quickjs-ng/quickjs
Quickjs
QuickJS is a lightweight, embeddable ECMAScript runtime that executes JavaScript programs conforming to the latest specification. It is designed as a compact, standards-compliant JavaScript engine suitable for resource-constrained environments and embedded systems, available both as prebuilt binaries and as source code that can be compiled for custom integration.
The engine distinguishes itself through a minimal runtime footprint achieved by a single-pass compiler that produces compact bytecode, executed on a stack-based virtual machine. Memory management uses reference-counting garbage collection with cycle detection for deterministic cleanup, while a portable C-based embedding API provides direct memory control for host applications. The platform-agnostic build system compiles across operating systems and architectures without external dependencies.
The engine supports loading and executing JavaScript modules using ES module syntax through a built-in module loader. Prebuilt binaries are available for quick installation, and the source can be compiled for custom integration into host applications.
Features
- ECMAScript Compliant Engines - An interpreter and compiler that executes JavaScript programs conforming to the latest ECMAScript specification.
- Minimal Runtime Footprints - Achieves a small binary size and low memory usage by omitting unnecessary runtime features.
- Lightweight Scripting Engines - A small-footprint JavaScript engine suitable for resource-constrained environments and embedded systems.
- C-Based Embedding APIs - Ships a minimal C API for embedding the engine with direct memory control.
- JavaScript Engine Embedding - Provides a minimal C API for embedding a standards-compliant JavaScript runtime into host applications.
- Cross-Platform Build Systems - Compiles across operating systems and architectures using a portable build system without external dependencies.
- Reference-Counting Garbage Collectors - Manages memory automatically using reference counting with cycle detection for deterministic cleanup.
- Single-Pass Compilation - Compiles JavaScript source to bytecode in a single pass without intermediate representations.
- Source-to-Bytecode Compilers - Compiles JavaScript source into compact bytecode for execution on a custom virtual machine.
- ECMAScript Module Support - Loads and executes JavaScript modules using a built-in module loader with ES module syntax.
- Stack-Based Virtual Machines - Runs bytecode instructions using a stack-based architecture for simple and efficient execution.
