# zpl-c/zpl

📐 Pushing the boundaries of simplicity

Repository: https://github.com/zpl-c/zpl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/zpl
Homepage: https://blog.zpl.pw
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: zpl, helper, header-only, c, cpp, json5-parser, cross-platform, math, tar, threading, thread-pool, coroutines, cli, hashing, memory-allocation, memory-management, timer, time, streaming-data, csv-parser
Last push: 2025-04-26T08:13:13+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 31/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 18, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3341, "days_push": 494, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- 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 1071, forks 49 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:28.093615+00:00)

## What it is
zpl is a C99 cross-platform, header-only library that provides a set of commonly needed utilities for C/C++ development, replacing and extending the C standard library. It includes modules for memory management, collections, JSON5/CSV parsing, math, hashing, threading, coroutines, file handling, and TAR archiving.

## Use cases
- parse 5 files in c without dependencies
- read and write csv files in c
- pack and unpack tar archives in memory
- replace the c standard library with better helpers
- run a thread pool or coroutines in c
- hash data with common algorithms in c
- allocate memory with custom strategies in c
- write cross-platform c code for windows linux android and ios

## When to choose
- you want a single-header, dependency-free utility library for C or C++
- you need JSON5, CSV, or TAR support without pulling large libraries
- you target many platforms including web (Emscripten), mobile, and desktop
- you want a batteries-included stdlib replacement for game or systems programming

## When to avoid
- you need a fully standard-compliant, battle-tested standard library
- your project requires a permissively simple license and the NOASSERTION license is a concern
- you need specialized, deeply optimized libraries for a single domain like JSON or math
- you work in a language other than C/C++

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: serialization, parser, csv, math, concurrency, file-system, compression, cli, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform, files
- platform: cross-platform, windows, wasm, c, cpp
- tags: header-only, c99, 5, tar, thread-pool, coroutines, hashing, memory-management, single-header, standard-library-replacement, algorithms, linux, macos, android, ios

## Member repositories
- zpl-c/zpl (main) score 31

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:28.093615+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 2026-08-30T06:53:58.852330+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/zpl-c/zpl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:28.093615+00:00, sha c1810fa85e87)
  - homepage: https://blog.zpl.pw (fetched 2026-08-29T12:55:59.606002+00:00, sha ec3b977fc247)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.