WalkLang Status

Stable language contract: v1.9.

Current compiler/tooling/docs release: v5.8.0 draft local file text IO.

Experimental implemented language surface: v2.2.

State: v5.8.0 starts IO_PLAN.md Roadmap Phase 2, Local Filesystem IO, with a draft UTF-8 text-file slice. Draft file.read, file.write, and file.exists are now importable compiler APIs. file.read returns a runtime-owned string, file.write is an explicit do: effect that overwrites the target path, and file.exists returns host path existence as bool. Relative and absolute paths are passed to the host OS without normalization or ~ expansion; relative paths resolve against the native process current working directory. This first file slice is fail-stop: missing files, permission errors, empty read/write paths, invalid UTF-8 reads, embedded null bytes on read, and write failures stop the native program with a clear runtime error. Stable language contract remains v1.9. file.append, directory/path helpers, process.chdir, recoverable file result structs, JSON, process spawning, terminal raw mode, HTTP, and browser targets remain gated by IO_PLAN.md.

v5.8.0 verification on 2026-05-23: focused file IO tests first failed because imp: file was not implemented, then go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestDraftFileTextIOReadsWritesAndChecksExistence|TestDraftFileReadMissingFileFailsClearly|TestDraftFileReadInvalidUTF8FailsClearly|TestDoEffectConsoleAndProcessFoundation|TestRuntimeOwnedTextInputAndParseResults|TestReadLineReportsImmediateEOFAsData|TestV13GeneratedCSnapshots|TestV13FailFixturesHaveExpectedDiagnostics|TestV19ReleaseDocsArePresent' -count=1 passed after implementation and generated C snapshot refresh; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -trimpath -ldflags "-X main.version=v5.8.0" -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; ./build/walk version reported v5.8.0; ./build/walk check --warnings=error tests/pass/do_effects.walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.9 stress ok; scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after staging generated docs; scripts/release.sh v5.8.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; and the host release binary reported v5.8.0 from walk version.

State: v5.7.0 completes the IO_PLAN.md Phase 2 runtime-owned text input/parse slice as draft compiler APIs. The stable language contract remains v1.9. Draft IOReadResult, ParseIntResult, ParseFloatResult, and ParseBoolResult structs now expose the concrete recoverable result shape ok, value, and error. Draft io.read_line() and io.read_all() read runtime-owned stdin text, with immediate io.read_line() EOF returned as error 'eof'; draft parse.int, parse.float, and parse.bool return invalid conversion as data instead of nullable-only values or runtime stops. time.sleep remains a separate candidate time helper. File IO, directory/path helpers, process spawning, terminal raw mode, JSON, HTTP, and web/graphics targets remain gated by IO_PLAN.md.

v5.7.0 verification on 2026-05-23: focused IO/parse tests failed before implementation because parse was not a built-in module and io.read_line was unknown; after implementation, go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestRuntimeOwnedTextInputAndParseResults|TestReadLineReportsImmediateEOFAsData|TestV13GeneratedCSnapshots|TestV13FailFixturesHaveExpectedDiagnostics|TestV19ReleaseDocsArePresent' -count=1 passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -trimpath -ldflags "-X main.version=v5.7.0" -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; ./build/walk version reported v5.7.0; ./build/walk check --warnings=error tests/pass/do_effects.walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.9 stress ok; scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after staging generated docs; scripts/release.sh v5.7.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; and the host release binary reported v5.7.0 from walk version.

IO planning update on 2026-05-23: IO_PLAN.md now uses a five-phase implementation roadmap for future planning and handoffs: CLI text IO, local filesystem IO, process and data interop, terminal UX, and network/rich runtimes. The older Phase 0-10 notes remain as detailed dependency notes, not the primary roadmap. Roadmap Phase 1 is done as draft compiler APIs in v5.7.0; the next implementation milestone is Roadmap Phase 2, Local Filesystem IO. Its first gates are path policy, UTF-8 file policy, fail-stop versus recoverable file API shape, temp-directory tests, and cwd mutation policy for process.chdir.

