# neonious/lowjs

A port of Node.JS with far lower system requirements. Community version for POSIX systems such as Linux, uClinux or Mac OS X.

Repository: https://github.com/neonious/lowjs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lowjs
Homepage: http://www.lowjs.org/
Language: C++
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2024-06-20T03:16:19+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": 2917, "days_push": 804, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1287, forks 71 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:15.065442+00:00)

## What it is
low.js is an open-source port of the Node.js JavaScript runtime rebuilt with far lower system requirements, running on POSIX systems (Linux, uClinux, macOS) and on cheap ESP32-WROVER microcontroller boards. The POSIX community edition in this repo is under a permissive license, while the ESP32 adaptation is free to use but not open source.

## Use cases
- run JavaScript on an ESP32 microcontroller
- lightweight Node.js alternative for low-memory embedded boards
- run Node.js-style scripts on embedded Linux or uClinux with limited RAM
- build an IoT WebSocket or HTTP web server in JavaScript
- smaller, faster-booting replacement for Node.js on Linux
- prototype Node.js code on a PC then deploy to a microcontroller

## When to choose
- Your target hardware (ESP32-WROVER or minimal embedded Linux) has only a few MB of RAM/flash where real Node.js cannot run
- You want Node.js-like APIs (fs, http, ws) on a microcontroller for IoT projects
- You need a smaller binary and faster boot than Node.js on a Linux system

## When to avoid
- You need full Node.js compatibility, native modules, or the npm ecosystem on regular servers - use Node.js itself
- You require an open-source ESP32 build or strong maintenance guarantees; the ESP32 port is proprietary and the official site/downloads have lapsed
- You need Windows support or frequently updated multi-platform releases

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: interpreter, embedded, http-server
- domain: embedded-systems, iot, developer-tools, web-development
- platform: embedded, iot, cli, cross-platform
- tags: javascript-runtime, nodejs-compatible, nodejs-port, esp32, microcontroller, low-memory-footprint, posix, iot, es6, partially-proprietary, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- neonious/lowjs (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:15.065442+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 2026-08-30T04:56:06.141932+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/neonious/lowjs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:15.065442+00:00, sha c1af9cbc75e5)
  - homepage: http://www.lowjs.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T12:11:57.215046+00:00, sha e5cc7b7c3e1f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.