# tdenniston/bish

Bish is a language that compiles to Bash. It's designed to give shell scripting a more comfortable and modern feel.

Repository: https://github.com/tdenniston/bish
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/bish
Language: C++
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2022-07-19T00:51:12+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4196, "days_push": 1507, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1489, forks 38 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:52.337852+00:00)

## What it is
Bish is a lightweight programming language with modern syntax that compiles down to Bash, making shell scripts more comfortable to write while staying portable. It is implemented in C++ with no dependencies beyond the standard library, and doubles as an educational example of writing a compiler from scratch.

## Use cases
- write shell scripts with modern syntax instead of bash quirks
- compile a scripting language to bash for portability
- automate quick shell tasks without pulling in python or perl
- study a small compiler written from scratch in c++
- use pipes and io redirection as first-class language features

## When to choose
- you want modern syntax for small shell scripts but need bash output
- you want a tiny dependency-free compiler toolchain
- you are learning how compilers work and want readable source

## When to avoid
- you need a production-ready, actively maintained language
- you need features beyond basic scripting like robust error handling or libraries
- you target shells other than bash

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: compiler, programming-language, cli
- domain: programming-languages, compilers, developer-tools
- platform: cli, cpp
- tags: shell-scripting, transpiler, bash, compiler-from-scratch, educational, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- tdenniston/bish (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:52.337852+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:33:42.734016+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/tdenniston/bish (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:52.337852+00:00, sha fa02c12de732)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.