CLI Reference

Basic Commands

mst init hello-monster
cd hello-monster
mst run

mst check exam.mnst
mst emit-llvm exam.mnst
mst build exam.mnst
mst run exam.mnst
mst clean
mst -upgrade
mst --help
mst --version

Build Profiles and Optimization

mst build --debug exam.mnst
mst run --debug exam.mnst
mst build --release --opt-level 3 --cpu native exam.mnst

Debug builds keep the raw LLVM IR in target/mst/, default to --opt-level 0, and link with clang -g. Release builds default to --opt-level 2. Use --opt-level 0|1|2|3 and --cpu generic|native when you want to tune the LLVM and clang pipeline.

Project Manifest

Monster.toml stores the default package entry and build options. Command-line flags override the manifest.

[package]
name = "hello-monster"
entry = "src/main.mnst"

[build]
profile = "release"
opt-level = 2
cpu = "generic"

With an entry configured, mst check, mst emit-llvm, mst build, and mst run can be used without a source file.

Passing Program Arguments

mst run examples/argv.mnst -- hello from monster

Everything after -- is forwarded to the compiled Monster program. Monster programs can receive these through main(argc: i32, argv: **u8).

Build Output

Generated binaries and intermediate LLVM files live in target/mst/. This keeps project roots clean while preserving artifacts useful for debugging.

Update Compiler

mst -upgrade

This downloads the latest published GitHub Release and installs it back into the current mst install directory. Global installs may ask for sudo.