Bebop 2026

Rewrite of the Bebop compiler in C. New schema language and wire format for the 2026 edition.

Building

Requires CMake 3.25+ and a C11/C++20 compiler.

make            # Release build
make debug      # Debug build with sanitizers
make test       # Run tests
make publish    # Create release archive
make clean      # Clean build artifacts

Output structure:

build/
├── bin/        # bebopc, bebopc-gen-*
├── lib/        # libbebop.a
├── include/    # bebop.h, bebop_wire.h
└── share/      # standard library schemas

For development/testing:

• Generated C code: just include bebop_wire.h and link bebop_wire.c
• Embedding the compiler: include bebop.h and link bebop.c (unity build)

What is Bebop?

Bebop is a schema language for binary serialization. Define data structures in .bop files, generate code for your target language.

edition = "2026"

package Example;

struct Point {
    x: float32;
    y: float32;
}

message Player {
    name(1): string;
    position(2): Point;
    score(3): uint32;
}

What Works So Far?

Feature	Status	Notes
Schema parsing	done	Full 2026 edition grammar with error recovery
Semantic analysis	done	Type resolution, import handling, cycle detection
Validation	done	Compatibility checks, decorator validation via Lua
Descriptors	done	Reflection-ready binary format
Wire format	done	Encode/decode for all types
CLI (bebopc)	done	Config files, globbing, diagnostics. macOS only so far.
Watch mode	in progress	macOS FSEvents only. No incremental recheck.
Plugin system	done	IPC via stdin/stdout, Bebop wire protocol
C code generator	in progress	Basic types working, some features incomplete
LSP server	in progress	Hover, go-to-definition, completion, formatting, rename
VS Code extension	prototype	Language client exists
Linux / Windows	not tested	Builds may work, not verified
Other language generators	not started	TypeScript, Go, Rust, C#, etc.

Definitions:

• done: Feature complete. OK to log bugs.
• in progress: Partially working. Log crashes, not missing features.
• prototype: Proof of concept. Don't log bugs.
• not started: Not implemented yet.

Types

Type	Size	Notes
bool	1
byte	1	Unsigned. Alias: uint8
int8	1
int16 / uint16	2
int32 / uint32	4
int64 / uint64	8
int128 / uint128	16
float16	2	IEEE 754 half. Alias: half
float32	4
float64	8
bfloat16	2	Alias: bf16
string	variable	Length-prefixed UTF-8
uuid	16	Alias: guid
timestamp	12	Seconds + nanoseconds since epoch
duration	12	Seconds + nanoseconds

Collections: T[], T[N], map[K, V]

Definitions: struct, message, union, enum, const, service

Configuration

Create bebop.yml or bebop.json in your project root:

sources:
  - "schemas/**/*.bop"
exclude:
  - "**/vendor/**"
include:
  - "vendor/bebop-std"
plugins:
  c: ./generated
options:
  namespace: MyApp

Then run:

bebopc

Documentation

• Grammar Reference
• Wire Format
• Descriptor Format
• Writing Plugins
• Whitepaper

License

See LICENSE.