Mach C Bootstrap Compiler

mach-c is the reference C23 implementation of the Mach language front-end.

This project exists both as an early adoption playground while the self-hosted toolchain is under construction and as the bootstrap compiler.

Project status

• Targets 64-bit Linux; builds with Clang/LLVM 16+.
• Emits object files and executables via the host C toolchain (cc).
• The minimal standard library mach-std is required to build CLI programs and exercise the language runtime.
• Language coverage is documented in doc/. Anything not captured there should be considered unsupported.

Building

git clone https://github.com/octalide/mach-c.git
cd mach-c
make        # produces bin/cmach

The build expects clang, lld, and llvm-config on $PATH. The recommended validation is to compile the standard library (mach-std).

Tool usage

cmach exposes a single entry point:

bin/cmach build <path/to/source.mach> [options]

Key options:

• --emit-obj --no-link — stop after producing an object file.
• -o <path> — set the output path (object or executable, depending on the mode).
• -M std=path — map an import prefix to a filesystem directory. Every project should at least map std to the root of mach-std/src.

The compiler does not perform final linking on its own; hand the emitted objects to cc (or copy the build logic from the mach Makefile).

Documentation

The language surface implemented by this compiler is described in doc/. Start with language-overview.md, then deep-dive into the lexical structure, type system, and runtime conventions as needed. When the implementation evolves, update the docs in lockstep — they are the canonical reference for users coming from the public repositories.

Related repositories

• mach — future home of the self-hosted Mach compiler
• mach-std — standard library

Issues and pull requests are welcome while the language is still settling. Please include the compiler revision and reproduction steps with any bug report.