Getting started

ThicketScript is a language built from the ground up to make games. It reads like TypeScript, has its own type system, and runs on its own virtual machine. One program, thicket, runs your code, checks it, formats it, debugs it and builds it into a standalone program.

This section takes you from nothing to a program you can share:

1. Install thicket (this page).
2. Your first script: write a .tks file and run it.
3. Your first window: open a window and put a sprite in it.
4. Checking your code: find type errors before you run anything.
5. Building a program: turn a project into a folder you can ship.

Install

Downloads are coming soon

The download page is where thicket for Windows, macOS and Linux, plus the IDE plugin, will land.

Installing is one program, thicket, on your PATH, with nothing else to install: the compiler, the virtual machine, the standard library, the 2D module and the language server all live inside it.

Once it is installed, this prints the version:

thicket version

And this lists every command:

thicket help

The commands you will use most

Command	What it does
thicket new <name>	Make a new project folder from a template.
thicket run	Run a script or a project.
thicket check	Type-check without running anything.
thicket watch	Run, and run again whenever a file changes.
thicket fmt <file>	Format a source file.
thicket build	Package a project as a standalone program.
thicket debug	Run with a debugger attached.

thicket help <command> prints the full reference for any one of them.

Editor support

thicket lsp is a built-in language server. The JetBrains plugin starts it for you and gives you autocomplete, type checking, go-to-definition and error highlighting as you type.

Next: your first script.