Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to A fast Brainfuck interpreter in pure Bash

A heavily optimizing Brain**** interpreter written in Bash! - Gandalf-/BrainBash

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. A fast Brainfuck interpreter in pure Bash launched in 2017; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Synesthesia – Optimizing brainfuck compiler implemented as Nim macros▲33

   A (mildly) optimizing brainf*ck compiler implemented as Nim macros - Jeff-Ciesielski/synesthesia

   2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Visual Brainfuck Interpreter▲60

   2020 · franklin.dyer.me · its alternatives →

3. 3
   BrainIDE – A feature-packed Brainfuck compiler▲53

   Brainfuck IDE using python, bundled with it's own compiler - LovetheFrogs/BrainIDE

   2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   A partial HTTP server written in brainfuck extended with syscalls▲103

   a brainfuck interpreter supporting linux syscalls with an example HTTP server - ajyoon/systemf

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5LA
   Lambduck, a Functional Programming Brainfuck▲70

   What if Brainfuck was less like C and more like Scheme? The interpreter implemetation is pretty bad. It's not very fast, it's not very good, and it's probably not very correct. But maybe there's some vaguely interesting programs you could write with it! For example, the Y combinator: λf. (λx. f (x x)) (λx. f (x x)) is written as: \` \`1 `0 0 \`1 `0 0

   2025 · imjakingit.github.io · its alternatives →

6. 6BR
   bash.rocks – A bash interpreter in the browser▲58

   2017 · bash.rocks · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Bash▲256

   Solves the blank page problem for product teams

   2024 · its alternatives →

8. 8
   BashBuddy▲159

   Write bash commands with natural language, fully local.

   2025 · bashbuddy.run · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Brainfuck with threads and assertions▲22

   Brainf**k with threads and assertions, written in Python - scotchfield/bf_py

   2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Brain2Qwerty v2▲137

    Decode sentences directly from non-invasive brain signals

    Jun 2026 · ai.meta.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Claude Code rewritten as a bash script▲62

    Have you ever wondered if Claude Code could be rewritten as a bash script? Me neither, yet here we are. Just for kicks I decided to try and strip down the source, removing all the packages.

    Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Small Clojure Interpreter▲143

    Configurable Clojure/Script interpreter suitable for scripting and Clojure DSLs - babashka/sci

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    A tiny brainfuck interpreter written in Rust▲8

    Brainfuck Interpreter written in Rust. Contribute to garritfra/rustfuck development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Brainfuck to RISC-V JIT compiler written in Zig▲5

    Hi everybody, this was my project to learn Zig and RISC-V+x86_64 assembly. Not sure if anybody is actually interested in yet another Brainfuck compiler, so I'll just write up some random things I learned while building it! - A primitive assembly stitching compiler is 10x faster than the interpreter. Did not expect that. - The generated x86 code is really bad (e.g. it always uses 6 or 7 byte sized instructions with 32-bit immediates when there are much smaller ones) but it doesn't really matter. Good code generated by GCC and clang for transpiled Brainfuck->C is not much faster as it's…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    A simplistic brainfuck interpreter in C▲6

    brainfuck interpreter. Contribute to noahhaasis/brainfuck development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16BF
    Brain Frog – Can you be random enough for 11 lines of JavaScript?▲49

    Jun 2026 · brainfrog.lol · its alternatives →

17. 17
    I wrote a VM and Compiler for a small language in Go▲37

    My implementation of Thorsten Bell's book (Writing an Interpreter in Go) - actuallyachraf/monkey-giggle

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Bach.sh is a real unit testing framework for Bash▲52

    Unit testing framework for developing cross-platform Bash unit tests - bach-sh/bach

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Completion daemon for {bash,zsh} that detects `–help` usage▲33

    cod is a completion daemon for bash/fish/zsh. Contribute to dim-an/cod development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Babashka – a sprinkle of Clojure for the command line▲6

    Native, fast starting Clojure interpreter for scripting - babashka/babashka

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Business Card Brainfuck, a brainfuck interpreter in 512 bytes of C code▲7

    Tiny Brainfuck interpreter. Contribute to kgabis/business-card-brainfuck development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Bird, a CLI for Tired Brains▲7

    A command-line tool for tired brains. Type `bird`, receive something. - DavidLiedle/bird

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Talk2Term▲14

    Convert English into shell commands with AI

    2025 · talk2term.prodevs.in · its alternatives →

24. 24
    smartsh▲11

    Cross-platform shell translator for devs

    2025 · 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 →