Forge

Quickstart

Get your first Forge program running in under a minute.

Prerequisites

• forgec installed (Installation)
• Linux x86_64 (native) or cross-compilation setup

Hello World

Create a file hello.dev:

package hello

from std.io import puts

pub def main() -> int32:
    puts("Hello, Forge!\n")
    return 0

Compile and Run

# Compile for native x86_64 Linux
forgec hello.dev -o hello --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

# Run
./hello

Output:

Hello, Forge!

What Just Happened?

Step	Command	Description
1	forgec hello.dev	Parse, type-check, compile
2	-o hello	Output binary name
3	--target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu	Target triple (ELF64 Linux)
4	./hello	Execute the native binary

Understanding the Source

package hello              # Package name (optional, for namespace)

from std.io import puts    # Import `puts` from standard library

pub def main() -> int32:   # Public function `main` returning 32-bit int
    puts("Hello, Forge!\n") # Call imported function
    return 0               # Return exit code

Key syntax points:

• Indentation matters — Python-style blocks
• pub = public (visible to other modules)
• def = function definition
• -> int32 = return type annotation
• from ... import = module imports

Next: Try the Bootloader

Forge can compile a 512-byte boot sector:

forgec examples/bootloader.dev -o boot.bin --target x86_16-boot
qemu-system-x86_64 -fda boot.bin -nographic

Output:

SeaBIOS...
Booting from Floppy...
Hello, Forge bootloader!

Common Flags

forgec --help                    # Show all options
forgec --version                 # Show version
forgec -o <output> <input.dev>   # Specify output
forgec --target <triple> <input> # Target: x86_64, x86_32, x86_16-boot
forgec --freestanding <input>    # No stdlib, custom entry point

Common Issues

Problem	Solution
command not found: forgec	Install forgec or add to PATH
Error: parse error in ...: unknown identifier ...	Check module imports — the namespace is flat; every name must be imported or defined
Error: parse error in ...: expected X, found Y	Check indentation (4 spaces, no tabs) and syntax
type checking failed: ...	Type mismatch — use explicit as casts (no implicit conversions)
Compilation fails on x86_32 with float errors	The x86_32 target does not support float32/float64 — avoid them and modules that use them

Next Steps

• Building from Source — Compile forgec yourself
• Language Syntax — Complete syntax reference
• Examples — More sample programs

This site is open source. Improve this page.