Installation

ZNTC ships as a set of npm packages. Pick the ones you need based on the scenario.

Packages at a glance

Package	Purpose	Includes
@zntc/core	CLI + Node/Bun in-process API (NAPI)	zntc binary, transpile() / build() / buildSync() / watch() / vitePlugin()
@zntc/wasm	Browser · Edge · WASI runtimes	WASM-built transpiler
@zntc/vite-plugin	Vite integration	Drop-in replacement for esbuild
@zntc/react-native	React Native bundler / RN 0.72+	Metro-compatible surface
@zntc/init	Overlay ZNTC onto an existing RN CLI project	zntc-init scaffolder

CLI + JS API (@zntc/core)

The most common scenario. Provides both the zntc command and import { ... } from '@zntc/core'.

bun

bun add -d @zntc/core

npm

npm i -D @zntc/core

pnpm

pnpm add -D @zntc/core

yarn

yarn add -D @zntc/core

deno

deno add -D npm:@zntc/core

The CLI is available immediately after install:

bun

bunx zntc --bundle src/index.ts -o dist/bundle.js

npm

npx zntc --bundle src/index.ts -o dist/bundle.js

pnpm

pnpm dlx zntc --bundle src/index.ts -o dist/bundle.js

yarn

yarn dlx zntc --bundle src/index.ts -o dist/bundle.js

deno

deno run -A npm:@zntc/core --bundle src/index.ts -o dist/bundle.js

JS API:

import { init, transpile, build, buildSync, vitePlugin } from "@zntc/core";

init();

// Transpile
const { code } = transpile("const x: number = 1;");

// Sync bundling
const result = buildSync({
  entryPoints: ["src/index.ts"],
  format: "esm",
  minify: true,
});

// Async bundling with JS plugins
const result2 = await build({
  entryPoints: ["src/index.ts"],
  define: { "process.env.NODE_ENV": '"production"' },
  plugins: [{
    name: "css-plugin",
    setup(build) {
      build.onLoad({ filter: /\.css$/ }, () => ({
        contents: 'export default "red";',
      }));
    },
  }],
});

// Vite/Rollup plugin adapter
const result3 = await build({
  entryPoints: ["src/index.ts"],
  plugins: [
    vitePlugin({
      name: "env-replace",
      transform(code) {
        return code.replace("import.meta.env.MODE", '"production"');
      },
    }),
  ],
});

@zntc/core automatically pulls in the matching native binary (@zntc/core-darwin-arm64, @zntc/core-linux-x64-gnu, …) as an optional dependency.

WASM — Browser / Edge / WASI

For environments without Node.js (browser playgrounds, Cloudflare Workers, Deno):

bun

bun add @zntc/wasm

npm

npm i @zntc/wasm

pnpm

pnpm add @zntc/wasm

yarn

yarn add @zntc/wasm

deno

deno add npm:@zntc/wasm

import { init, transpile } from "@zntc/wasm";

await init();
const result = transpile("const x: number = 1;");
console.log(result.code); // "const x = 1;"

Vite plugin

Drop-in replacement for esbuild:

bun

bun add -d @zntc/vite-plugin

npm

npm i -D @zntc/vite-plugin

pnpm

pnpm add -D @zntc/vite-plugin

yarn

yarn add -D @zntc/vite-plugin

deno

deno add -D npm:@zntc/vite-plugin

vite.config.ts

import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import zntc from "@zntc/vite-plugin";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [zntc()],
});

React Native

Overlay ZNTC onto an existing React Native CLI project — one-shot:

bun

bunx @zntc/init

npm

npx @zntc/init

pnpm

pnpm dlx @zntc/init

yarn

yarn dlx @zntc/init

deno

deno run -A npm:@zntc/init

See the React Native guide for the full option list.

Direct install:

bun

bun add -d @zntc/core @zntc/react-native

npm

npm i -D @zntc/core @zntc/react-native

pnpm

pnpm add -D @zntc/core @zntc/react-native

yarn

yarn add -D @zntc/core @zntc/react-native

deno

deno add -D npm:@zntc/core npm:@zntc/react-native

Global install (CLI only)

To use the zntc command system-wide, independent of any specific project:

bun

bun add -g @zntc/core

npm

npm i -g @zntc/core

pnpm

pnpm add -g @zntc/core

yarn

yarn global add @zntc/core

deno

deno install -A -g npm:@zntc/core

Build from source (contributors / latest main)

If you want to run the latest main (or your own modifications) instead of the published npm version:

Prerequisites

• Zig 0.15.2 (install via mise recommended)
• Bun 1.3+ or Node.js 24+
• Git

Build

git clone https://github.com/ohah/zntc.git
cd zntc
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

Built binary: zig-out/bin/zntc. Add it to PATH and it works the same as the npm-installed CLI:

# ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/zntc/zig-out/bin"

To rebuild the NAPI / WASM artifacts directly:

zig build napi               # native binary for @zntc/core
zig build wasm wasm-bundler  # .wasm for @zntc/wasm