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Ant is a high-performance JavaScript runtime built from scratch. At just ~9 MB with a ~5 ms cold start, it carries more than it weighs — running your scripts, serving HTTP, calling native libraries, and executing WebAssembly, all from a single binary. TypeScript works out of the box, no configuration required.

Installation

Install Ant on macOS, Linux, or Windows in one command.

Quick Start

Run your first script and HTTP server in under five minutes.

Package Manager

Install npm packages and manage dependencies with the built-in package manager.

Built-in APIs

Explore Ant’s built-in modules: fetch, fs, crypto, streams, and more.

TypeScript

Run TypeScript files directly — no build step, no tsconfig required.

FFI & WebAssembly

Call native libraries and run WASM modules from JavaScript.

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Why Ant?

Ant is designed for environments where binary size and startup time matter — serverless functions, edge computing, embedded systems, and CLI tools. Unlike runtimes that wrap V8, JSC, or SpiderMonkey, Ant Silver is a hand-built engine with a JIT compiler, giving you near-compiled performance at a fraction of the size.
AntNodeBunDeno
Binary size~9 MB~120 MB~60 MB~90 MB
Cold start~5 ms~31 ms~13 ms~25 ms
TypeScriptBuilt-inNoBuilt-inBuilt-in
WinterTC conformant✓partial✓✓
1

Install Ant

curl -fsSL https://ant.themackabu.com/install | bash
2

Run a script

ant hello.js
3

Start an HTTP server

Export a fetch handler from any file and Ant starts a server automatically.
export default {
  port: 3000,
  fetch(req) {
    return new Response("Hello from Ant!");
  }
};

ant server.js
4

Install npm packages

ant add hono
ant run start