Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to A minimal stack based VM in C

A minimal stack-based VM. Contribute to codr7/liblg development by creating an account on GitHub.

A minimal stack-based virtual machine implementation written in C. This project is for developers interested in learning how VMs work or exploring low-level computing concepts. It demonstrates core VM functionality in… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. A minimal stack based VM in C launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1
A small virtual machine written in C▲212
"interesting" VM in C. Let's see how this goes. Contribute to tekknolagi/carp development by creating an account on GitHub.
2014 · github.com · its alternatives →
2LC
Learn C and its lower levels interactively, in the browser▲356
I made a simple virtual machine that runs C in the browser.This project is made as an experiment to see if C can be learned easier if the lower level is covered in paralel. Sandbox: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting Tutorial part 1: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting/?0 More info: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/README.md Please support this project: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/support.md
2019 · its alternatives →
3
Tiny VM sandbox in C with apps in Rust, C and Zig▲196
Minimalist, dependency-free virtual machine sandbox for microcontrollers and other resource-constrained devices. Single C file, no dynamic memory allocations, asynchronous design, pure C99 - ringtailsoftware/uvm32
Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
4
A compiler and VM for a simple language, in 150 lines of code▲200
A complete compiler for a simple language (in less than 150 LoC) - 00_readme.md
2022 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →
5
Simple virtual machine, assembler, and C compiler▲99
simple virtual machine and assembler. Contribute to ronsoros/rvm development by creating an account on GitHub.
2016 · github.com · its alternatives →
6
Writing a VM for a Small Stack-Base Language in Pointless▲12
2020 · ptls.dev · its alternatives →
7
Kent Dybvig's Scheme Machine in 400 Lines of C (Heap-Memory Model)▲226
Heap based scheme machine. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
2025 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →
8
Sub-millisecond VM sandboxes using CoW memory forking▲311
I wanted to see how fast an isolated code sandbox could start if I never had to boot a fresh VM. So instead of launching a new microVM per execution, I boot Firecracker once with Python and numpy already loaded, then snapshot the full VM state. Every execution after that creates a new KVM VM backed by a `MAP_PRIVATE` mapping of the snapshot memory, so Linux gives me copy-on-write pages automatically. That means each sandbox starts from an already-running Python process inside a real VM, runs the code, and exits. These are real KVM VMs, not containers: separate guest kernel, separate guest…
Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
9
A minimal C runtime for Linux i386 and x86_64 in 87 SLOC of C▲172
A minimal C runtime for Linux i386 & x86_64. Contribute to lpsantil/rt0 development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
10IB
I built a minimal Forth-like stack interpreter library in C▲47
This weekend I created stacklib.h - a single-header library that brings Forth-style stack operations to C. It implements a basic interpreter with: - Stack operations (push/pop/dup/swap/over/drop) - Arithmetic (+, -, *, /) - Output (., emit, cr) - Stack inspection (.s, depth) Example usage: Stack s; stack_init(&s); dict_init(); exec(&s, "10 20 + ."); // Prints "30" exec(&s, "1 2 3 4 .s"); // Shows stack contents The library is self-contained, requires no dependencies, and handles basic error checking. It was inspired by wanting to understand…
2025 · its alternatives →
11
Low-Level Academy, an explorable systems programming course▲419
Introduction to UDP: sockets, frames, and data encoding. We build a Rust client for a simple name server that converts domain names into IP addresses.
2020 · lowlvl.org · its alternatives →
12
A hash array-mapped trie implementation in C▲171
Long-simmering side project that is finally ready to see the light. HAMTs are a cool persistent data structure and implementing one has been a lot of fun. Beyond the code, there is likely some value in the extensive and largely complete implementation docs; basic benchmarks are linked in the README, too. Kind of aiming to be "the libavl for HAMTs". That is obviously a high and aspirational bar but a distinct possibility if it stirs up a little interest and/or contribution. Anyways, it's time for this to go out, collect feedback and maybe even some use outside of toy projects. Let me…
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
13
Build your own programming language in C++▲94
A minimal viable programming language on top of liblgpp - codr7/alang
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
14
Wiser – minimal hypervisor boots Linux VM, written in C▲136
:racehorse: Extremely minimal vmm for linux written in C. Hopefully someday will spin linux-vm for you. - flouthoc/wiser
2021 · github.com · its alternatives →
15
liblgpp – an extensible stack based VM for interpreters in C++▲12
an extensible stack based interpreter toolkit. Contribute to codr7/liblgpp development by creating an account on GitHub.
2020 · github.com · its alternatives →
16
Slim – Build and run tiny VMs from Dockerfiles▲389
Build and run tiny vms from Dockerfiles. Small and sleek. - ottomatica/slim
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
17H1
Homebrew 16bit CPU from 74HC logic with C compiler and Unix-like OS▲192
This is a 16bit CPU+Minicomputer from pure 74 series logic. It has user/kernel modes, virtual memory, prioritized IRQ's and DMA. It has a full C compiler and a unix-like OS. It's still in development.
2023 · sol-1.org · its alternatives →
18
High-order Virtual Machine (HVM) – A Parallel Functional Runtime▲150
HVM1 (2022): a massively parallel, optimal functional runtime in Rust - HigherOrderCO/HVM1
2022 · github.com · its alternatives →
19
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 →
20
AVR-VM – VM with JIT-compiler for ATMega32 written in Rust▲78
VM with JIT-compiler for ATMega32 written in Rust. Contribute to MackieLoeffel/avr-vm development by creating an account on GitHub.
2017 · github.com · its alternatives →
21
TinyGo – LLVM-based Go compiler for microcontrollers▲177
Go compiler for small places. Microcontrollers, WebAssembly (WASM/WASI), and command-line tools. Based on LLVM. - tinygo-org/tinygo
2018 · github.com · its alternatives →
22
Tiny C runtime Linux (rt0), HelloWorld 0.6k (i386), sbrk example added▲49
A minimal C runtime for Linux i386 & x86_64. Contribute to lpsantil/rt0 development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
23
A dbg(...) macro for C++▲162
A dbg(…) macro for C++. Contribute to sharkdp/dbg-macro development by creating an account on GitHub.
2019 · github.com · its alternatives →
24AR
A RISC-V core in Racket▲122
2021 · guillaume.baierouge.fr · its alternatives →

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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 →