State: v5.6.0 completes IO_PLAN.md Phase 0 and the implementable Phase 1 console/process foundation as draft compiler APIs. The stable language contract remains v1.9. Draft do: effect statements now accept registered effect calls; draft io.write, io.write_line, and io.error_line cover stdout/stderr line helpers; draft process.args, process.arg_count, process.env, process.cwd, and process.exit cover the first process helpers; and new IO functions are recorded in a built-in API registry with draft/effect/runtime metadata. Later IO phases remain gated on their documented prerequisites, especially recoverable error results, text/path policy, richer data modeling, and networking security policy.

v5.6.0 verification on 2026-05-22: the focused IO/process tests failed before implementation because do: was unsupported and io was not a built-in module; after implementation, go test ./cmd/walk ./internal/format -run 'TestDoEffectConsoleAndProcessFoundation|TestProcessExitEffectExitsWithCode|TestV13PassFixturesBuildAndRun|TestV13FailFixturesHaveExpectedDiagnostics|TestV19ReleaseDocsArePresent|TestFormatterNormalizesDoEffectStatement' -count=1 passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed after refreshing the generated C snapshots for the new runtime helper block; go build -trimpath -ldflags "-X main.version=v5.6.0" -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; ./build/walk version reported v5.6.0; ./build/walk check --warnings=error tests/pass/do_effects.walk passed; ./build/walk tests/pass/do_effects.walk printed loading and done; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.9 stress ok; scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after staging generated docs; scripts/release.sh v5.6.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; and the host release binary reported v5.6.0 from walk version.

State: v5.5.0 adds the v1.9 stable string interpolation surface. Single-quoted strings can include {expression} display values, interpolation supports int, float, bool, string, and nullable string values, and doubled braces such as {{word}} print literal braces.

v5.5.0 verification on 2026-05-22: focused interpolation conformance failed before implementation because strings printed literally and bad interpolation values were accepted; after the fix, go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestV13PassFixturesBuildAndRun|TestV13FailFixturesHaveExpectedDiagnostics' -count=1 passed; go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestV13PassFixturesBuildAndRun|TestV19CompatibilitySuite' -count=1 passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -trimpath -ldflags "-X main.version=v5.5.0" -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; ./build/walk version reported v5.5.0; ./build/walk check --warnings=error tests/pass/interpolation.walk passed; ./build/walk tests/pass/interpolation.walk printed the expected interpolated lines; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.9 stress ok; scripts/release.sh v5.5.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; the host release binary reported v5.5.0 from walk version; scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed; and git diff --check --cached passed for the staged release diff. Full worktree git diff --check is still blocked by the pre-existing unstaged playground/hangman-v2.walk trailing whitespace.

Docs brand polish update on 2026-05-22: the generated docs site is now dark-mode only, uses a blue WalkLang accent family instead of the previous green tokens, publishes the compact WalkLang icon as /favicon.svg, uses that compact mark in the docs sidebar, and declares the same mark as the VS Code walk language icon for compatible file icon themes.

Docs brand polish verification on 2026-05-22: focused site-generator tests cover the root favicon link, compact sidebar icon, dark blue accent tokens, removed green tokens, and existing VS Code language icon asset path; go test ./scripts -count=1 passed; scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; and scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after regenerating public/.

Live docs TLS recovery on 2026-05-22: root cause was GitHub Pages serving the custom domain over HTTP while no Pages TLS certificate existed for walklang.wlkrlabs.com; DNS was already valid as the DNS-only walklang -> scwlkr.github.io CNAME and the Pages health check reported the domain as valid and HTTPS-eligible. Removed and re-added the Pages custom domain to restart certificate provisioning, confirmed the new Let's Encrypt certificate includes walklang.wlkrlabs.com, enabled HTTPS enforcement, and triggered a fresh Pages deployment to clear the cached HTTP homepage. Live verification passed with http://walklang.wlkrlabs.com returning 301 to https://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/, https://walklang.wlkrlabs.com returning 200, GitHub Pages API reporting https_enforced: true, and Pages health reporting responds_to_https: true plus enforces_https: true.

State: v5.4.1 fixes random.choice and random.int to use a runtime-owned PRNG seeded once per native process instead of the C runtime's unseeded default rand() state.

v5.4.1 verification on 2026-05-22: added TestRandomChoiceSeedsFreshProcesses and confirmed it failed before the runtime fix because fresh native processes all produced the same first random.choice value; after the fix, full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -trimpath -ldflags "-X main.version=v5.4.1" -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed and ./build/walk version reported v5.4.1; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.8 stress ok; scripts/release.sh v5.4.1 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; the host release binary reported v5.4.1 from walk version; scripts/install-local.sh v5.4.1 installed /Users/shanewalker/.local/bin/walk; and twelve fresh installed walk hangman-v2.walk runs from playground/ produced multiple choices.

