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Lamina

Lamina is a compiler backend for a compact, statically typed IR. It lowers that IR to a machine-level IR, optimizes it, and writes native assembly directly. No LLVM, no Cranelift.

The language and the CLI can still change before 1.0. Not every target is usable. Roadmap lists what works and what does not, and Releases says what the version numbers mean.

fn @main() -> i64 {
  entry:
    %a = add.i8 10, 20
    %result = extend.i8.i64 %a
    %tens = div.i64 %result, 10
    %ones = rem.i64 %result, 10
    %t = add.i64 %tens, 48
    %o = add.i64 %ones, 48
    %w1 = writebyte %t
    %w2 = writebyte %o
    %nl = writebyte 10
    ret.i64 0
}

lamina test_minimal.lamina -o test_minimal
./test_minimal

Output:

30

writebyte writes one byte to standard output. The program splits 30 into two ASCII digits by hand, because there is no print instruction. extend replaces the old zext and sext. Its source type decides the extension: a signed source sign-extends, an unsigned or bool source zero-extends.

The toolchain is four repositories:

Repository	Crate	Role
lamina	lamina	IR, MIR, optimizer, code generation, compiler driver, C bindings
ras	lamina-ras	Assembler. Turns .s into a relocatable object
weld	lamina-weld	Linker. ELF, Mach-O, PE
lamina-web	lamina-web	Website and documentation

Start here

Page	What it covers
Roadmap	Which targets work, what each milestone has to prove, and what is still open
Architecture	How a program travels from IR text to an executable, which crate owns each step, and a glossary
IR semantics	What the IR means, as numbered clauses: what each operation computes, what traps, and which targets refuse it
Releases	Versioning, the two release channels, and what the nightly feature actually gates
Ecosystem	Projects built on Lamina, and what writing a frontend involves
Artery target	Supporting the Artery kernel: what a freestanding target demands, and the work to get there

For using it:

• Getting started: install, then compile a first module
• IR language reference: syntax, types, instructions, memory model. IR semantics says what that syntax denotes
• Compiler driver: output modes, targets, toolchain selection, register allocators
• Targets and backends: what is tested, what is experimental

Embedding Lamina

• Rust API guide and docs.rs
• IRBuilder reference, for building modules programmatically instead of emitting IR text
• C bindings: opaque handles, explicit ownership, AOT output, and a nightly JIT extension

Contributing

Issues are tracked on SkuldNorniern/lamina. ras, weld, and lamina-web carry their own issues for component-specific work.

Read the Roadmap first. It says which milestone a piece of work belongs to and what still blocks it.