⚡ Introducing VoltJS: A Lightweight JavaScript Runtime Powered by Go and Goja

Author: Prasoon Jadon
Project: VoltJS on GitHub

Ever wanted the power of Node.js but with the performance and simplicity of Go?

Meet VoltJS – a blazing-fast JavaScript runtime inspired by Node.js, built using Goja and written in pure Go. It's designed for server-side scripting and lightweight JavaScript execution without the Node.js overhead.

🚀 Why VoltJS?

Node.js is amazing, but what if you could run JS with just a Go binary and no dependencies?

VoltJS brings:

• A familiar CommonJS-like require() system
• Built-in support for console, setTimeout, fs, and even http.createServer
• A CLI-based runtime you can install and use just like Node.js

Whether you're scripting, automating tasks, or building tiny HTTP servers, VoltJS gives you JavaScript with Go's raw speed.

🧠 Features at a Glance

• 🧩 JavaScript runtime with require()
• ⏱ Built-in setTimeout, setInterval, etc.
• 📂 File system access: readFileSync, writeFileSync
• 🌐 HTTP server with http.createServer
• ⚙️ process.argv, process.cwd() support
• 🛡 Module isolation per file with goja.Runtime
• 🔧 Easy to build and hack with Go

🔬 Example: Hello VoltJS

console.log("⚡ Running from VoltJS!");

setTimeout(() => {
    console.log("✅ Done after 1 second!");
}, 1000);

const data = fs.readFileSync("hello.txt");
console.log("📄 File content:", data);

http.createServer((req, res) => {
    console.log("📥 Incoming request:", req.url);
    res.end("Hello from VoltJS server!");
});

Run it:

voltjs script.js

Yes, it's that simple.

🛠 Installation

🔁 One-liner Installer

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Pjdeveloper896/VoltJs/main/install.sh | bash

This script:

• Detects your OS and architecture
• Downloads the correct binary from the latest GitHub release
• Installs it to your system (e.g., ~/.local/bin)

💻 Or Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/Pjdeveloper896/VoltJs.git
cd VoltJs
go build -o voltjs main.go
./voltjs example/script.js

🧱 File Structure

VoltJs/
├── main.go            # VoltJS runtime core
├── install.sh         # Auto-install script
├── example/
│   └── script.js      # Sample JS file
├── modules/           # JS modules support
└── README.md

🌱 What's Next?

Here's what's coming in future releases:

• [ ] Native fetch() support using Go’s net/http
• [ ] ES module (ESM) support
• [ ] Promises and async APIs
• [ ] Native __dirname and __filename
• [ ] More modules: os, path, crypto, etc.

👨‍💻 About the Creator

Hi! I’m Prasoon Jadon, a developer passionate about making JavaScript more accessible and powerful — even outside of the browser.

🔗 GitHub: @Pjdeveloper896

💬 Final Thoughts

VoltJS is great for:

• Scripting without Node.js
• Embedding JavaScript into Go apps
• Exploring Goja for learning or lightweight VMs
• Developers looking for a minimalist JS runtime

Go ahead and give it a spin. Contributions, suggestions, and stars are always welcome on GitHub.

✍️ If you liked this post, follow me on GitHub or drop a comment below. Let’s build fast, light, and hackable runtimes together!