Kairo is a statically typed programming language, built for systems programming and high-performance applications. Designed with interoperability in mind. Kairo aims to combine the power and control of low-level languages with the safety and clarity of high-level design.
Note
Kairo is not associated with the Kairo-Editor, we are in the process or rebranding, by Q1 2026 Kairo-lang will be under a new name!
- Safe, and productive programming language.
- Allow for low-level programming with fine-grained control.
- Seamless interoperability with C and C++ along with other native languages.
- Include a portable, well-structured standard library.
- Encourage clear, maintainable, and reviewable code through strong, expressive semantics.
- An alternative to C, C++, and Rust or work alongside them.
The Stage 0 compiler (written in C++) is functional and can compile Kairo, you can downlaod it from the release page, currently very unstable, and riddled with bugs. Development of the Stage 1 compiler, written in Kairo itself, is in progress.
Warning
Documentation is a work in progress, it doesn't refelct what Stage 0 can compile or do; since most of the code emaples are for stage 1's syntax - and yes, the discriptions are mostly written using AI (LLMs). We will be redoing it incrementally, until stage 1 is stable; We would appreciate any contributions, feedback, or suggestions you may have!
You can find the source on GitHub, and the website is at helix-lang.com. In the meantime if you'd want some reference of kairo code that compiles on stage 0 take a look here
- C and C++ give you the beans, grinder, and espresso machine; and all the ingredients, but you dont have any instructions on how to make it, you have all the freedom but no guidance.
- Rust gives you some ingredients and some fancy equipment, but you are forced to follow strict recipes and you don't have enough creative freedom do what you would like. You can't experiment with the recipes and create your own variations easily.
- Kairo gives you all that you need, with clear recipes and instructions, but also allows you to experiment and make your own recipes, without any restrictions.
- We liked the simplicity of Python's syntax but wanted more.
- We wanted the performance and control of C and C++.
- We admired Rust's safety features but, at times, found them cumbersome.
- We liked Rust's Meta-programming and Trait system.
- We liked Zig's approach to interoperability.
- We wanted a powerful module system.
- We wanted a robust standard library.
- We wanted a language that would work drop-in with any existing C or C++ codebases.
- We wanted all; without compromising on any front.
- So we created Kairo.
Kairo is built to slot directly into C and C++ ecosystems, offering a fresh syntax and features, without abandoning decades of code.
Download a release: grab a prebuilt binary from the releases page.
Build from source: see BUILD.md — covers the quick install script, manual setup, PATH configuration, the VSCode extension, and debugging.
Code reference: since the docs are still catching up, the toolchain directory has working Stage 0 examples.
Kairo is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International License. See the LICENSE for more details.
We want to thank all our contributors pushing Kairo forward.