# ReadyTalk/avian

[INACTIVE] Avian is a lightweight virtual machine and class library designed to provide a useful subset of Java's features, suitable for building self-contained applications.

Repository: https://github.com/ReadyTalk/avian
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/readytalk-avian
Homepage: https://readytalk.github.io/avian/
Language: C++
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: java, jit-compiler, openjdk, jvm, portable
Last push: 2021-02-19T02:20:09+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": 5234, "days_push": 2022, "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 1238, forks 172 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:05.483529+00:00)

## What it is
Avian is a lightweight Java virtual machine and class library written in C++ that provides a useful subset of Java's features, including JIT compilation and generational garbage collection. It is designed for building small, self-contained applications that embed the VM and class resources in a single executable.

## Use cases
- build a self-contained Java application as a single executable
- embed a small JVM in a native application
- run Java code on platforms like iOS or FreeBSD
- reduce application size and startup time versus a full JVM
- compile Java programs with JIT to native execution

## When to choose
- you need a tiny, embeddable JVM for self-contained executables
- you target platforms like iOS or FreeBSD where a full JVM is impractical
- you want minimal dependencies (only zlib) and fast startup

## When to avoid
- you need full Java SE compatibility or modern Java features
- you need a maintained, supported VM - the project is explicitly inactive
- you rely on the broader Java ecosystem, libraries, or recent JDK tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: abandoned
- function: interpreter, compiler, programming-language
- domain: programming-languages, compilers, cross-platform, developer-tools
- platform: windows, bsd, cpp
- tags: jvm, java-virtual-machine, jit-compiler, self-contained-executables, embeddable-vm, openjdk, linux, macos, ios

## Member repositories
- ReadyTalk/avian (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:05.483529+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 2026-08-30T05:10:02.157265+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ReadyTalk/avian (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:05.483529+00:00, sha d6c552c0a02d)
  - homepage: https://readytalk.github.io/avian/ (fetched 2026-08-29T12:20:47.797399+00:00, sha e2227d23f795)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.