State: v5.4 is complete against the new v1.8 terminal-game helper surface. Stable v1.8 adds string.at, string indexing with word[0], string.contains, string.concat, array.contains, array.push, explicitly typed empty arrays such as var: guessed array[string] = [], and random.choice for non-empty stable native arrays. The helpers keep the existing expression/module model: array.push returns a new array and string building uses string.concat instead of changing numeric +.

Hangman readiness update on 2026-05-22: playground/hangman.walk is now a compiling terminal Hangman example using in:, out:, if:, while:, functions, string indexing, contains checks, functional array push, and random choice.

v5.4 verification on 2026-05-22: full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.8 stress ok; ./build/walk check --warnings=error playground/hangman.walk passed; ./build/walk build playground/hangman.walk -o build/hangman plus a piped wrong-guess smoke run passed; scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; scripts/release.sh v5.4.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; the host release binary reported v5.4.0 from walk version; and git diff --check passed.

State: v5.3 is complete against the new v1.7 stable in: input rule. in: is a core expression that returns string, can be used anywhere an expression is valid, reads exactly one required line from stdin, supports an optional string prompt expression written to stdout without a newline, flushes stdout before reading, strips only the final line ending, preserves all other characters, returns '' for an empty line, accepts a final unterminated line, and runtime-stops on immediate EOF, stdin read failure, or allocation failure.

v5.3 verification on 2026-05-22: focused go test ./cmd/walk ./internal/format -run 'TestInExpression|TestInPrompt|TestV17Formatter' -count=1 passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.7 stress ok; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after generated site artifacts were staged; scripts/release.sh v5.3.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; the host release binary reported v5.3.0 from walk version; and git diff --check passed.

IO planning update on 2026-05-22: IO_PLAN.md now records stable out: and in: as the current baseline, the proposed module-first IO direction for most future IO, the recommended do: effect-call decision point, runtime-owned string and recoverable-error prerequisites, feature-by-feature implementation costs, and a phased order for files, directories, JSON, networking, web, and graphics.

IO planning verification on 2026-05-22: scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.6 stress ok; scripts/release.sh v5.2.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; and the host release binary reported v5.2.0 from walk version.

State: v5.2 is complete against the new v1.6 local function type inference rule. Ordinary functions may omit parameter and return types when the local body proves the types; ambiguous omitted parameter types now fail with a direct annotation diagnostic; normal typed signatures remain valid; inference does not use later call sites; and C remains the primary backend.

v5.2 verification on 2026-05-22: focused go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestFunctionTypeInference|TestV15ReleasePrepDocsArePresent' -count=1 passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed and reported v1.6 stress ok; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after generated site artifacts were staged; scripts/release.sh v5.2.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; the host release binary reported v5.2.0 from walk version; and git diff --check passed.

Live docs verification on 2026-05-22: walklang.wlkrlabs.com resolves through the DNS-only walklang -> scwlkr.github.io CNAME to GitHub Pages addresses; http://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/docs/ returns 200 OK from GitHub Pages and includes the v5.1 docs content; http://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/docs/reference/api.json returns repo-relative source paths. HTTPS is not enforced yet because GitHub Pages still reports The certificate does not exist yet when enabling HTTPS and https://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/docs/ still fails certificate hostname validation.

Public positioning update on 2026-05-22: README and docs front-door wording now distinguish the stable v1.5 language contract, the current v5.1.0 compiler/tooling/docs release, and the experimental v2.2 language surface. README now includes a tiny WalkLang function example, a "What works today" section, and less inflated repository-scope wording. HTTPS remediation checked the live DNS CNAME, CAA records, Pages API state, and Pages HTTP response; DNS points at scwlkr.github.io, CAA allows Let's Encrypt, HTTP still returns 200 OK, but GitHub still rejects HTTPS enforcement with The certificate does not exist yet. After the Pages deployment for commit 335c877 completed successfully, a second HTTPS enforcement attempt failed with the same certificate message and https://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/docs/ still failed hostname validation. No DNS or repo-side blocker is visible; the remaining action is to retry once GitHub has issued the Pages certificate.

