# elsaland/elsa

❄️ Elsa is a minimal runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript written in Go

Repository: https://github.com/elsaland/elsa
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/elsa
Language: TypeScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: elsa, javascript, typescript, runtime, go, quickjs
Last push: 2022-11-29T16:00:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2175, "days_push": 1373, "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 2832, forks 61 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:24.391998+00:00)

## What it is
Elsa is a minimal JavaScript and TypeScript runtime written in Go, built on the QuickJS engine and inspired by Deno. It supports URL imports, Web APIs, native TypeScript compilation, bundling, and compiling scripts to standalone binaries.

## Use cases
- run typescript scripts without a build step
- execute javascript from the command line
- import modules directly from urls
- bundle typescript projects into a single file
- compile scripts into native standalone binaries
- embed a lightweight js runtime in go applications

## When to choose
- you want a deno-like runtime with a tiny footprint
- you need to run typescript without installing node or deno
- you want to compile scripts into self-contained executables
- you prefer a go-based runtime for embedding

## When to avoid
- you need node.js ecosystem compatibility or npm packages
- you need high-performance JIT execution rather than an interpreter
- you need a actively developed runtime with frequent updates
- you rely on extensive web api coverage like deno or node provide

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: interpreter, cli, compiler, developer-tools
- domain: programming-languages, developer-tools
- platform: go, cross-platform, cli
- tags: javascript-runtime, typescript-runtime, quickjs, deno-inspired, url-imports, bundling, command-line

## Member repositories
- elsaland/elsa (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:24.391998+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 2026-08-30T07:38:08.407376+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/elsaland/elsa (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:24.391998+00:00, sha f192256db8dc)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.