table. | | devtype --version | Print the compiler version. |

PATH defaults to the current directory.

Pointing at a different std library

The launcher sets DEVTYPE_STD_DIR to the std library bundled in this package. To override it (for example, to use a std checked out from source), set the env var yourself, or add an explicit Std alias to your devtype.json — an explicit alias always wins.

Documentation

Full docs, guide, and language reference: https://github.com/avi892nash/devtype/tree/main/docs — start with getting-started.