Download and Install Lingua Franca

All Lingua Franca tools require Java 17 or up (download from Oracle). Each target language may have additional requirements. See the Target Language Details) page and select your target language. The alternatives:

Visual Studio Code

The easiest way to get started with Lingua Franca is to install our Visual Studio Code extension from theVisual Studio Marketplaceor VSX Registry. To install this extension from the marketplace, launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl + P) and enter `ext install lf-lang.vscode-lingua-franca`. See more details.

Epoch IDE

Epoch can be installed in any directory. It is convenient to add the installation directory to your PATH. On a Mac, you can drag epoch.app to the Applications folder and open it from anywhere using open -a epoch. To download the current development version of Epoch, replace the following tar and zip files with those from the nightly build.

Linux

Download Epoch IDE 0.2.0 for Linux and run:

tar xvf epoch_ide_0.2.0-linux.gtk.x86_64.tar.gz

cd epoch_ide_0.2.0-linux.gtk.x86_64

./epoch

macOS

Download Epoch IDE 0.2.0 for macOS and run:

open epoch_ide_0.2.0-macosx.cocoa.x86_64.tar

xattr -cr Epoch.app

open -a Epoch

Windows

Download Epoch IDE 0.2.0 for Windows and run:

unzip epoch_ide_0.2.0-win32.win32.x86_64.zip

cd epoch_ide_0.2.0-win32.win32.x86_64

.\epoch

See more details.

Lingua Franca Compiler (command-line)

Our command line compiler can be installed in any directory. It is most convenient to add the bin directory to your PATH. To download the current development version of the command-line tools, replace the following tar and zip files with those from the nightly build.

Linux and macOS

Download lfc 0.2.0 for Linux/Mac and run:

tar xvf lfc_0.2.0.tar.gz

./lfc_0.2.0/bin/lfc --version

Windows

Download lfc 0.2.0 for Windows and run:

unzip lfc_0.2.0.zip

.\lfc_0.2.0\bin\lfc.ps1 --version

See more details.

Developer Setup

If you'd like to contribute to Lingua Franca and build our toolchain on your own, you will need to check out our GitHub repository. The toolchain can built using Gradle or Maven, which have integrations with most IDEs. For Eclipse users, we provide an Oomph setup.

Cloning our repository

  • If you have public-key authentication set up:

    git clone git@github.com:lf-lang/lingua-franca.git

  • If you prefer to clone using the web URL:

    git clone https://github.com/lf-lang/lingua-franca.git

Building from the command line

  • Gradle:

    ./gradlew assemble (the build also performs tests, which takes a long time)

  • Maven:

    mvn compile (you need to install Maven first)

Oomph setup for Eclipse

  • Download the Eclipse installer.
  • Click the Hamburger button at the top right corner and switch to "Advanced Mode".
  • Select "Eclipse IDE for Java and DSL developers".
  • Continue reading here...