Zig — Modern Systems Programming Language

Overview

Zig, the systems programming language focused on performance, safety, and readability. Helps developers write high-performance code with compile-time evaluation, seamless C interop, no hidden control flow, and no garbage collector. Zig is used for game engines, operating systems, networking, and as a C/C++ replacement.

Instructions

Build System

# Install Zig
brew install zig    # macOS
# Or download from https://ziglang.org/download/

# Create a project
mkdir my-project && cd my-project
zig init

# Build and run
zig build run

# Test
zig build test

# Cross-compile (Zig's killer feature — no extra toolchains needed)
zig build -Dtarget=x86_64-linux-gnu
zig build -Dtarget=aarch64-macos
zig build -Dtarget=x86_64-windows-gnu

Core Language

// src/main.zig — Zig fundamentals
const std = @import("std");
const Allocator = std.mem.Allocator;

// Structs are the primary abstraction (no classes, no inheritance)
const Task = struct {
    id: u64,
    title: []const u8,       // Slice — pointer + length, no null terminator
    priority: Priority,
    status: Status,

    const Self = @This();

    pub fn isOverdue(self: Self, now: i64) bool {
        return self.due_date != null and self.due_date.? < now;
    }

    pub fn format(self: Self, writer: anytype) !void {
        try writer.print("[{s}] {s} ({})\n", .{
            @tagName(self.status),
            self.title,
            @tagName(self.priority),
        });
    }
};

const Priority = enum { low, medium, high, urgent };
const Status = enum { todo, in_progress, review, done, cancelled };

// Error handling — errors are values, not exceptions
const TaskError = error{
    NotFound,
    InvalidTransition,
    TitleTooLong,
    StorageFull,
};

// Explicit allocator — you choose where memory comes from
fn createTask(allocator: Allocator, title: []const u8, priority: Priority) TaskError!*Task {
    if (title.len > 256) return TaskError.TitleTooLong;

    const task = allocator.create(Task) catch return TaskError.StorageFull;
    task.* = .{
        .id = generateId(),
        .title = allocator.dupe(u8, title) catch return TaskError.StorageFull,
        .priority = priority,
        .status = .todo,
    };
    return task;
}

pub fn main() !void {
    // Arena allocator — free everything at once (fast, simple)
    var arena = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(std.heap.page_allocator);
    defer arena.deinit();     // Free ALL memory when scope exits
    const allocator = arena.allocator();

    const task = try createTask(allocator, "Implement auth", .high);
    const stdout = std.io.getStdOut().writer();
    try task.format(stdout);
}

Comptime (Compile-Time Evaluation)

// comptime.zig — Zig's most powerful feature: code that runs at compile time
const std = @import("std");

// Generic data structures — type parameter resolved at compile time
fn ArrayList(comptime T: type) type {
    return struct {
        items: []T,
        capacity: usize,
        allocator: std.mem.Allocator,

        const Self = @This();

        pub fn init(allocator: std.mem.Allocator) Self {
            return .{ .items = &.{}, .capacity = 0, .allocator = allocator };
        }

        pub fn append(self: *Self, item: T) !void {
            if (self.items.len >= self.capacity) {
                try self.grow();
            }
            self.items.len += 1;
            self.items[self.items.len - 1] = item;
        }

        fn grow(self: *Self) !void {
            const new_cap = if (self.capacity == 0) 8 else self.capacity * 2;
            self.items = try self.allocator.realloc(self.items, new_cap);
            self.capacity = new_cap;
        }
    };
}

// Compile-time string formatting for embedded/no-alloc contexts
fn comptimeConcat(comptime a: []const u8, comptime b: []const u8) *const [a.len + b.len]u8 {
    comptime {
        var result: [a.len + b.len]u8 = undefined;
        @memcpy(result[0..a.len], a);
        @memcpy(result[a.len..], b);
        return &result;
    }
}

// This is evaluated entirely at compile time — zero runtime cost
const greeting = comptimeConcat("Hello, ", "Zig!");
// greeting is a compile-time constant: "Hello, Zig!"

