Getting Started

kov is a systems language for RISC-V embedded. no LLVM, no runtime. source goes in, firmware comes out.

try it in your browser

go to kov.dev/playground. type code on the left, see assembly on the right. no install needed.

install

cargo install kov

or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/visualstudioblyat/kov
cd kov
cargo build --release

your first program

create blink.kov:

board esp32c3 {
    gpio: GPIO @ 0x6000_4000,
    clock: 160_000_000,
}

#[stack(512)]
fn main(b: &mut esp32c3) {
    let led = b.gpio.pin(2, .output);
    loop {
        led.high();
        delay_ms(500);
        led.low();
        delay_ms(500);
    }
}

compile and run

kov run blink.kov

this compiles your program, runs it in the built-in emulator, and shows GPIO register writes. no hardware needed.

compile to binary

kov build blink.kov -o firmware.elf

flash to hardware

kov flash blink.kov --chip esp32c3

requires probe-rs installed.

what just happened

the compiler: 1. lexed and parsed your source (0.6ms) 2. type-checked it (peripheral ownership, stack bounds) 3. lowered to SSA IR 4. ran 8 optimizer passes 5. generated RISC-V machine code 6. compressed with RV32C (16% smaller) 7. output a 400-byte binary

all from one command. no makefiles, no linker scripts, no external tools.