FastVM/minivm

Health v2 · maintenance only

Adoption not part of the score

1666 stars · 58 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

MiniVM is a small but optimizing virtual machine and runtime written in C11, featuring a just-in-time compiler built on Cuik's TB backend. It currently targets Linux x86-64, FreeBSD amd64, Windows x64, and WebAssembly, and can run Lua-based benchmarks.

Use cases

• run dynamic language bytecode on a fast lightweight VM
• experiment with JIT compilation techniques
• embed a small optimizing runtime in a C project
• compile a tiny VM binary for size-constrained environments
• run Lua scripts with fast startup times
• target WebAssembly with a compact VM

When to choose

• you need a small, fast VM with JIT compilation and low startup overhead
• you want to experiment with or contribute to VM/JIT design in C
• you need a VM that builds to tiny binaries with GCC and runs on x86-64 or WASM

When to avoid

• you need a production-hardened VM with broad platform and language support
• you require mature tooling, extensive documentation, or long-term stability guarantees
• you need a VM for platforms other than x86-64, FreeBSD, Windows, or WebAssembly

Facets

application · maturity experimental

interpreter compiler benchmarking programming-languages compilers performance developer-tools windows wasm cpp c virtual-machine jit-compiler lua c11 theo-buehler-tb dynamic-runtime linux

Member repositories

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="FastVM/minivm")