Installation

The currently validated setup is macOS on Apple Silicon. Cheeku requires Rust with Edition 2024 support, LLVM 23.1.x, and a system Clang linker.

1. Prepare the tools

Install Rust and Homebrew if you do not already have them. Install the Xcode command line tools when needed:

xcode-select --install

Check that Rust and Clang are available:

rustc --version
cargo --version
xcrun clang --version

2. Install and check LLVM

brew install llvm
export LLVM_SYS_231_PREFIX="$(brew --prefix llvm)"
"$LLVM_SYS_231_PREFIX/bin/llvm-config" --version

The reported LLVM version must be 23.1.x. The compiler's Inkwell configuration targets that version specifically. If Homebrew provides a different LLVM version, use a matching LLVM installation and set LLVM_SYS_231_PREFIX to its installation prefix.

Keep the environment variable set whenever you build, test, or install Cheeku. To persist it, add the export to your shell configuration after confirming that the prefix points to the correct version.

3. Build Cheeku

git clone https://github.com/chuchu-lang/chuchu-core.git
cd chuchu-core
cargo build --release

The compiler is available at ./target/release/cheeku.

./target/release/cheeku --help

4. Install the command

From the chuchu-core directory, with the same LLVM environment configured:

cargo install --path .
cheeku --help

Ensure Cargo's binary directory is on your PATH. A standard Rust installation uses ~/.cargo/bin.

5. Compile the included example

cheeku examples/main.chuchu -o hello
./hello

Output

35

The included example declares x = 10 and y = 20, then reassigns x to 15 before printing their sum.

Troubleshooting installation

Symptom	Check
LLVM cannot be found	Set LLVM_SYS_231_PREFIX and confirm llvm-config reports 23.1.x.
Clang cannot start	Confirm xcrun clang --version works and command line tools are installed.
cheeku is not found	Use ./target/release/cheeku or add Cargo's binary directory to PATH.
Native output fails on another machine	Build on the destination platform; this is currently a host-native compiler. Avoid --cpu native when host-specific features are unwanted.

Linux and Windows are not validated by this project. See platform status before attempting a port.

Next: Write your first program.