LukeLang

Documentation

Getting started

LukeLang is Build-first: technical syntax → native or WebAssembly via vm/.

Both .lk and .luke are syntax v2. The conversational v1 surface is still available for the deprecation window behind luke --syntax=1, and luke MIGRATE rewrites old sources into v2.

Install

  1. Clone the repo and enter it:
   git clone https://github.com/lucasdmarshall/LukeLang.git   cd LukeLang
  1. Build the Luke toolchain (needs a C++17 compiler + make):
   cd vm && make
  1. Optional: for -target wasm|browser, install WASI SDK under .tools/wasi-sdk (or set LUKE_WASI_SDK).

Node is only required for headless browser/WASI smoke tests (scripts/*.cjs), not for native BUILD.

What LukeLang needs on your machine (and why)

LukeLang is a compiler/runtime toolchain, so requirements are split by target:

  • Required (native backend apps):
  • C/C++ toolchain (g++, cc) + make
  • Why: vm/build/luke is built from C++, then luke BUILD emits C and calls the system C compiler.
  • Required for CI debugger tests / debug workflows:
  • gdb
  • Why: luke DEBUG, luke DAP, and debug smoke tests rely on gdb.
  • Optional (WASM/browser targets):
  • WASI SDK (clang)
  • Why: -target wasm|browser compiles generated C to wasm.
  • Optional (headless smoke scripts):
  • Node.js
  • Why: helper scripts run wasm/browser artifacts in CI-like checks.

So unlike Python/Node/Java where you install one runtime first, LukeLang's primary path is: install build tools -> build luke -> compile your .lk app to a native binary.

Your first program

Create hello.luke:

print("Hello, World!")let name = "Luke"print("My name is " + name)fn add(a: float, b: float) -> float {  return a + b}print(add(21, 21))

Run it

From vm/:

./build/luke BUILD ../path/to/hello.luke -o hello && ./hello# or:./build/luke SHOW ../path/to/hello.luke

You should see:

Hello, World!My name is Luke42

Then make something change on its own

Reactive cells are language, not a library. This is the shortest program that shows the idea:

signal price = 100signal quantity = 3derived total = price * quantityeffect on total {  print("total=" + total)}price = 200
total=300total=600

You never told total to recompute, and you never subscribed to price. Declaring the dependency was the whole instruction. REACTIVE.md covers batching, effect ordering and scopes; LIVE_GRAPH.md extends the same model across the network, so a database row can reach a pixel the same way.

Browser ship:

./build/luke PUBLISH WEB ../examples/build/frontend_widgets.luke -o /tmp/luke_web

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