Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to 8cc.cr – compile-time C compiler implemented as Crystal macros

compile-time C compiler implemented as Crystal macros - makenowjust/8cc.cr

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. 8cc.cr – compile-time C compiler implemented as Crystal macros launched in 2016; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Lambda-8cc – An x86 C compiler written in untyped lambda calculus▲249

   x86 C compiler written in untyped lambda calculus. Contribute to woodrush/lambda-8cc development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   WIP C compiler in Go, inspired by 8cc▲60

   Cross platform C preprocessor and compiler. Contribute to andrewchambers/cc development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   A work-in-progress C compiler from scratch▲159

   Programming language that compiles into a x86 ELF executable. - riicchhaarrd/ocean

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4GI
   Going into freshman year, figured I should build an interpreter▲138

   Hi all! I'm going into my freshman year, and figured that the best way to prepare for the intro to programming Racket course would be to implement my own garbage-collected, dynamically typed, functional programming language in C ;) Anyways... here's the repo: https://github.com/liam-ilan/crumb I started learning C over the summer, so I still have a whole lot to learn... Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! :D

   2023 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Xcc700: Self-hosting mini C compiler for ESP32 (Xtensa) in 700 lines▲154

   Repo: https://github.com/valdanylchuk/xcc700 Hi Everyone! I just wrote my first compiler! - single pass, recursive descent, direct emission - generates REL ELF binaries, runnable using ESP-IDF elf_loader - very basic features only, just enough for self-hosting - treats the Xtensa CPU as a stack machine for simplicity, no register allocation / window usage - compilable on Mac, probably also Linux, can cross-compile for esp32 there - wrote for fun / cyberdeck project Sample output from esp32: xcc700.elf xcc700.c -o /d/cc.elf [ xcc700 ] BUILD COMPLETED >…

   Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Compiler using Lisp’s macro system for metaprogramming C-like languages▲80

   Next-level syntax for C-like languages :). Contribute to kiselgra/c-mera development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   My C compiler compiled itself▲275

   One of the most challenging projects of my life :)

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   My own C compiler (just for fun)▲175

   rcor C compiler (under development). Contribute to rcorcs/rcc development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Compile Ruby to C▲153

   Compile ruby functions to C. Contribute to agrafix/rubyspeed development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    C-compiler to compile TCC for live-bootstrap▲67

    Investigation into replacing the MES compiler. Contribute to FransFaase/MES-replacement development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11CL
    C library of generic, reference-counted data structures▲91

    2013 · theck01.github.io · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Chan – pure C implementation of Go channels▲150

    Pure C implementation of Go channels. Contribute to tylertreat/chan development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13CA
    C3 – A C alternative that looks like C▲182

    Compiler link: https://github.com/c3lang/c3c Docs: http://www.c3-lang.org This is my follow-up "Show HN" from roughly a year ago (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27876570). Since then the language design has evolved and the compiler has gotten much more solid. Assorted extra info: - The C3 name is a homage to the C2 language project (http://c2lang.org) which it was originally inspired by. - Although C3 mostly conforms to C syntax, the most obvious change is requiring `fn` in front of the functions. This is to simplify searching for…

    2022 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    A simple garbage collector for C▲192

    Simple, zero-dependency garbage collection for C. Contribute to mkirchner/gc development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    A pure C89 implementation of Go channels, with blocking selects▲271

    A pure C (-std=c89) implementation of Go channels, including blocking and non-blocking selects. - GitHub - rochus-keller/CspChan: A pure C (-std=c89) implementation of Go channels, including blocking and non-blocking selects.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Lisp with copying GC in 537 lines of C (plus Lisp 1.5 on top)▲152

    Moved to Forgejo! Contribute to krig/LISP development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    The C3 programming language (C alternative language)▲175

    Get it from here: https://github.com/c3lang/c3c In 2019, while contributing to the C2 language, I started up "C3" as a pet project while waiting for pull requests to be approved... Now it's 6 years later and C3 well on its way to 1.0, having released 0.7.0 last week. Unlike other C alternatives, C3 tries to evolve C – but without concern to backwards compatibility to the latter. What it adds to C is among other things: - Module system - Semantic macros and compile time introspection - Lightweight generic modules - Zero overhead errors - Build-in slices and SIMD types -…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Compiling C in the browser using WebAssembly▲174

    We’ve reached a major milestone in making any software run with WebAssembly. Thanks to the newest release of Wasmer (4.4) and the Wasmer JS SDK (0.8.0) ...

    2024 · wasmer.io · its alternatives →

19. 19OC
    Online C/C++ to assembly visualizer [Weekend Project]▲149

    2012 · assembly.ynh.io · its alternatives →

20. 20CP
    C programming language extension: Cedro pre-processor▲97

    2021 · sentido-labs.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Chibicc – A Small C Compiler▲22

    A small C compiler. Contribute to rui314/chibicc development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    A compiler for a small language into x86-64 assembly▲74

    Compiler for a small language into x86-64 Assembly - MauriceGit/compiler

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    ShivyC – Hobby C compiler created in Python▲120

    C compiler created in Python. Contribute to ShivamSarodia/ShivyC development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Prometeo – a Python-to-C transpiler for high-performance computing▲166

    An experimental Python-to-C transpiler and domain specific language for embedded high-performance computing - zanellia/prometeo

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →