Embedding QuickJS in C

This tutorial demonstrates how to compile JavaScript code and embed it in a standalone C executable.

Create a JavaScript file

First, create a simple JavaScript file hello.js:

console.log("Hello World");

Compile to C code

Use qjsc to compile the JavaScript file into C code:

qjsc -e -o hello.c hello.js

The -e flag tells qjsc to generate a main() function and embed the bytecode in the C file.This generates hello.c containing:

Compile the C executable

Compile the generated C code with the QuickJS library:

cc hello.c dtoa.c libregexp.c libunicode.c quickjs.c quickjs-libc.c -I. -o hello

Required source files:

Run the executable

Execute the standalone binary:

./hello

Expected output:

Hello World

The resulting binary is completely self-contained and includes the QuickJS runtime.

Alternative: Create Standalone Executables with qjs

QuickJS also provides a simpler method to create standalone executables:

qjs -c hello.js -o hello --exe qjs

This bundles the JavaScript file directly into a copy of the qjs executable without requiring manual C compilation.

Useful qjsc options: