CLI Reference

The Turbo CLI provides everything you need: compilation, testing, formatting, REPL, and more.

Commands

turbo run

Compiles and executes a Turbo source file using the JIT compiler. Best for development.

$ turbo run hello.tb
Hello, world!

# With verbose output
$ turbo run --verbose hello.tb

turbo build

Compiles to a standalone native binary. The binary is linked with the C runtime and has no external dependencies.

# Default (Cranelift backend)
$ turbo build hello.tb
$ ./hello

# With custom output name
$ turbo build hello.tb --output my-app
$ ./my-app

# With LLVM optimizations (requires LLVM 18)
$ turbo build --llvm hello.tb

turbo test

Runs all functions marked with @test:

$ turbo test myfile.tb
  PASS  test_add
  PASS  test_subtract
2 passed, 0 failed

turbo fmt

Formats source code according to the standard Turbo style:

# Format a file in place
$ turbo fmt myfile.tb

# Check formatting without modifying
$ turbo fmt --check myfile.tb

turbo repl

Start an interactive read-eval-print loop for experimenting:

$ turbo repl
turbo> print("hello")
hello
turbo> let x = 42
turbo> print(x * 2)
84

turbo lsp

Starts the Language Server Protocol server for editor integration. Provides:

• Real-time diagnostics and error highlighting
• Hover information for types and functions
• Go-to-definition
• Code completions
• Document symbols

# Usually started automatically by your editor
$ turbo lsp

turbo explain

Look up any compiler error code:

$ turbo explain E0100
E0100: Type mismatch
  The compiler expected one type but found another.

$ turbo explain E0200
E0200: Match expression is not exhaustive
  Your match is missing one or more possible patterns.

Built-in Functions

These functions are available globally without any imports: