Install ScalaScript.

01Requirements

The standard runtime is deliberately light.

• Java 21+ — the only hard requirement for the standard ssc runtime. scalac/javac are not needed.
• sbt — needed only to build the launcher from source (the step below). scala-sbt.org
• Node.js optional — only for the JavaScript backend. nodejs.org
• Scala CLI optional — only for tools-tier ssc-tools commands, never for plain ssc.

02Build from source

The supported install today. Clone, build the launcher, and bin/ssc is ready.

# clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sergey-scherbina/scalascript
cd scalascript

# build + stage the local bin/ launchers (uses sbt)
./install.sh --dev

This assembles the thin runtime jar and writes bin/ssc (plus ssc-tools, ssc-standard, and friends). Put bin/ on your PATH, or call bin/ssc directly.

03Run a document

A .ssc file is Markdown you can compile. Run one straight to output.

$ ssc run examples/hello.ssc
Hello, world!

# or package it for a target
$ ssc build-jvm greeter.ssc -o greeter.jar
$ ssc run --bytecode ask.ssc   # native VM lane

The same source lowers to the JVM, JavaScript, WebAssembly, Rust, Swift, and a self-hosted native VM — you pick the backend at build time. See the getting-started guide and the user guide.

04Prebuilt native binaries coming soon

CI already compiles GraalVM native images for three platforms. A standalone release channel to download them is not published yet — build from source (step 02) for now.