Official Website + Docs

Strict by default. Small rules. Real tooling.

Kelvra is a bytecode-compiled programming language implemented in C++ with a VM, compiler, REPL, native package system, and editor tooling in the same repository. The design goal is clarity without softness.

Install Kelvra Read the Quickstart

Typed Explicit signatures, local inference, and strict defaults.

Compiled Bytecode compiler and stack-based virtual machine.

Tooled REPL, diagnostics flags, VS Code extension, and LSP.

counter.kel

type Counter struct {
  value i32

  fn increment() void {
    this.value++
  }
}

var counter = Counter()
counter.value = 67
counter.increment()
print(counter.value)

Language Shape

Readable syntax without ceremonial noise

No semicolons in normal statement syntax, explicit continuation rules, and type signatures where they matter. Kelvra is compact without becoming vague.

Runtime

Compiler and VM in the same repo

The current implementation includes a Pratt parser, HIR lowering, optimization passes, bytecode emission, stack traces, and frontend timing diagnostics.

Packages + Tooling

Imports, native packages, and editor support

Use `@import(...)` for modules and native packages, manage projects with `kelvra.toml`, and install the official VS Code extension with a bundled language server.

A Complete Toolchain

Start with a release archive. Keep the compiler, packages, and editor in sync.

Kelvra runtime releases contain both the command-line tool and the matching language server. The Marketplace extension bundles a tested server for supported platforms, while source builds keep every part of the toolchain available to contributors.

Install and run

Download a tested archive for Linux x64, Apple Silicon macOS, or Windows x64, then put its bin directory on your path.

Run projects with kelvra run app.kel
Manage dependencies with kelvra add and kelvra install
Verify runtime and native ABI versions with kelvra --version

Work in VS Code

Kelvra Developer Tools provides language-aware editing backed by the same frontend used by the compiler.

Completion, hover, diagnostics, and formatting
Definitions, references, rename, and workspace symbols
Import-aware navigation for source and native packages

Official Docs

Docs organized around getting productive fast, then understanding the language deeply.

The docs are intentionally split between workflow pages and durable reference pages so the site does not collapse into a giant README.

Getting Started

Install a release or build from source, then run your first Kelvra program.

Language Guides

Learn bindings, control flow, collections, closures, types, imports, and type-checking rules.

Tooling

Use the REPL, diagnostics flags, VS Code extension, and the language server.

Reference

Check syntax rules, built-in functions, and current compiler/runtime flags quickly.

Release Notes

Runtime and editor changes, kept close to their source.

The runtime and VS Code extension release independently. The documentation renders both canonical changelogs, making compatibility work and new capabilities easy to discover.

Runtime releases

Tested archives include kelvra and kelvra-lsp, with SHA-256 checksums published beside immutable GitHub release assets.

Extension releases

Platform-specific VSIX packages are tested before publishing to the Visual Studio Marketplace and GitHub Releases.