Ethos

A language that speaks for itself — literally.

Write code the way you'd explain it to someone.

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Ethos is a programming language with an English-based syntax. Every statement is a sentence. Every sentence ends with a period. No brackets, no semicolons, no cryptic symbols — just words.

It transpiles to Python under the hood, so it's fast to get running and easy to extend. Native extensions are called Hard Traits (compiled C/C++/Rust binaries). Python package extensions are called Soft Traits. Both are managed by Forge, Ethos's companion package manager.

Built by Aman Adlakha — a Class 9 student from India, doing this solo.

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What it looks like

ask "What's your name? " into name.

set greeting to "Hello, ".
say greeting.
say name.

set score to 95.

if score is above 90.
    say "That's an A.".
otherwise if score is at least 75.
    say "That's a B.".
otherwise.
    say "Keep going.".
end.

That's it. That's the language.

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Getting started

Linux (pre-built binary)

Grab the latest binary from the Releases page:

chmod +x ethos
sudo mv ethos /usr/local/bin/

Windows, macOS, Android (Termux), and native Linux packages (.deb, .rpm, AUR) are on the roadmap.

From source

You'll need Python 3.10 or newer.

git clone https://github.com/amancode22/ethos-lang.git
cd ethos-lang
pip install -r requirements.txt

python main.py                 # opens the REPL
python main.py hello.ethos     # runs a file

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The language

Every Ethos statement is a sentence ending with a . — that's the only rule you need to remember upfront.

Variables

set x to 10.
set name to "Aman".
set result to x times 3 plus 1.

Arithmetic

Write this	Means
plus	+
minus	-
times	*
divided by	/
to the power of	**

In-place operations

add 5 to score.
subtract 1 from lives.

String slicing

set piece to name from 0 to 3.

Output

say "Hello.".
say result.

Input

ask "Enter something: " into response.

Conditionals

if score is above 90.
    say "A".
otherwise if score is at least 75.
    say "B".
otherwise.
    say "C".
end.

Comparisons: is, is not, is above, is below, is at least, is at most
Logical: and, or, not

Loops

repeat 5.
    say "again".
end.

count from 1 to 10 variable i.
    say i.
end.

count from 10 to 0 variable i stepping -1.
    say i.
end.

while lives is above 0.
    subtract 1 from lives.
end.

Functions

how to greet with name.
    say "Hey,".
    say name.
end.

run greet with "Aman".

Imports

bring in math.

Comments

note this is a single line comment.

notes.
this spans
multiple lines.
endnotes.

Delete a variable

delete variable temp.

Inspect the generated Python

python.
set x to 5 plus 3.
pythonend.

Prints PY_GEN: x = 5 + 3 instead of running it. Handy for debugging the transpiler.

Debug mode

debug.
set x to 10.
debugend.

Prints the token list for each statement before executing it.

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Running Ethos

Run a file:

ethos myprogram.ethos

Files need the .ethos extension.

Open the REPL:

ethos

Type sentences, press Enter. Multi-line blocks buffer automatically until you type end. Type exit or quit to leave. Your history is saved to ~/.ethos/.ethos_history.

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Traits

Ethos can be extended with Traits — external packages that plug into your programs.

• Soft Traits are Python packages. Install with Forge, use with bring in.
• Hard Traits are compiled native binaries (C, C++, Rust). They load automatically at startup via ctypes. The Hard Trait SDK is under development.

Traits are managed by Forge → github.com/amancode22/forge

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What's next

• Windows .msi installer
• macOS .pkg installer
• Linux: .deb, .rpm, AUR
• Android via Termux
• Hard Trait SDK for C/C++ and Rust
• Language Server Protocol (LSP)
• VSCode and Zed extensions
• Ethos Studio — a GUI IDE
• Eventually: rewrite the core in C, C++, or Rust

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Contributing

This is a solo project, but outside contributions are welcome — especially:

• Hard Trait SDK bindings for languages other than C/C++ and Rust (those I'm handling myself). If you want to write SDK support for Java, Go, Zig, or anything else, open a PR.
• Bug reports and fixes.
• Anything that feels broken or missing.

Open an issue before working on anything big so we don't duplicate effort.

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Project layout

ethos-lang/
├── main.py
├── requirements.txt
└── src/ethos/
    ├── cli.py        — REPL + file runner
    ├── lexer.py      — sentence splitter + tokenizer
    ├── parser.py     — transpiler
    └── executer.py   — runner + Hard Trait loader

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For instructions on building yourself refer to BUILDING.md and the full documentation can be accesed at DOCS.md.

License

Apache 2.0. See LICENSE.

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