# ganelson/inform

The core software distribution for the Inform 7 programming language.

Repository: https://github.com/ganelson/inform
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/inform
Language: C
License: Artistic-2.0
License Family: other
Topics: interactive-fiction, natural-language, programming-language
Last push: 2026-06-24T16:52:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 63/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 89, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2767, "days_push": 70, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1639, forks 96 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:15.120960+00:00)

## What it is
Inform 7 is a programming language for writing interactive fiction using natural-language syntax, and this repository holds the core compiler distribution written in C. It is a literate program used by literary authors, game prototypers, and educators, typically driven from the command line or via platform-specific IDE apps.

## Use cases
- write interactive fiction games in natural language
- compile inform 7 story files from the command line
- prototype narrative games before building in a game engine
- teach digital narrative or creative writing with a programming language
- study a large literate program written in C
- contribute to or extend the inform compiler toolchain

## When to choose
- you want to author parser-based interactive fiction with prose-like syntax
- you need the compiler source to build inform yourself or work on the toolchain
- you want a command-line workflow for inform rather than an IDE
- you are teaching or researching natural-language programming

## When to avoid
- you just want to write inform stories with a GUI - use the platform-specific IDE apps instead
- you need a general-purpose programming language for conventional software
- you want real-time or graphics-heavy games rather than text-based fiction

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: compiler, programming-language, cli
- domain: programming-languages, education
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: interactive-fiction, natural-language-syntax, literate-programming, compiler-toolchain, story-authoring, game-development, natural-language-processing, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- ganelson/inform (main) score 63

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:15.120960+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 2026-08-30T03:46:30.985822+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ganelson/inform (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:15.120960+00:00, sha 9e94c7c6f189)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.