# natalie-lang/natalie

a work-in-progress Ruby compiler, written in Ruby and C++

Repository: https://github.com/natalie-lang/natalie
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/natalie-lang-natalie
Homepage: https://natalie-lang.org
Language: Ruby
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: ruby, compiler, language, cpp
Last push: 2026-08-17T16:47:48+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 76/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2486, "days_push": 16, "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 1031, forks 70 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:18.026317+00:00)

## What it is
Natalie is a work-in-progress alternative implementation of the Ruby language, written in Ruby and C++. It provides an ahead-of-time compiler that uses gcc/clang as a backend, plus a REPL with incremental compilation.

## Use cases
- compile ruby scripts to native binaries
- experiment with an alternative ruby implementation
- explore a self-hosted compiler written in ruby
- run small ruby programs without mri
- contribute to a ruby language implementation
- learn how compilers work by hacking on one

## When to choose
- you want to hack on a self-hosted compiler or language implementation
- you want to experiment with compiling ruby to native code via gcc/clang
- you want to contribute to an early-stage ruby implementation with friendly onboarding

## When to avoid
- you need a production-ready ruby runtime with full compatibility
- you need windows support
- you need complete ruby spec coverage or gem ecosystem compatibility
- you just need to run ruby code reliably today - use MRI instead

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: experimental
- function: compiler, interpreter, programming-language
- domain: programming-languages, compilers, developer-tools
- platform: cpp, ruby, cli
- tags: ruby-implementation, ahead-of-time-compilation, self-hosted, repl, work-in-progress, compiler, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- natalie-lang/natalie (main) score 76

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:18.026317+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 2026-08-30T08:33:49.757539+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/natalie-lang/natalie (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:18.026317+00:00, sha fb4131029939)
  - homepage: https://natalie-lang.org (fetched 2026-08-29T13:06:49.879742+00:00, sha 61b78d32ab1c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.