Do more with less.

Orbit is a statically typed language for APIs and microservices. It compiles fast and needs little to run, so it stays fast even under load.

I'm building Orbit to explore a simple idea: servers and APIs shouldn't need so much energy to be fast. I'm still measuring how far it can go.

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5 minutes: run a service

You need a C compiler, Python 3.10+, and git. Nothing else.

git clone https://github.com/joacokhzyx/orbit-lang.git
cd orbit-lang
python scripts/build_selfhost.py --out orbit
./orbit build examples/health_service.orb -o health_service
./health_service 8080
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/health

{"status":"UP","version":"0.1.0-rc.2","uptime_seconds":0}

That's a real Orbit service: compiled to one binary, live telemetry at /metrics, per-route costs at /_ledger. On Windows use .\orbit.exe / .\health_service.exe 8080 (details).

30 minutes: learn the language

The Language Tour walks you through functions, models, routes, SQLite reads, and telemetry - every snippet runnable, every output verified. Then pick a tutorial:

• Blog API with auth - runnable example + expected outputs.
• File server + uploads - same deal, honest scope.
• Deploy a single binary - Windows + Linux, plus one-box clustering.
• Troubleshooting - ports, silent exits, slow first boots.

What 0.1.0 can't do yet

Reads and writes work, with bearer auth and path parameters. Multipart uploads, DB migrations, and p50/p99 aren't there yet. The full list with workarounds is public: Known Limitations. Twenty hard questions, answered plainly: FAQ.

Usage

orbit build main.orb -o main   # compile to a native executable
orbit run main.orb             # build and run (servers keep the terminal)
orbit check main.orb           # typecheck without emitting code
orbit fmt main.orb             # format (writes only on success)
orbit doctor ./examples        # read-only project checks

Full reference: Command Reference.

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Documentation

• Language Tour · Getting Started · FAQ
• Known Limitations · Changelog · 0.1.0 Release Notes
• Language Reference · Architecture · Project Status · Roadmap
• Migrations guide · Performance notes · Resource and energy measurement
• Platform Support · Versioning · Server Examples

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Repository Structure

compiler/     Self-hosted compiler written in Orbit (lexer → parser → sema → IR → C backend)
runtime/      C runtime (http, arena, kynx, database, auth, ledger, energy, pulse)
docs/         Language reference and internal design documentation
examples/     Orbit service examples covering HTTP, auth, and database access
std/          Orbit standard library modules
tests/        Parity goldens and compiler test fixtures

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Contributing

Thanks for your interest - I read everything. Please start with the Contributing Guide and Code of Conduct before opening a pull request.

Run the verification gates before committing:

python scripts/build_selfhost.py --cc "$CC" --check-stale
python scripts/verify_seed.py --cc "$CC"

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License

Orbit is open source under the MIT License. It's early research - I publish what works, what doesn't, and how I measured it.