Tools

iris-native#

The self-hosted IRIS compiler and runtime. Compiles .iris source files to native x86-64 binaries through a pipeline written entirely in IRIS: tokenizer, parser, AST compiler, and native VM.

# Compile and run a program
bootstrap/iris-native --run src/iris-programs/compiler/ast_compile_single.iris

# Compile a pipeline stage
bootstrap/iris-native --compile src/iris-programs/syntax/tokenizer.iris

iris-native is itself an x86-64 ELF binary produced by the IRIS compiler. It can compile its own pipeline stages, making it a self-hosting compiler.

iris-build#

Multi-file build tool. Resolves import statements, compiles dependencies, and produces a single binary.

# Run a program with imports
bootstrap/iris-build run src/myprogram.iris

# Compile to a standalone binary
bootstrap/iris-build compile src/myprogram.iris -o output

Import syntax in .iris files:

import "stdlib/option.iris" as Opt
Opt.unwrap_or x 0

iris (wrapper)#

Convenience wrapper around iris-stage0 and iris-native. Provides a unified CLI for common operations.

iris run program.iris [args]          # Run via tree-walker
iris run-native program.iris [arg]    # Compile to native, then execute
iris build program.iris -o output     # Produce standalone native binary
iris pipeline                         # Compile all pipeline stages
iris compile program.iris -o out.json # Compile to JSON SemanticGraph
iris test dir/                        # Run test suite
iris version                          # Show version

iris-stage0#

The frozen bootstrap binary. Contains a tree-walking evaluator that operates on SemanticGraphs. Used to bootstrap iris-native and as a fallback execution engine.

iris-stage0 run program.iris [args]        # Execute a program
iris-stage0 compile source.iris -o out.json # Compile to SemanticGraph
iris-stage0 build source.iris -o binary    # Build native binary
iris-stage0 direct program.json [args]     # Run pre-compiled JSON
iris-stage0 interp interp.json prog.json   # Run program through interpreter
iris-stage0 test src/iris-programs/        # Run test suite
iris-stage0 rebuild                        # Rebuild bootstrap pipeline

iris-stage0 is frozen – it never changes. All improvements happen in .iris files that run on top of it.

build-native-self#

Self-hosted binary builder. Compiles all pipeline stages using iris-native itself, then packages them into a new iris-native binary.

bootstrap/build-native-self -o bootstrap/iris-native

This is the self-hosting loop: iris-native compiles the tokenizer, parser, AST compiler, and native VM from .iris source, producing a new copy of itself. The only non-IRIS dependency is the ELF stub template.

Build from Source#

IRIS is fully self-hosted. The bootstrap binary is included in the repository – no external build tools required.

git clone https://github.com/boj/iris.git
cd iris

# Run a program
bootstrap/iris-stage0 run examples/algorithms/factorial.iris 10

# Build a native binary
bootstrap/iris build examples/algorithms/factorial.iris -o factorial
./factorial 10

# Run tests
bootstrap/iris-stage0 test src/iris-programs/

Requirements#

x86-64 Linux
Lean 4 (optional – only needed for the proof kernel)

Repository Layout#

Path	Description
`bootstrap/iris-stage0`	Frozen bootstrap binary
`bootstrap/iris-native`	Self-hosted native compiler
`bootstrap/iris-build`	Multi-file build tool
`bootstrap/*.json`	Pre-compiled pipeline stages
`src/iris-programs/`	290 `.iris` source files
`examples/`	119 example programs
`lean/`	Lean 4 proof kernel