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.

Highlights

Direct access to Python modules and objects—no FFI layer or separate VM.
Lisp macros and homoiconic syntax.
A compiler-independent runtime and Python standard library from spork-runtime.
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 .spork files.
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> (doall (map inc [1 2 3]))
[2 3 4]

Or create hello.spork:

(defn greet [name]
  (fmt "Hello, {}!" name))

(print (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"))

Spork exposes the separately distributed persistent collections under the spork.pds namespace:

from spork.pds import vec

original = vec(1, 2, 3)
updated = original.conj(4)

The compiler-independent runtime, generated-code helpers, prelude macros, and Python-backed std.* namespaces are distributed by spork-runtime. See the spork-pds documentation for the persistent collection Python API, design, and benchmarks.

Projects

Create and run a project:

spork new my-project
cd my-project
spork sync
spork check
spork run

A spork.it manifest defines metadata, dependencies, source paths, the compatible spork-lang range, and the entry point. spork sync installs a compatible toolchain into .venv; later project commands automatically delegate to that project-local version. Libraries can also declare a unified :api; Spork then generates idiomatic package-level Spork and Python APIs, version metadata, generic .pyi stubs, and py.typed from one annotated implementation namespace.

Common commands include:

Command	Purpose
`spork repl`	Start a project-aware REPL
`spork add` / `spork remove`	Edit dependencies in the nearest `spork.it`
`spork sync`	Install dependencies and a compatible project toolchain
`spork run`	Run the configured entry point
`spork test`	Discover and run Spork tests
`spork check`	Validate project namespaces, imports, exports, and compilation
`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

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

MIT

Download files

Download the file for your platform. If you're not sure which to choose, learn more about installing packages.

Source Distribution

spork_lang-0.5.2.tar.gz (231.7 kB view details)

Uploaded Aug 30, 2026 Source

Built Distribution

If you're not sure about the file name format, learn more about wheel file names.

The dropdown lists show the available interpreters, ABIs, and platforms. Enable javascript to be able to filter the list of wheel files.

spork_lang-0.5.2-py3-none-any.whl (173.0 kB view details)

Uploaded Aug 30, 2026 Python 3

File details

Details for the file spork_lang-0.5.2.tar.gz.

File metadata

Download URL: spork_lang-0.5.2.tar.gz
Upload date: Aug 30, 2026
Size: 231.7 kB
Tags: Source
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? Yes
Uploaded via: twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14

File hashes

Hashes for spork_lang-0.5.2.tar.gz
Algorithm	Hash digest
SHA256	`f96c871d216aacc4e575b9a206151dc8e67b4c7a68e00c8eccf95f1f5e9bf56a`
MD5	`63fe8a4832d451cd8a42d4747b399085`
BLAKE2b-256	`9bf3e629796c183ea841b2e83feaa12bea761618e5a45f8d7a83eae440b07eff`

See more details on using hashes here.

Provenance

The following attestation bundles were made for spork_lang-0.5.2.tar.gz:

Publisher: build.yml on spork-it/spork-lang

Attestations: Values shown here reflect the state when the release was signed and may no longer be current.

Statement:
- Statement type: https://in-toto.io/Statement/v1
- Predicate type: https://docs.pypi.org/attestations/publish/v1
- Subject name: spork_lang-0.5.2.tar.gz
- Subject digest: f96c871d216aacc4e575b9a206151dc8e67b4c7a68e00c8eccf95f1f5e9bf56a
- Sigstore transparency entry: 2653560876
- Sigstore integration time: Aug 30, 2026
Source repository:
- Permalink: spork-it/spork-lang@ea0d7364240708e34a982a896d5a1070634b88ae
- Branch / Tag: refs/tags/v0.5.2
- Owner: https://github.com/spork-it
- Access: public
Publication detail:
- Token Issuer: https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com
- Runner Environment: github-hosted
- Publication workflow: build.yml@ea0d7364240708e34a982a896d5a1070634b88ae
- Trigger Event: push