January 2, 2026
Alpha drop, beta drama
Jank Lang Hit Alpha
Clojure vibes, C++ speed—fans cheer, meme the name, and the dev says “not quite ready”
TLDR: Jank, a new language with Clojure-like feel and C++-level speed goals, just reached alpha with docs to try. The creator says the reveal came early, while commenters joke about the name and press for basics like a type system—signaling big curiosity and bigger expectations for a faster, friendlier tool.
“Jank” just hit alpha and the comments instantly turned into a tech-town square. The pitch is simple: a new language that behaves like Clojure (a friendly, interactive style) but aims for the native speed of C++. Instead of Java, it talks to C++, and there’s a full guide at the book. But the community’s real headline? Creator Jeaye slid in to say they were “not quite ready” to announce—cue record scratch—and asked everyone to link the official book for alpha details.
From there, chaos but make it cute. One reader thought “Jank Lang” was a person who “found investment alpha,” while another misread it as a story about French politician Jack Lang—meme city. Under the jokes, a sharper thread emerged: “Does it have a static type system?” asked a cautious commenter, capturing the crowd’s thirst for clarity on safety and ergonomics as the promise of “Clojure feel, C++ speed” spreads. Early adopters are already poking at code snippets (hello immutable data and a dreamy “sleep” function) while the rest hover between hype and side-eye. The vibe: excited, slightly chaotic, very online. The product’s alpha; the community’s energy? Definitely not alpha—more like full send.
Key Points
- •jank is a Clojure dialect hosted on LLVM with seamless C++ interop.
- •It aims for strong compatibility with Clojure while providing native runtime performance.
- •The project is currently in alpha and provides documentation via the jank book.
- •All built-in data structures are persistent and immutable, with side effects handled ad hoc.
- •Examples show functional operations and direct calls into C++ std::chrono and std::this_thread.