What is kotlin-native?

jetbrains/kotlin-native — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 6,988KotlinAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5Setup · hard

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((kotlin-native))
    What it was
      Kotlin to native
      No JVM needed
      JetBrains project
    Current Status
      Archived repo
      Read only
      No new issues
    Where to go now
      Main Kotlin repo
      JetBrains GitHub
      Existing issue thread

mindmap root((kotlin-native)) What it was Kotlin to native No JVM needed JetBrains project Current Status Archived repo Read only No new issues Where to go now Main Kotlin repo JetBrains GitHub Existing issue thread

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Browse the historical Kotlin/Native source code as it existed before development moved to the main Kotlin repository.

USE CASE 2

Read archived issues and discussions from early Kotlin/Native development for historical research.

What is it built with?

Kotlin

How does it compare?

	jetbrains/kotlin-native	detekt/detekt	reactivex/rxkotlin
Stars	6,988	6,939	7,041
Language	Kotlin	Kotlin	Kotlin
Setup difficulty	hard	moderate	easy
Complexity	1/5	3/5	2/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1day+

This repo is archived and read-only, use the main JetBrains/kotlin repository for active Kotlin/Native development.

No license information was provided in the explanation.

So what is it?

This repository was the original home of Kotlin/Native, a technology from JetBrains that compiles Kotlin code to run directly on operating systems without needing a virtual machine. Development has since moved to the main Kotlin repository at github.com/JetBrains/kotlin, and this repository has been archived. The source code as it existed before archiving is still browsable here under the archive branch, but no new issues or contributions are accepted here. JetBrains directed users to a specific issue thread for ongoing discussion rather than opening new issues in this archived repo.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Where did Kotlin/Native development move after this repository was archived, and how do I file a new issue for Kotlin/Native today?

Prompt 2

I want to understand how early Kotlin/Native handled memory management. Which files in the archive branch of this repo should I look at?

Frequently asked questions