GraalVM compiles applications ahead of time into standalone binaries that start instantly, provide peak performance with no warmup, and use fewer resources.
You can use GraalVM just like any other Java Development Kit in your IDE.
The project website at https://www.graalvm.org/ describes how to get started, how to stay connected, and how to contribute.
Documentation
Please refer to the GraalVM website for documentation.
You can find most of the documentation sources in the docs/ directory in the same hierarchy as displayed on the website.
Additional documentation including developer instructions for individual components can be found in corresponding docs/ sub-directories.
The documentation for the Truffle framework, for example, is in truffle/docs/.
This also applies to languages, tools, and other components maintained in related repositories.
Instructions for building GraalVM from source are in vm/README.md.
Get Support
- Open a GitHub issue for reproducible bugs and concrete feature requests.
- Use GitHub Discussions or join the GraalVM Slack for questions, design discussion, and general community support.
- Read the contribution guide before opening a pull request.
- Report security vulnerabilities according to the Reporting Vulnerabilities guide, not in public issues.
Repository Structure
This source repository is the main repository for GraalVM and includes the following components:
| Directory | Description |
|---|
.github/ | Configuration files for GitHub issues, workflows, …. |
ci/ | Configuration files for internal CI/CD infrastructure. |
ci_includes/ | Configuration include files for internal CI/CD infrastructure. |
compiler/ | Graal compiler, a modern, versatile compiler written in Java. |
espresso-compiler-stub/ | A dummy GraalJVMCICompiler implementation for Espresso. |
espresso-shared/ | Espresso shared code for runtime class loading. |
espresso/ | Espresso, a meta-circular Java bytecode interpreter for the GraalVM. |
regex/ | TRegex, a regular expression engine for other GraalVM languages. |
sdk/ | GraalVM SDK, long-term supported APIs of GraalVM. |
substratevm/ | Framework for ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation with Native Image. |
sulong/ | Sulong, an engine for running LLVM bitcode on GraalVM. |
tools/ | Tools for Graal Languages implemented with the instrumentation framework. |
truffle/ | Language implementation framework for creating languages and tools. |
visualizer/ | Ideal Graph Visualizer (IGV), a tool for analyzing Graal compiler graphs. |
vm/ | Components for building GraalVM distributions. |
wasm/ | GraalWasm, an engine for running WebAssembly programs on GraalVM. |
web-image/ | Web Image, an experimental WebAssembly backend for Native Image. |
Related Repositories
GraalVM provides additional languages, tools, and other components developed in related repositories. These are:
| Name | Description |
|---|
| GraalJS | Implementation of JavaScript and Node.js. |
| GraalPy | Implementation of the Python language. |
| graalvm-reachability-metadata | Reachability metadata for open-source libraries. |
| Native Build Tools | Build tool plugins for GraalVM Native Image. |
| setup-graalvm | GitHub Action for GraalVM. |
| SimpleLanguage | A simple example language built with the Truffle framework. |
| SimpleTool | A simple example tool built with the Truffle framework. |
Examples and Tutorials
Explore practical examples, deep-dive workshops, and language-specific demos for working with GraalVM.
| Name | Description |
|---|
| GraalVM Demos | Example applications highlighting GraalVM key features and best practices. |
| GraalVM Workshops and Tutorials | Workshops and tutorials to help you learn and apply GraalVM tools and capabilities. |
| Graal Languages - Demos and Guides | Demo applications and guides for GraalJS, GraalPy, GraalWasm, and other Graal Languages. |
License
GraalVM Community Edition is open source and distributed under version 2 of the GNU General Public License with the “Classpath” Exception, which are the same terms as for Java. The licenses of the individual GraalVM components are generally derivative of the license of a particular language (see the table below).
| Component(s) | License |
|---|
| Espresso, Ideal Graph Visualizer, Web Image | GPL 2 |
| GraalVM Compiler, SubstrateVM, Tools, VM | GPL 2 with Classpath Exception |
| GraalVM SDK, GraalWasm, Truffle Framework, TRegex | Universal Permissive License |
| Sulong | 3-clause BSD |
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