Porffor

0.61.13 verified Fri May 01 auth: no javascript

An experimental from-scratch AOT JavaScript/TypeScript compiler that compiles to WebAssembly or native binaries. Current version 0.61.13, with rapid development. Unlike JIT-based engines, it is fully ahead-of-time compiled with zero runtime prelude, and generates Wasm without using Binaryen. It supports limited JS features and is a research project not intended for production use. Key differentiators: custom Wasm binary generation, sub- and super-set of JavaScript, and ability to compile to C via its 2c sub-engine.

Common errors

error Error: Unsupported syntax: ... ↓

cause Porffor does not support the given JavaScript syntax

fix

Rewrite code to use only supported subset (e.g., no eval, no generators, limited async).

error TypeError: Porffor is not a constructor ↓

cause Importing the package incorrectly (e.g., using CommonJS require)

fix

Use ESM import: import Porffor from 'porffor'

error Error: No parser was found for the given file type ↓

cause Parser not installed or unsupported file extension

fix

Ensure acorn is installed, or specify a different parser with --parser.

Warnings

gotcha Porffor supports only a limited subset of JavaScript. Many language features (e.g., classes, generators, full async) are not implemented or have bugs. ↓

fix Check the source or benchmarks for supported patterns; avoid unsupported features.

breaking Versioning is unique: minor version equals Test262 pass percentage. No semantic versioning guarantees. ↓

fix Pin to exact version if reproducibility is needed.

deprecated The `--parser` option default may change in future versions. Currently defaults to 'acorn'. ↓

fix Explicitly specify parser via options if you rely on behavior of a specific parser.

gotcha Compiling to native binaries requires the experimental 2c sub-engine, which is unstable and may produce incorrect output. ↓

fix Prefer compiling to Wasm; test native binaries thoroughly.

gotcha The programmatic API is not documented and may change without notice. Use the CLI for stability. ↓

fix Use CLI (npx porf) instead of programmatic imports.

Install

npm install porffor

yarn add porffor

pnpm add porffor

Imports

Porffor (default)
wrong
```
const Porffor = require('porffor')
```
correct
```
import Porffor from 'porffor'
```
Package is ESM-only. No named export 'Porffor'; use default import.
cli (via programmatic API)
wrong
```
import porffor from 'porffor'
```
correct
```
import { compile } from 'porffor'
```
Programmatic API exports 'compile' and other functions. Not documented; check source.

Types (TypeScript)

wrong

import { CompileOptions } from 'porffor'

correct

import type { CompileOptions } from 'porffor'

Types are exported as type-only; use import type or keyof.

Quickstart

Demonstrates programmatic compilation of a JavaScript snippet to WebAssembly using Porffor's API.

import Porffor from 'porffor';

const compiler = new Porffor();
const code = 'console.log("Hello, world!");';
try {
  const wasmBytes = await compiler.compile(code, { target: 'wasm' });
  // wasmBytes is Uint8Array
  console.log('Compilation succeeded, wasm size:', wasmBytes.length);
} catch (err) {
  console.error('Compilation failed:', err);
}