YAJE - Yeet Another JavaScript Engine / Environment

YAJE (pronounced /dʒɑːdʒi/) is a modern, lightweight JavaScript environment built on top of the QuickJS-NG engine. It aims to provide a fast, embeddable, and compliant JavaScript runtime for systems where a full-blown Node.js or Deno environment is too heavy or unnecessary.

The core focus of YAJE is to generate standalone executables for all major platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS) with a minimal footprint — you only get what you need, ensuring your application remains lightweight and efficient.

Key Features

• Core Engine: Uses QuickJS-NG for a compact and highly compliant ECMAScript implementation.
• ESM First: Tries to be fully compliant with raw ECMAScript Modules (ESM) JavaScript.
• Native Integration: Extend the engine with native C modules and bindings.
• Bundled Output: Compiles your JavaScript code and native dependencies into a single, standalone executable.
• No Node.js Compatibility: YAJE is NOT a Node.js replacement. It does not support Node.js built-in modules or the CommonJS module system and never will.

Project Structure

YAJE is organized as a monorepo using NPM for package orchestration (see src/test for an example of how it's used).

flowchart TB
    cli["@yaje/cli"]
    core["@yaje/core"]
    console["@yaje/console"]
    fs["@yaje/fs"]
    vite["@yaje/vite"]
    rollup["@yaje/rollup"]
    webpack["@yaje/webpack"]
    esbuild["@yaje/esbuild"]

    cli --> core
    vite --> core
    rollup --> core
    webpack --> core
    esbuild --> core
    console --> core
    fs --> core

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• @yaje/core: The heart of the engine, providing the C-level infrastructure and basic JS-Native bridge.
• @yaje/cli: The command-line interface for project management, building, and generating compilation databases.
• @yaje/console: A native module providing a standard console API (log, error, warn, etc.).
• @yaje/fs: A native module providing synchronous file system operations.
• @yaje/vite: Integration for using Vite as a bundler for YAJE applications.
• @yaje/rollup: Integration for using Rollup as a bundler for YAJE applications.
• @yaje/webpack: Integration for using Webpack as a bundler for YAJE applications.
• @yaje/esbuild: Integration for using esbuild as a bundler for YAJE applications.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Clang: Used for compiling the native engine and your custom modules.
• llvm-ar: The standard llvm archiver tool for creating static libraries (Mostly shipped with clang).
• lld: The LLVM-based linker for linking the code. (Mostly shipped with clang).
• Node.js & NPM: Required for the CLI tool and package management.

Installation

Since YAJE is currently in development, you can use it by linking the packages or using the CLI directly from the source.

Creating a New Project

You can initialize a new YAJE project using the CLI:

yaje init

The CLI will prompt you to choose between an Application (a standard JS app) or an Engine Module (a native C module extension).

Building

To build your project into a standalone executable:

yaje build

This will trace your dependencies, compile any native modules, bundle your JavaScript, and link everything into an executable in the .yaje folder.

IDE Support (C/C++)

For better IDE support (like clangd) when developing native modules, you can generate a compile_commands.json file:

yaje cdb

Why YAJE?

YAJE is designed for developers who need a scriptable environment with a small footprint but still want to use modern JavaScript features. It's ideal for:

• Embedded systems with limited resources.
• Application scripting engines.
• Standalone CLI tools that require native performance for certain tasks.

License

YAJE is licensed under the MIT License. QuickJS-NG is licensed under the MIT License.