iyi: Crystal syntax, Go-like compile times, no C dependencies
I've been working on iyi programming language for a couple of months. It's ready to show now.
iyi keeps Crystal's syntax - blocks, union types, nil-safety, everything. It adds one rule: a module compiles against its dependencies' declarations, never their bodies. That one rule changes everything below.
The numbers: 30 modules, 7207 lines. Change one number in one function. Build again.
Plaintext
iyi: 0.13 s
crystal: 1.17 s
go build: 0.16 s
The Crystal column is the same compiler binary under the rule iyi drops. Open classes cost 1 second per edit. Take them away and you get the first column.
Full build from scratch: 0.24 s. Hello binary: 36 KB, 1.6 ms.
Crystal code runs on it
.cr files build as-is. iyi build --crystal gives you the whole Crystal stdlib and every shard. Kemal works. No porting needed. But its own standard library has no Crystal code underneath.
The standard library has no C deps
At v0.20.0, iyi speaks TLS 1.3, HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, WebSocket with WSS.
- All written in iyi, from the RFCs.
- No OpenSSL, no libcurl.
- The garbage collector is also iyi's own-precise for typed objects, concurrent mark. It competes with Go's collector on the same benchmarks.
AI tooling
iyi mod context prints a module's interface without reading its body. An agent editing code reads 52-59% less text and spends 31-43% fewer prompt tokens. MCP and LSP are built into the compiler binary. No external servers.
Packages
packs.iyi.dev indexes 50 packages. Third-party ports already include a Web Framework, a TOML parser, a Slang templating engine, and an ORM with the Active Record pattern.
Bash
iyi get github.com/iyilang/pg
iyi get github.com/iyilang/sqlite
iyi get github.com/sdogruyol/iyi-web
Install (Linux, macOS, Windows)
Bash
curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com | sh
Links:
- Homepage & Playground: iyi.dev
- Source: iyilang/iyi
- Package Directory: packs.iyi.dev
- Community: reddit.com
13 points · 8 comments
Mentions
Iyi: A friendly, fast programming language for people and their agents
iyi: Crystal syntax, Go-like compile times, no C dependencies I've been working on iyi programming language for a couple of months. It's ready to show now. iyi keeps Crystal's syntax - blocks, union types, nil-safety, everything. It adds one rule: a module compiles against its dependencies' declarations, never their bodies. That one rule changes everything below. The numbers: 30 modules, 7207 lines. Change one number in one function. Build again. Plaintext iyi: 0.13 s crystal: 1.17 s go build: 0.16 s The Crystal column is the same compiler binary under the rule iyi drops. Open classes cost 1 second per edit. Take them away and you get the first column. Full build from scratch: 0.24 s. Hello binary: 36 KB, 1.6 ms. Crystal code runs on it .cr files build as-is. iyi build --crystal gives you the whole Crystal stdlib and every shard. Kemal works. No porting needed. But its own standard library has no Crystal code underneath. The standard library has no C deps At v0.20.0, iyi speaks TLS 1.3, HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, WebSocket with WSS. - All written in iyi, from the RFCs. - No OpenSSL, no libcurl. - The garbage collector is also iyi's own-precise for typed objects, concurrent mark. It competes with Go's collector on the same benchmarks. AI tooling iyi mod context prints a module's interface without reading its body. An agent editing code reads 52-59% less text and spends 31-43% fewer prompt tokens. MCP and LSP are built into the compiler binary. No external servers. Packages packs.iyi.dev indexes 50 packages. Third-party ports already include a Web Framework, a TOML parser, a Slang templating engine, and an ORM with the Active Record pattern. Bash iyi get github.com/iyilang/pg iyi get github.com/iyilang/sqlite iyi get github.com/sdogruyol/iyi-web Install (Linux, macOS, Windows) Bash curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com | sh Links: - Homepage & Playground: iyi.dev - Source: iyilang/iyi - Package Directory: packs.iyi.dev - Community: reddit.com
Welcome to r/iyilang: the iyi programming language r/iyilang is the community for iyi, a compiled programming language built for people and the agents working beside them. Quick start - Install: https://iyi.dev/install/ - Tour: iyi.dev - Docs: iyi.dev - Packages: packs.iyi.dev - Source:iyilang/iyi Before posting - Search the sub first — questions about Crystal compatibility and module syntax are answered often. - Bugs and feature requests belong on GitHub Issues, not here. - Show what you built. Ports, benchmarks, and projects are the best posts.