# aardappel/lobster

The Lobster Programming Language

Repository: https://github.com/aardappel/lobster
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lobster
Homepage: http://strlen.com/lobster
Language: C++
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-26T01:44:27+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 86, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4832, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 15, "gap_med": 75.0, "n_releases_24m": 11}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2732, forks 140 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:16.168731+00:00)

## What it is
Lobster is a statically typed, general-purpose programming language with a Python-like indentation syntax, flow-sensitive type inference, and compile-time memory management (lifetime analysis with a borrow checker). Its implementation is biased toward game and graphical programming, offering a JIT, compilation to C++, a graphical debugger, and batteries-included game functionality.

## Use cases
- write games with a terse statically typed scripting language
- prototype game ideas quickly without boilerplate
- learn how flow-sensitive type inference and compile-time memory management work
- build 2D/3D graphical applications with batteries-included libraries
- script game logic that runs faster than Python or Lua
- experiment with a language that combines static typing with dynamic-feeling syntax

## When to choose
- you want a lightweight, fast language tailored for game and graphics programming
- you prefer Python-like terse syntax but want static typing and compile-time memory safety
- you need JIT execution or C++ compilation for performance
- you want built-in vector math, multithreading, and a graphical debugger

## When to avoid
- you need a production-proven language with a large ecosystem and libraries
- you require guaranteed memory safety like Rust in all cases
- you need a language with broad industry adoption, hiring pool, or long-term support
- your project is outside games/graphics and depends on mature general-purpose tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: programming-language, compiler, interpreter, game-engine, graphics
- domain: programming-languages, compilers, graphics
- platform: cpp, windows, cli
- tags: static-typing, flow-sensitive-type-inference, compile-time-memory-management, borrow-checker, jit, python-like-syntax, game-programming, reference-counting, game-development, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- aardappel/lobster (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:16.168731+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 2026-08-30T02:14:37.594609+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/aardappel/lobster (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:16.168731+00:00, sha 82e33799c444)
  - homepage: http://strlen.com/lobster (fetched 2026-08-29T09:57:37.343143+00:00, sha c06d6561c5e4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.