CLI

The Cerune CLI validates source, executes intermediate representations, and generates code. For exact syntax and limitations see the authoritative CLI reference.

Validation and execution

Command	Purpose
check	Parse, validate semantics, and type-check without running
run / run-ir	Execute Cerune IR directly
run-mir	Execute MIR independently
run-vm	Lower to bytecode and execute in the VM
--version	Show the version

cerune check examples/hello.ceru
cerune run examples/hello.ceru
cerune run-vm examples/hello.ceru

run does not use the VM. run-ir is an alias for run. Passing check does not imply every backend can generate the program.

Intermediate representations and sources

Command	Output
emit-sources	JSON inventory of dependency filenames and source contents
emit-ir	Cerune IR with resolved types and references
emit-mir	MIR observation text
emit-lir	Native LIR observation text (requires --target)
emit-bytecode	Bytecode text

cerune emit-ir examples/hello.ceru
cerune emit-mir examples/hello.ceru -o hello.mir.txt
cerune emit-sources examples/modules/main.ceru -o sources.json

Text-producing emit-* commands normally write to stdout and accept -o. emit-sources includes full source contents, so review before sharing. Previously emitted IR text is not accepted as input to run.

Code generation

Command	Artifact
emit-c	C (.c)
emit-llvm	LLVM IR (.ll)
emit-qbe	QBE IR (.ssa)
emit-wat	WebAssembly Text (.wat)
emit-asm	x86-64 assembly (.s)
emit-obj	Native object (.o / .obj)

cerune emit-c examples/hello.ceru -o hello.c
cerune emit-llvm examples/hello.ceru --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu -o hello.ll

Emission does not link or run the generated program. Generated C, LLVM, QBE, assembly, and object files require external tooling; WAT requires a host with suitable imports.

LLVM and QBE require explicit --target for strings, dynamic arrays, output, checked operations, and similar features. Supported values are x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu and x86_64-pc-windows-msvc. emit-obj requires both --target and -o. Without --target, emit-asm produces Windows assembly regardless of the host OS.

Compiler observations (observe)

observe saves sources, HIR, MIR, annotated assembly, and a manifest from the same compilation.

cerune observe examples/hello.ceru --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu -o target/hello-observe

Both --target and -o are required. The output directory must not already exist; create its parent first. Optional --ssa and --lir flags are supported. Source text is included, but program execution, external tools, and linking are not performed.

Diagnostics and budgets

cerune run-vm examples/hello.ceru --diagnostic-format runtime-v1
cerune run examples/dynamic_arrays/copy.ceru --array-heap-limit 1024

--diagnostic-format runtime-v1 records runtime reasons, NodeIds, and source ranges. --string-heap-limit <bytes> and --array-heap-limit <bytes> independently default to 64 MiB. These are not process-wide memory caps; check and emit-sources reject them.

Unsupported commands and related pages

Integrated build/release and run-lir are not part of the current CLI.

• CLI specification (primary source)
• Getting Started
• Compiler Internals
• Tint