Hare

Hare is a small compiled systems language with a C-like execution model, tagged unions for errors, and a standard library that ships with the compiler. Current release 0.26.0.1 (point release of 0.26.0, 2026-02-13); there is no 1.0 and the project states it has not reached its planned 1.0 freeze. Supported targets: x86_64, aarch64, riscv64 on Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and DragonFlyBSD. No generics, no macros, no package manager.

Contract

Field	Bound contract
Trigger	The user writes, builds, tests, or evaluates Hare code, needs the C FFI pattern, or asks whether Hare fits a utility, daemon, or tool compared with C or Zig.
Authority	Reversible local: writes only Hare source files, build outputs named by -o, and the toolchain install under the prefix the user chose; rollback is deleting those files or make uninstall in the toolchain clone. No remote mutation.
Side effect	Source and binary files in the project directory. A toolchain bootstrap compiles qbe, harec, and hare and installs them under /usr/local by default.
Done	The program builds with hare build, its tests pass under hare test, every error path is propagated with ? or handled in a match, and any C boundary is declared with the bodyless-prototype form and linked with -l.

Inputs

• Source directory: a Hare module is a directory holding one or more .ha files. Dependencies resolve by scanning use directives, first in the working directory and then along HAREPATH (a colon-separated list; hare version -v prints the default). There is no manifest file.
• Toolchain: qbe (backend), harec (compiler), hare (build driver and standard library). A C11 compiler and scdoc (for man pages, optional) are the bootstrap dependencies.
• Build tags when a file is platform- or mode-specific: +linux, +test, +libc in the file name or via -T.
• For C interop: the C library name for -l and, when the header lives off the default path, -L.

Procedure

1. Install or confirm the toolchain. Check with hare version. To bootstrap: clone and make then make install harec from https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/harec, then the same for hare from https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/hare (make check runs its test suite first). Install qbe from https://c9x.me/compile/ before harec. Root is needed only because the default prefix is /usr/local. Done when: hare version prints a version.

2. Lay out the module. Create a directory and a main.ha:

   use fmt;
   
   export fn main() void = {
   	fmt::println("Hello, Hare!")!;
   };
   

   Build with hare build -o mytool and run with ./mytool, or hare run . to do both. Done when: the binary prints the greeting.

3. Handle errors as values. A fallible function returns a tagged union of its result and its error types. ? propagates an error to the caller; ! asserts success and aborts on error; match handles each case.

   use fmt;
   use fs;
   use io;
   use os;
   use strings;
   use encoding::utf8;
   
   fn read_file(path: str) (str | fs::error | io::error | utf8::invalid) = {
   	const file = os::open(path)?;
   	defer io::close(file)!;
   	const buf = io::drain(file)?;
   	return strings::fromutf8(buf)?;
   };
   
   export fn main() void = {
   	match (read_file("config.txt")) {
   	case let s: str =>
   		fmt::println(s)!;
   	case let err: fs::error =>
   		fmt::fatalf("error: {}", fs::strerror(err));
   	case let err: io::error =>
   		fmt::fatalf("error: {}", io::strerror(err));
   	case utf8::invalid =>
   		fmt::fatal("config.txt is not UTF-8");
   	};
   };
   

   os::open returns (io::file | fs::error); os defines no error type of its own. io::drain allocates and reads to end of file; io::readall fills a caller-supplied buffer instead. strings::fromutf8 returns (str | utf8::invalid), never a bare str. Done when: the compiler accepts the function and every union member has a case.

4. Use the type system as written. Tagged unions: type color = (u8 | u16 | void);. Slices are pointer plus length: fn sum(nums: []i32) i32 with for (let i = 0z; i < len(nums); i += 1). Size literals carry the z suffix. There are no implicit numeric conversions; cast with v: u16. abort() and abort("message") end the program; fmt::fatalf prints and exits. Done when: no conversion is implicit and every match on a union is exhaustive or has a case => arm.

5. Cross the C boundary with a bodyless prototype. Import types::c for C-compatible types and declare the foreign function without a body; add @symbol("name") only when the Hare identifier must differ from the linker symbol:

   use types::c;
   
   export type FILE = opaque;
   export @symbol("fopen") fn fopen(pathname: const *c::char, mode: const *c::char) nullable *FILE;
   

   Export a Hare function to C with the same attribute in reverse: export @symbol("greet_user") fn greet_user(user: const *c::char) int = { ... };. Link with hare build -l <libname>; any -l also links libc and adds the +libc tag. There is no @extern attribute. Done when: the program links and calls across the boundary.

6. Write tests next to the code in +test.ha files with the @test attribute and assert:

   @test fn sum_small() void = {
   	assert(sum([1i32, 2, 3]) == 6);
   };
   

   hare test adds the +test tag and runs them; a trailing glob selects tests by name. -v prints the compiler and linker commands, not per-test detail. Done when: hare test exits 0.

7. Reach for the standard library before writing code: fmt, io, os, fs, strings, bufio, memio, net (with net::tcp, net::udp, net::dial, net::dns, net::ip, net::uri), time (with time::date, time::chrono), encoding (base32, base64, hex, pem, utf8, asn1), types::c. JSON is not in the core library; hare-json is a separate extended-library repository providing encoding::json. Done when: no hand-written code duplicates a stdlib module.

8. Decide fit. Hare suits command-line utilities, build tools replacing shell, small network daemons, and code that must stay auditable without a runtime. Choose Zig instead when compile-time generics or metaprogramming carry the design (zig-cinterop covers its C boundary), and C when the project is glue over a large existing C code base (gcc). Done when: the recommendation names the deciding constraint.

Failure and recovery

Failure	Cause	Fix
unknown type or unresolved identifier	Missing use module; or module not on HAREPATH	Add the use line; check hare version -v for the search path
Link error on a C symbol	Library not passed	Add -l <libname> and, for a non-default path, -L <dir>
Compiler rejects an unhandled union member	match not exhaustive	Add the missing case or a case => arm; or propagate with ?
utf8::invalid at runtime	Bytes are not UTF-8	Handle the strings::fromutf8 error case instead of asserting with !
Test not run	File lacks the +test tag or function lacks @test	Rename to name+test.ha and add the attribute
No stdlib module for a platform call	Library gap	Declare the libc function as a bodyless prototype and link with -l
Code from an older tutorial fails to compile	Pre-1.0 churn; 0.26.0 replaced @offset with _ padding fields	Read the release notes for the installed version

Output

A Hare module that builds with hare build, passes hare test, propagates or handles every error, and declares any C boundary with the bodyless-prototype form and the -l flags recorded; plus, when the question was fit, a recommendation naming the deciding constraint.