Quick Start

greetings.stof

#[main]
fn welcome() {
  pln('Lets do cool Stof together!');
}

Output

---

This guide introduces the concept of a data runtime and shows you how to get started using TypeScript in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• Bun installed (curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash)
• Node.js also works - replace bun run with npx tsx throughout

Targeting a browser instead?

This guide runs in Bun/Node, where Stof's WASM loads automatically. Building for a browser or a bundler like Vite or webpack instead? See Initializing in a Browser or Bundler on the Install page first.

Install

mkdir stof-quickstart && cd stof-quickstart
bun init -y
bun add @formata/stof

Or, NPM works just fine:

npm i @formata/stof

Hello, World! (JSON-style)

Create index.ts:

index.ts

import { stofAsync } from '@formata/stof';

const doc = await stofAsync`
{
    "name": "Stof"
    "hello": ():str => \`Hello, \${self.name}!\`
}`;

console.log(await doc.call('hello'));

bun run index.ts

Hello, Stof!

Hello, World!

Functions are data components in Stof, just like fields! This index.ts is the same as the one above.

index.ts

import { stofAsync } from '@formata/stof';

const doc = await stofAsync`
name: "Stof"

fn hello() -> str {
    \`Hello, \${self.name}!\`
}`;

console.log(await doc.call('hello'));

bun run index.ts

Hello, Stof!

Data Runtime

Modern data contexts are dynamic and travel. A data runtime gives you a living interchange layer that stays sandboxed & reliable between services.

index.ts

import { StofDoc } from '@formata/stof';

// add data however its already defined (JSON, YAML, TOML, Stof, Binary, etc.)
const doc = await StofDoc.parse({
    name: 'John Doe',
    email: 'john@example.com',
    age: 42
});


// sandboxed, can only see & manipulate itself
const api = `
fn set_height(height?: cm) {
    height = height ?? (6ft + 2in) as cm;
    self.height = height.round(2);
}

fn first_name() -> str {
    let names = self.name.split(' ');
    const first = names[0];
    self.first = first;
    first
}`;
doc.parse(api);


await doc.call('set_height');
await doc.call('first_name');
console.log(doc.record()); // back out as a JS object

bun run index.ts

{
  name: "John Doe",
  email: "john@example.com",
  age: 42,
  height: 187.96,
  first: "John",
}