ConfigsApr 11, 2026·1 min read

Zig — General-Purpose Programming Language and Toolchain

Zig is a general-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining robust, optimal, and reusable software. Simpler than C with no preprocessor, no hidden control flow, no hidden allocations. Also a drop-in C/C++ compiler with cross-compilation out of the box.

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Quick Use

Use it first, then decide how deep to go

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# Install
brew install zig                           # macOS
snap install zig --classic --beta          # Linux
# Or download from https://ziglang.org/download

zig version

Hello world:

const std = @import("std");

pub fn main() !void {
    const stdout = std.io.getStdOut().writer();
    try stdout.print("Hello, {s}!", .{ "world" });
}

Build and run:

zig init-exe
zig build run
zig build test
zig build-exe src/main.zig -O ReleaseFast

# Cross-compile from any host
zig build-exe -target x86_64-linux-gnu src/main.zig
zig build-exe -target aarch64-macos src/main.zig

# Use Zig as a C/C++ compiler
zig cc -o app app.c
zig c++ -o app app.cpp
Intro

Zig is a general-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining robust, optimal, and reusable software. Designed by Andrew Kelley starting in 2015, Zig aims to be a modern improvement over C: no hidden control flow, no hidden memory allocations, manual memory management with safety tools, and first-class cross-compilation. Zig is also a drop-in C/C++ compiler (via LLVM).

What Zig Does

  • No hidden control flow — no operator overloading, no exceptions, no implicit allocations
  • Manual memory with allocators — all allocation is explicit; pass allocators as parameters
  • Comptime — compile-time evaluation for generics, type reflection, code gen
  • Error union types — !T return types replace exceptions
  • C ABI interop — call C directly, compile C with zig cc
  • Cross-compile — any target from any host, no extra toolchain
  • Build system — zig build replaces make/cmake
  • Safety modes — Debug, ReleaseSafe, ReleaseFast, ReleaseSmall
  • Async/await — cooperative multitasking (frozen in recent versions)

Architecture

Compiler built on top of LLVM (Zig also has a self-hosted backend in progress). Comptime is the star feature — Zig runs normal Zig code at compile time for generics, type transformation, and code generation. Zig cc uses Clang and bundled libc headers for turnkey C/C++ cross-compilation.

Self-Hosting

Language toolchain.

Key Features

  • Simpler than C++, safer than C
  • Explicit memory allocators
  • Comptime metaprogramming
  • Error union types
  • Cross-compile everywhere
  • Zig as a C/C++ compiler
  • Build system built in
  • Great stack traces in Debug mode
  • WebAssembly target
  • Bit-packed structs

Comparison

Language Memory Model Cross-Compile Comptime
Zig Manual + allocators Trivial First-class
Rust Ownership Harder Limited (macros)
C Manual Hard Preprocessor
C++ Manual + RAII Hard Templates
Go GC Good Limited
Odin Manual Good Limited

常见问题 FAQ

Q: Zig vs Rust？ A: Rust 追求编译时内存安全（borrow checker）；Zig 追求简单性和可读性，保留手动内存管理但加上工具（GPA 内存检测）。Zig 更容易学，Rust 更安全。

Q: 已经稳定了吗？ A: 还没到 1.0。v0.13+ 稳定性快速提升。生产项目如 Bun、TigerBeetle 在用。

Q: 为什么能当 C 编译器？ A: Zig 打包了 LLVM + Clang + 完整 libc 头文件集合，所以 zig cc 可以 cross-compile C/C++ 到任何 LLVM 支持的 target，零配置。

来源与致谢 Sources

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