explaingit

jetbrains/kotlin

🔥 Hot★ 52,746KotlinAudience · developerComplexity · 5/5ActiveLicenseSetup · hard

TLDR

Official Kotlin programming language compiler and tooling from JetBrains. Compiles Kotlin code to runnable programs with IDE and build tool support.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Kotlin compiler
      Code to programs
      Language runtime
    Tooling
      IntelliJ plugin
      Gradle plugin
      Maven plugin
    Platforms
      JVM bytecode
      WebAssembly
      Native code
    Tech Stack
      Kotlin language
      Java runtime
      Build systems

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Build Android apps, server backends, and command-line tools using the Kotlin language.

USE CASE 2

Compile Kotlin code to WebAssembly to run in web browsers.

USE CASE 3

Integrate Kotlin development into IntelliJ IDE, Gradle, or Maven build pipelines.

USE CASE 4

Contribute to or fork the Kotlin language compiler itself for custom language features.

Tech stack

KotlinJavaGradleMavenWebAssembly

Getting it running

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1day+

Building the Kotlin compiler from source requires Java, Gradle, and significant compilation time; most users should install pre-built binaries instead.

Apache License 2.0, use freely for any purpose including commercial, with attribution and license notice required.

In plain English

This is the official source repository for the Kotlin programming language, maintained by JetBrains. Kotlin is a programming language, and this repository contains the compiler that turns Kotlin code into runnable programs, along with plugins for build tools Gradle and Maven, and a plugin for the IntelliJ development environment. The topics also list support for WebAssembly (wasm), which is a format for running code in web browsers. The README does not provide further detail about the language's features, syntax, or use cases, so a complete explanation is not possible from the provided data alone.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I set up the Kotlin compiler from this repository to compile my first Kotlin program?
Prompt 2
Show me how to use the Gradle plugin from this repo to build a Kotlin project.
Prompt 3
What are the steps to build the Kotlin compiler from source in this repository?
Prompt 4
How do I configure the IntelliJ plugin from this repo to develop Kotlin code?
Prompt 5
Explain how to compile Kotlin code to WebAssembly using this repository's tooling.
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.