Tish - Native Performance, Familiar Syntax

tish build --target js compiles Tish to JavaScript in one of two output formats, chosen with --format.

Format	Output	Use case
`bundle` (default)	One merged `.js` file (`-o app.js`)	`<script>` tags, CLI tools, embeds without a bundler
`esm`	One `.js` file per `.tish` module under a directory (`-o dist/`) with real `import` / `export`	Vite / Rollup / esbuild production builds (tree-shaking, code-splitting)

Bundle format (default)

tish build app.tish -o app.js --target js

All statically-imported modules are resolved and merged into a single flat program before JavaScript is emitted, so the output has no import / export statements (an entry export default is the one exception). It is simple to load but opaque to a bundler: there is no module graph to tree-shake, and two modules that export the same top-level name collide in the single shared scope.

ESM format

tish build src/main.tish -o dist --target js --format esm

Each reachable .tish module is compiled to its own .js file, preserving the source tree layout relative to the project root, with real ES import / export:

src/workbench/boot.tish         ->  dist/workbench/boot.js
src/internal/layout/index.tish  ->  dist/internal/layout/index.js

Because every module keeps its own scope:

A bundler (Vite, Rollup, esbuild) sees a static import graph and can tree-shake unused exports, code-split, scope-hoist, and minify.
Two modules can export the same name without colliding. For example a.tish and b.tish may both export fn activate, imported under distinct local aliases:

import { activate as activateA } from "./a.tish"
import { activate as activateB } from "./b.tish"

Relative import specifiers keep their shape with .tish rewritten to .js (./dep.tish becomes ./dep.js), since the output tree mirrors the source tree.

Vite production recipe

Compile Tish to ES modules, then let Vite own minification and tree-shaking:

tish build src/main.tish -o dist/tish --target js --format esm
# point Vite at dist/tish/main.js as an entry; Vite bundles + tree-shakes the graph

Limitations

-o is treated as a directory in ESM mode.
Native imports (tish:*, cargo:*, ffi:*, and the built-in fs / http / process / ws) are rejected — they require --target native.
All modules must resolve under the project root; external (node_modules / sibling) .tish dependencies outside the tree require --format bundle.
--source-map is bundle-only for now; ESM per-file source maps are a follow-up.
.jsx / .js single-file inputs are bundle-only.