Build and Run

Build and run an application

MatchBox supports a quick interpreter loop and multiple deployment targets. Start by running a source file, then select a build based on the target host.

Run a BoxLang script

function greet(name) {
    return "Hello, #name#!";
}

println(greet("world"));

matchbox hello.bxs

Use the REPL

Run matchbox without a filename to start an interactive session. The REPL is useful for trying expressions and language features before putting them in a file.

Build for a target

matchbox --build hello.bxs          # portable bytecode; requires a MatchBox runner
matchbox --target native hello.bxs  # native executable for the current host
matchbox --target js hello.bxs      # JavaScript + WebAssembly module output
matchbox --target wasm hello.bxs    # raw WebAssembly output

These commands and available targets depend on the installed MatchBox distribution and build. Check matchbox --help and the corresponding target guides. A successful compilation does not validate execution on a different host.