Elide Overview

Elide is a polyglot runtime and toolchain packaged as one native binary. It can run JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python scripts; compile and format Java and Kotlin; install npm, PyPI, and Maven dependencies; serve HTTP apps and static sites; and expose project tools over MCP.

Install it first:

 curl -sSL --tlsv1.2 elide.sh | bash -s -

Then run a script:

 elide app.ts

Use this overview to find the shortest path to a working install, a first program, language-specific runtime docs, dependency-management docs, compatibility results, worked examples, and API reference material.

Start Here

What Works Today

Example: JavaScript with SQLite

Elide includes embedded database modules. This JavaScript example runs without installing SQLite bindings:

const { Database } = require("sqlite");

const db = new Database(":memory:");
db.exec("CREATE TABLE users (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT)");
db.exec("INSERT INTO users VALUES (1, 'Elide')");

const user = db.prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1").get();
console.log(`Hello from ${user.name}!`);

> elide app.ts
Hello from Elide!

Common Workflows

 elide run app.ts                  # Run JavaScript or TypeScript
 elide python script.py            # Run Python with Python CLI semantics
 elide serve ./dist                # Serve static files
 elide dev ./src                   # Run the development server
 elide install                     # Install npm, PyPI, and Maven dependencies
 elide javac -- -d target Main.java # Use the embedded Java compiler
 elide ktfmt -- --dry-run src      # Use the embedded Kotlin formatter
 elide mcp                         # Start the MCP server over stdio

Accuracy Notes

Python runtime support is shipped. Some native Python extension modules may not work, or may behave differently than they do under CPython; see Python with Elide and Compatibility for current Python guidance.

Some Node and Web APIs are partial. The API Overview links to per-module pages that describe implemented and missing behavior.

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