wavec CLI Reference

wavec is a low-level compiler, similar in role to rustc or cc. Package resolution, lockfiles, registries, and workspaces belong to higher-level tools such as Vex.

Basic form

wavec [global-options] <command> [command-options] [input...]

Core commands

build <input...> performs compilation, checking, linking, and optional execution through flags. check <file> is an alias for build <file> --emit=check. run <file> is an alias for build <file> --run. print <item> reports compiler capabilities such as targets, emit kinds, input types, and default linker choices.

Input rules

build accepts one or more inputs. File extensions are inferred automatically: .wave for Wave source, .ll for LLVM IR, .bc for bitcode, .s or .asm for assembly, and .o or .obj for object files. --input-type=<kind> forces one type for every input.

wavec build main.wave
wavec build main.wave util.wave --emit=bin
wavec build start.o runtime.o --link-only --emit=bin

Emit rules

--emit supports check, ast, ir, bc, asm, obj, and bin. check is a control mode, not a normal artifact, so it must be used alone. If bin is emitted with other artifacts, -o names the final linked binary; intermediate artifacts follow --out-dir or default paths.

wavec build main.wave --emit=check
wavec build main.wave --emit=ir,obj
wavec build main.wave --emit=bin -o app

Running compiled output

--run is allowed only when exactly one runnable bin artifact is produced. It is not valid with --shared or non-runnable emit modes. Arguments after -- are passed to the produced executable.

wavec run main.wave -- arg1 arg2
wavec build main.wave --run -- arg1 arg2

Freestanding and bare-metal

--freestanding is for kernels, bootloaders, firmware, and embedded targets. It disables default libc/libm linking, disables the red zone for the backend, and emits code suitable for no-runtime environments.

wavec build kernel.wave --target x86_64-unknown-none-elf --freestanding --emit=obj -o kernel.o

Backend control

Use --target, --cpu, --features, --abi, --sysroot, -C linker=..., -C link-arg=..., -C link-sysroot=..., -C relocation-model=..., -C code-model=..., and -C no-default-libs for precise compiler and linker control.

Capability queries

wavec print target-list, supported-emit-kinds, supported-input-types, and default-linker are intended for tools such as Vex to validate the installed compiler without guessing.

wavec print target-list
wavec print supported-emit-kinds
wavec print supported-input-types
wavec print default-linker