Public positioning verification on 2026-05-22: scripts/build-docs-site.sh passed; scripts/check-docs-site.sh passed after generated site artifacts were staged; git diff --check passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed; scripts/release.sh v5.1.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; and the host release binary reported v5.1.0 from walk version.

Docs setup on 2026-05-22: the root README now follows a Rust-style repository landing-page shape, docs/README.md is the canonical docs front door and source for the https://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/docs hosted path, CONTRIBUTING.md documents the local contribution and verification path, and docs/DOCS_STYLE_GUIDE.md records the source-grounded docs rules plus generated-reference expectations.

Docs setup verification on 2026-05-22: curl -I --max-time 10 https://walklang.wlkrlabs.com/docs failed with Could not resolve host, so the hosted docs URL remains a planned publish target; changed-doc local Markdown links passed; git diff --check passed; go test -count=1 ./... passed; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; ./build/walk docs --strict -o build/docs-check-api.md examples/v1.walk passed; ./build/walk docs --strict --format json -o build/docs-check-api.json examples/v1.walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed; and scripts/release.sh v5.0.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus 5 checksum lines.

v5 verification on 2026-05-22: baseline go test -count=1 ./... passed before implementation; focused go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestV5|TestV13GeneratedCSnapshots' -count=1 passed; full go test -count=1 ./... passed after the final code/test changes; go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk passed; WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh passed; scripts/release.sh v5.0.0 <temp>/release produced 5 platform artifacts plus SHA256SUMS; wc -l <temp>/release/SHA256SUMS reported 5 checksum lines; the host release binary reported v5.0.0 from walk version; and git diff --check passed.

Previous v4.1 verification on 2026-05-22: focused go test ./cmd/walk -run 'TestV4DocsAndDebugMapCommands|TestV4LSPDiagnosticsFormattingAndCompletion' -count=1, lexer/parser go test ./internal/lexer ./internal/parser -count=1, focused go test ./cmd/walk -run TestV4 -count=1, full go test -count=1 ./..., go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk, ./build/walk docs --strict -o build/v4.1-api.md examples/v1.walk, ./build/walk docs --strict --format json -o build/v4.1-api.json examples/v1.walk, WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh, scripts/release.sh v4.1.0 <temp>/release, SHA256SUMS line count check, and git diff --check all passed.

Release CI maintenance on 2026-05-22: GitHub Actions workflow uses Node 24 first-party actions, disables unnecessary Go dependency caching for this no-go.sum module, runs scripts/check-docs-site.sh, and now publishes v5.4.1-labeled release artifacts.

Playground example update on 2026-05-22: playground/route_ranker.walk now demonstrates a compact route-ranking program with structs, arrays, loops, typed helper functions, prefix math, and scalar output. Verification passed with ./build/walk check --warnings=error playground/route_ranker.walk, ./build/walk build playground/route_ranker.walk -o build/route_ranker, and ./build/route_ranker, which printed Library Lane with score 46; broader verification passed with go test -count=1 ./..., scripts/check-docs-site.sh, WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh, scripts/release.sh v5.1.0 <temp>/release, a 5-line SHA256SUMS check, host release binary walk version reporting v5.1.0, and git diff --check.

CLI run shortcut update on 2026-05-22: walk run <source.walk> now compiles a single file to a temporary native executable, runs it, streams program input and output, and removes the temporary build directory; walk <source.walk> is a direct shorthand for the same flow. Verification passed with focused go test ./cmd/walk -run TestRunCommandRunsSingleFileAndDirectFileAlias -count=1, go build -o build/walk ./cmd/walk, ./build/walk run playground/route_ranker.walk, ./build/walk playground/route_ranker.walk, full go test -count=1 ./..., scripts/check-docs-site.sh, WALK_BIN=$PWD/build/walk scripts/stress-v1.sh, scripts/release.sh v5.1.0 <temp>/release, a 5-line SHA256SUMS check, host release binary walk version reporting v5.1.0, and git diff --check.

Next: continue the remaining IO_PLAN.md Roadmap Phase 2 work with file.append, directory/path helpers, process.chdir, and recoverable file result structs before moving to Phase 3 process/data interop.