GoxA JavaScript Runtime Built from Scratch in Go

Up and Running in 30 Seconds ​

You can also skip the install: npx goxjs app.js; or build from source with go build. See Installation and Creating a Project for details.

What It Actually Is ​

The Compilation Pipeline ​

One clear pipeline, where every layer can be read and tested on its own.

Key design decisions: GC-free explicit memory management (with dedicated handling for circular references), a single-threaded VM with cross-goroutine scheduling (network callbacks are re-posted, so JS is always single-threaded and lock-free), and fixed-length instruction encoding (decoding is a simple fetch).

A Desktop GUI App in 16 Lines ​

import { createSignal } from "gx/solid";
import { h, render } from "gx/gfx";

const [count, setCount] = createSignal(0);

render(
  <window title="Counter" width={400} height={300}>
    <column gap={8} padding={16}>
      <text font={20}>{() => `count: ${count()}`}</text>
      <button onClick={() => setCount(c => c + 1)}>加一</button>
    </column>
  </window>
);

gox counter.js          # Run directly — opens a 400x300 window
go run ./packager counter.js --gui -o counter.exe   # Package into a standalone GUI app

Passing a function as a prop or text makes it a reactive binding: signal update → dependent nodes marked dirty → dirty rectangles merged so only affected regions are redrawn. See the GUI desktop app tutorial for more.

Capability Overview ​

Versions and Current Status ​

Current version v0.9.0; see GitHub Releases for the full changelog.