BRAIDGROUP
RESEARCH & DEV
2. Documentation

Installation

The Braid compiler (braidc) is built from source using CMake and Ninja. The build pipeline compiles the C lexer/parser and the C++ IR/codegen stages, producing a single CLI binary.

Prerequisites

  • GCC 15+ — The C and C++ compiler used for both building braidc and compiling generated C code at runtime
  • CMake 4.3+ — Build system generator
  • Ninja — Fast build executor (optional but recommended)
  • Git — For cloning the repository

Windows Setup (MSYS2)

On Windows, install MSYS2 and use the UCRT64 environment to get GCC 15+:

# Install MSYS2 from https://www.msys2.org
# Then in UCRT64 terminal:
pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gcc
pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-cmake
pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-ninja
pacman -S git

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/braid-group/braid-lang.git cd braid-lang

Build braidc

The compiler lives under compiler/cpp/. Build it with CMake:

cd compiler/cpp
cmake -B build -G Ninja
cmake --build build

After a successful build, the braidc binary is at compiler/cpp/build/tools/braidc/braidc (or braidc.exe on Windows).

Add to PATH (Optional)

For convenience, add braidc to your PATH:

# PowerShell on Windows
$env:Path += ";C:\path\to\braid-lang\compiler\cpp\build\tools\braidc"

# Linux/Mac
export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/braid-lang/compiler/cpp/build/tools/braidc

Verify Installation

Run the help command to verify braidc is working:

braidc --help

Expected output includes the pipeline commands (parse, ast, ir, mlir, llvm, ccodegen, build, run) and framework commands (frontend, junction).

Test with Hello World

Create a test file and run it:

echo 'fn main() { print("Hello, Braid!"); }' > hello.br
braidc run hello.br

Build Scripts (Alternative)

Pre-built shell scripts are also available in the repository root:

# Linux/Mac
./scripts/bootstrap_native.sh
./scripts/full_native_build.sh

These scripts handle dependency checks and run the full CMake build pipeline automatically.

Troubleshooting

  • CMake not found — Ensure CMake 4.3+ is installed and on your PATH
  • GCC version too old — braidc requires GCC 15+ for C23 and C++23 features
  • Missing Ninja — CMake will fall back to make if Ninja is unavailable; use cmake -B build without -G Ninja
  • Windows build errors — Use MSYS2 UCRT64 environment. Native MSVC builds are not supported yet