MAGIC

Morgan And Grand Iron Clojure

A Clojure compiler targeting the Common Language Runtime (.NET). MAGIC compiles Clojure to MSIL bytecode, enabling Clojure to run in Unity (including IL2CPP/iOS builds) without the DLR.

Rationale

The JVM Clojure compiler targets the Java Virtual Machine. MAGIC targets .NET instead, taking full advantage of the CLR's features to produce better bytecode. This enables Clojure in environments where the JVM cannot run, notably Unity game engine (including iOS via IL2CPP).

MAGIC is a self-hosting compiler: it is written in Clojure and compiles itself through Nostrand, its task runner.

Components

Component	Description	Language
clojure-runtime	Persistent data structures, Keywords, Vars, reader	C#
magic-runtime	Fast dynamic call sites	C#
mage	Symbolic MSIL bytecode emitter	Clojure
magic-compiler	The compiler (s-expressions to MSIL)	Clojure
nostrand	Task runner, dependency manager, REPL	C# + Clojure
magic-unity	Unity integration package (IL2CPP support)	C#

Each component has its own README with detailed documentation.

Architecture

clojure-runtime    C# data structures, Vars, Keywords
       |
magic-runtime      C# dynamic call sites
       |
nostrand           Task runner, links against both runtimes
       |
magic-compiler     Clojure compiler, built via mono + Nostrand
       |                (depends on mage at build time)
bootstrap          Copies compiler DLLs back into Nostrand, rebuilds it
       |
magic-unity        Unity package, copies runtime + compiler DLLs

Prerequisites

• git
• dotnet (v7+)
• mono

Getting Started

git clone https://github.com/magic-clojure/magic.git
cd magic
dotnet build

The full build takes a few minutes on first run. Subsequent builds are incremental.

Tasks

The build is orchestrated by Magic.csproj:

Task	Description
dotnet build	Full build (all components in dependency order)
dotnet build -t:Nostrand	Build task runner only
dotnet build -t:Magic	Compiler bootstrap (requires mono)
dotnet build -t:Bootstrap	Copy compiler DLLs into Nostrand, rebuild
dotnet build -t:MagicUnity	Unity package
dotnet build -t:Clean	Remove build artifacts

After build, set up the nos command:

ln -s $(pwd)/nostrand/Scripts/nos-framework /usr/local/bin/nos

Testing

Tests run through Nostrand. Projects define test tasks in a dotnet.clj file at their root:

nos dotnet/run-tests

Unity

Add to your Unity project via manifest.json:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "com.nasser.magic": "https://github.com/magic-clojure/magic.git?path=magic-unity"
  }
}

See the magic-compiler README for compilation instructions.

Git History

This monorepo consolidates 6 repositories using git-filter-repo. All commits, authors, and dates are preserved. Scope history to any component:

git log -- nostrand/
git log -- magic-compiler/
git blame magic-compiler/src/magic/core.clj

License

Copyright © 2015-2026 Ramsey Nasser and contributors

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.