HTTP Server

// src/server.zig — HTTP server with std.http
const std = @import("std");
const http = std.http;

pub fn main() !void {
    var gpa = std.heap.GeneralPurposeAllocator(.{}){};
    defer _ = gpa.deinit();
    const allocator = gpa.allocator();

    var server = try std.net.Server.init(.{
        .address = try std.net.Address.parseIp("0.0.0.0", 8080),
        .reuse_address = true,
    });
    defer server.deinit();

    std.log.info("Server listening on :8080", .{});

    while (true) {
        const connection = try server.accept();
        // Handle each connection (in production, use a thread pool)
        handleConnection(allocator, connection) catch |err| {
            std.log.err("Connection error: {}", .{err});
        };
    }
}

fn handleConnection(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, connection: std.net.Server.Connection) !void {
    defer connection.stream.close();

    var buf: [8192]u8 = undefined;
    var server = http.Server.init(connection, &buf);

    var request = try server.receiveHead();
    const path = request.head.target;

    if (std.mem.eql(u8, path, "/api/health")) {
        try request.respond(
            "{\"status\":\"ok\"}",
            .{ .extra_headers = &.{.{ .name = "content-type", .value = "application/json" }} },
        );
    } else {
        try request.respond("Not Found", .{ .status = .not_found });
    }
}

C Interop (Zero Overhead)

// c_interop.zig — Call C libraries directly, no bindings generator needed
const c = @cImport({
    @cInclude("sqlite3.h");    // Include any C header
});

const Database = struct {
    db: *c.sqlite3,

    pub fn open(path: [*:0]const u8) !Database {
        var db: ?*c.sqlite3 = null;
        const rc = c.sqlite3_open(path, &db);
        if (rc != c.SQLITE_OK) return error.DatabaseOpenFailed;
        return .{ .db = db.? };
    }

    pub fn close(self: *Database) void {
        _ = c.sqlite3_close(self.db);
    }

    pub fn exec(self: *Database, sql: [*:0]const u8) !void {
        var err_msg: ?[*:0]u8 = null;
        const rc = c.sqlite3_exec(self.db, sql, null, null, &err_msg);
        if (rc != c.SQLITE_OK) {
            if (err_msg) |msg| c.sqlite3_free(msg);
            return error.QueryFailed;
        }
    }
};

Installation

# macOS
brew install zig

# Linux (snap)
snap install zig --classic

# Or download binary from https://ziglang.org/download/

# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/ziglang/zig
cd zig && cmake -B build && cmake --build build

Examples

Example 1: Building a feature with Zig

User request:

Add a real-time collaborative build system to my React app using Zig.

The agent installs the package, creates the component with proper Zig initialization, implements the build system with event handling and state management, and adds TypeScript types for the integration.

Example 2: Migrating an existing feature to Zig

User request:

I have a basic core language built with custom code. Migrate it to use Zig for better core language support.

The agent reads the existing implementation, maps the custom logic to Zig's API, rewrites the components using Zig's primitives, preserves existing behavior, and adds features only possible with Zig (like Comptime, HTTP Server).

Guidelines

1. Explicit allocators — Every function that allocates takes an Allocator parameter; this gives you control over where memory comes from
2. Arena allocators for requests — Use ArenaAllocator for request-scoped work; free everything at once with deinit()
3. defer for cleanup — Always defer resource cleanup immediately after acquisition; prevents leaks and use-after-free
4. Comptime over runtime — If something can be computed at compile time, it should be; use comptime parameters for zero-cost generics
5. Error unions for safety — Use ! (error union) return types; the compiler forces you to handle or propagate every error
6. C interop for ecosystems — Use @cImport to call any C library directly; no FFI overhead, no bindings generator needed
7. Cross-compilation built-in — Zig can cross-compile to 40+ targets with no extra toolchains; one binary, any platform
8. No hidden control flow — No exceptions, no operator overloading, no hidden allocations; every function call is visible in the code