Building a Python interpreter in just 1024 bytes of C code
AustinZHenley · x · 2026-09-07
Austin Z. Henley's weekend project: a miniature Python interpreter written in 1024 bytes of C — no macro tricks, no libraries — that can run FizzBuzz-style programs with distinctly Pythonic syntax (def, colons, indentation, paren-free ifs).
- Scope: not full Python, but a curated subset chosen for maximum "Pythonic feel"
- First attempt failed: a conventional recursive-descent parser yielded only a calculator and blew the original 512-byte budget
- Design: skips CPython's tokenize → AST → bytecode pipeline in favor of a single-state interpreter; correctness first, shrink later
A neat case study in extreme size-constrained language implementation, relevant to compiler nerds and code golfers alike.
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