Welcome to Fil-C, a memory safe implementation of the C and C++ programming languages you already know and love.
What is Fil-C?
Fil-C is a fanatically compatible memory-safe implementation of C and C++. Lots of software compiles and runs with Fil-C with zero or minimal changes. All memory safety errors are caught as Fil-C panics. Fil-C achieves this using a combination of concurrent garbage collection and invisible capabilities (InvisiCaps). Every possibly-unsafe C and C++ operation is checked. Fil-C has no unsafe escape hatch of any kind.
Key Features
- Memory Safety: Advanced runtime checks to prevent exploitable memory safety errors. Unlike other approaches to increasing the safety of C, Fil-C achieves complete memory safety with zero escape hatches.
- C and C++ Compatibility: Your C or C++ software most likely compiles and runs in Fil-C with zero changes. Many open source programs, including CPython, OpenSSH, GNU Emacs, and Wayland work great in Fil-C. Even advanced features like threads, atomics, exceptions, signal handling,
longjmp/setjmp, and shared memory (mmapstyle or Sys-V style) work. It's possible to run a totally memory safe Linux userland, including GUI, with Fil-C. - Modern Tooling: Compiler is based on a recent version of clang (20.1.8), supports all clang extensions, most GCC extensions, and works with existing C/C++ build systems (make, autotools, cmake, meson, etc).
License
Fil-C's compiler is licensed under Apache 2. Fil-C's runtime is licensed under BSD 2-clause. Fil-C has two standard libraries; musl is used in binary distributions and is licensed under MIT, while glibc is available for source builds and in Pizlix and is licensed under LGPL 2.1.
Documentation
- Installation Guide
- InvisiCaps: The Fil-C Capability Model
- Fil's Unbelievable C Compiler
- Fil's Unbelievable Garbage Collector
- List of programs ported to Fil-C
- More Documentation
Community
Join the Fil-C Discord community to discuss the language implementation, share projects, and contribute to its development.