A closed-source language with public docs and binaries · What’s new (July 2026) · Docs roadmap
The Alef Programming Language
Learn Alef from zero: install the command, write one file, run it, then grow into syntax, data, errors, runtime, and real programs.
Quickstart
One file. One command.
Alef programs are plain `.alef` files. The native runtime starts at `main` and prints directly to your terminal.
alef run main.alefBeginner path
Learn the language in the order you need it.
Runnable example
A small program that already looks like work.
fn priority(plan, blocked) {
if plan == "enterprise" and blocked {
return "P0"
}
return "P2"
}
fn main() {
let ticket = {
"id" => "TD-101",
"plan" => "enterprise",
"blocked" => true
}
let p = priority(ticket["plan"], ticket["blocked"])
let id = ticket["id"]
println("{id}: {p}")
}Reference
There is now a real language spec.
The syntax reference is quick lookup. The language specification is the public contract for `.alef` files: source files, lexical elements, declarations, statements, expressions, types, `Result`, `Option`, imports, and execution.
Core language
What you learn first
`fn`, parameters, return values, typed signatures.
`let`, strings, numbers, booleans, arrays, maps.
`if`, `for`, `while`, and `match`.
Maps for JSON-like data, structs and enums for named shapes.
`Result`, `Option`, explicit failure, and the `?` operator.
The `alef` command, native runtime, tests, HTTP, JSON, and AI stdlib.
Still growing
We keep expanding these docs.
Baseline is usable today (install, book, core stdlib). The rest is active work: agent-backend recipes, deeper stdlib, cookbooks, better nav. The roadmap is a progress bar — not a finish line.
Public docs, private source.
Alef's documentation, examples, tutorials, release binaries, and example repositories can be public. The compiler and native runtime source repository remain private.
Book