Copy-and-patch compiler for hard real-time Python
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I built Copapy as an experiment: Can Python be used for hard real-time systems?Instead of an interpreter or JIT, Copapy builds a computation graph by tracing Python code and uses a custom copy-and-patch compiler. The result is very fast native code with no GC, no syscalls, and no memory allocations at runtime.The copy-and-patch compiler currently supports x86_64 as well as 32- and 64-bit ARM. It comes as small Python package with no other dependencies - no cross-compiler, nothing except Python.The current focus is on robotics and control systems in general. This project is early but already usable and easy to try out.Would love your feedback!
HN · launched Feb 11, 2026 · 65 upvotes (top 15%) · 0 views
Niche: programming language compilers · 77 launches, 2 in the last 7 days ▼ -60% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Dev tools
- Developer
- Not AI
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 77 launches in programming language compilers →
Could you build this?
No Developing a custom copy-and-patch compiler that eliminates dynamic allocations, syscalls, and garbage collection requires deep compiler engineering and low-level systems expertise.
What it would actually take: A production version requires an AST or bytecode tracer that lowers Python code into a deterministic computation graph, paired with a library of precompiled binary stubs. The runtime must dynamically resolve relocations and stitch machine code into executable memory pages without relying on standard CPython runtime features, garbage collection, or OS allocations. This demands specialized knowledge of compiler construction, CPU instruction sets, binary ABIs, and deterministic real-time systems.
Discussion
10 comments analyzed.
Competitors mentioned: CasADi (interpreted/compiled C-code approach), NumPy, Numba, Cython, Nanobind (for Python C API binding)
Concerns raised: Proof of concept status with limited direct use not stated upfront, Only achievable for code already designed with hard real-time in mind, Complex state machines become hard to comprehend and maintain, Unclear how approach scales beyond deterministic control applications
Feature requests: Benchmarks against compiled CasADi C-code, Support for imperative state machine patterns via AST-parsing decorator, Documentation of approach limitations and use case boundaries
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 150 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #23 of 151 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 103 days after the earliest competitor.
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