I built a hardware processor that runs Python

In plain words

PyXL is a hardware processor that directly executes Python programs without an interpreter or virtual machine. It compiles Python to a custom instruction set designed for hardware execution while maintaining Python's dynamic typing. Built for developers working with embedded systems and performance-critical applications, PyXL achieves significantly faster execution than traditional microcontroller Python implementations. The maker developed the complete stack, including compiler, linker, and hardware, and will present technical details at PyCon 2025.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Explore how RunPyXL brings sub-microsecond GPIO control to Python. Built for real-time applications where latency and determinism matter.

Python, in hardware. 480ns GPIO. No interpreter. No C. Just RunPyXL. RunPyXL is a proof of concept of a custom hardware processor that executes Python directly — no interpreter, no JIT, and no tricks. It takes regular Python code and runs it in silicon. A custom toolchain compiles a .py file into CPython ByteCode, translates it to a custom assembly, and produces a binary that runs on a pipelined processor built from scratch. It's a real processor for Python, built for determinism and speed. RunPyXL runs on a Zynq-7000 FPGA (Arty-Z7-20 dev board). The RunPyXL core runs at 100MHz. The ARM CPU on the board handles setup and memory, but the Python code itself is executed entirely in hardware.…from runpyxl.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi everyone, I built PyXL — a hardware processor that executes a custom assembly generated from Python programs, without using a traditional interpreter or virtual machine. It compiles Python -> CPython Bytecode -> Instruction set designed for direct hardware execution. I’m sharing an early benchmark: a GPIO test…

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