Spork
Spork is a Lisp hosted on CPython. It compiles to Python AST, interoperates directly with Python libraries, and adds macros, expression-oriented syntax, immutable collections, and project tooling.
Alpha: Spork is under active development and may introduce breaking changes between releases.
Highlights
- Direct access to Python modules and objects—no FFI layer or separate VM.
- Lisp macros and homoiconic syntax.
- Persistent vectors, maps, sets, and related types from
spork-pds. - Pattern matching, destructuring, async/await, protocols, decorators, and Python type annotations.
- Source-mapped tracebacks that point back to
.sporkfiles. - A REPL, nREPL server, LSP server, and project commands in one CLI.
Spork supports CPython 3.10 through 3.14, including free-threaded CPython 3.14.
Installation
Install the CLI in an isolated environment with pipx:
pipx install spork-lang
Use pip when adding Spork to an existing Python environment:
python -m pip install spork-lang
On Linux, macOS, or WSL, the installer script is also available:
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/spork-it/spork-lang/refs/heads/main/install.sh | sh
Quick start
Start the REPL:
$ spork
Spork REPL - A Lisp for Python
user> (+ 1 2 3)
6
user> (map inc [1 2 3])
[2 3 4]
Or create hello.spork:
(defn greet [name]
(print (fmt "Hello, {}!" name)))
(greet "Spork")
Run it with:
$ spork hello.spork
Hello, Spork!
Spork collections are immutable and structurally shared:
(def original {:name "Spork" :version 1})
(def updated (assoc original :version 2))
(print original) ; {:name "Spork" :version 1}
(print updated) ; {:name "Spork" :version 2}
Python interoperability
Import Python modules and call them directly:
(ns example
(:require [std.json :as json])
(:import [pathlib :refer [Path]]))
(def path (Path "data.json"))
(print (json.dumps {:path (str path)}))
To import .spork modules from Python, import spork once to install its import hook:
import spork
from my_spork_module import greet
print(greet("Python"))
The persistent collections are a separate public package and can be used without the language runtime:
from spork_pds import vec
original = vec(1, 2, 3)
updated = original.conj(4)
See the spork-pds documentation for its Python API, design, and benchmarks.
Projects
Create and run a project:
spork new my-project
cd my-project
spork sync
spork run
A spork.it manifest defines metadata, dependencies, source paths, and the entry point. Common commands include:
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
spork repl |
Start a project-aware REPL |
spork sync |
Create the project environment and install dependencies |
spork run |
Run the configured entry point |
spork build |
Compile sources to Python in .spork-out/ |
spork dist |
Build a wheel and source distribution |
spork lsp |
Start the language server |
Run spork --help for the complete CLI reference.
Documentation
- Documentation index
- Language reference
- Standard library reference
- Examples
- Emacs mode and Neovim support
spork-pdsAPI, design, and benchmarks
Development
git clone https://github.com/spork-it/spork-lang.git
cd spork-lang
make venv
make test
.venv/bin/python -m pytest
Use make help for development, packaging, and cleanup targets.
License
1 maintainer
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