skir.build

What It Is

Skir is a modern declarative schema language for data models and APIs, positioned as something like a “reimagined Protobuf.” Developers define structs, enums, methods, and constants in .skir files, then use npx skir gen to generate type-safe code for multiple languages. It emphasizes a “single source of truth,” making it suitable for sharing data contracts across front end and back end, services, and multilingual projects.

Core Capabilities

Based on the scraped text, Skir centers on schema definition, code generation, serialization, and RPC. It supports languages including TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, C++, C#, Kotlin, Dart, Swift, Rust, Zig, Gleam, and MoonBit. Its schema syntax includes structs, enums/sum types with payloads, nested and inline records, optionals, arrays, keyed arrays, constants, recursive types, and more. For serialization, it supports both JSON and binary formats, and provides schema evolution mechanisms such as removed numbers, stable identifiers, and snapshot checks to reduce the risk of compatibility-breaking changes in long-running systems.

Workflow and Ecosystem

Skir depends on Node.js or Bun. Projects can be initialized with npx skir init, while generators and output directories are configured through skir.yml. It supports watch mode for automatic code regeneration, and can also be integrated with package.json prebuild scripts, GitHub Actions, formatting checks, and snapshot validation. On the IDE side, it offers a VS Code extension with syntax highlighting, formatting, validation, go-to-definition, and related features; the Skir Language Server is also available. GitHub imports allow types to be imported directly from GitHub repositories, making it easier to share common models across projects.

API, Pricing, and Open-Source Information

SkirRPC is its type-safe communication solution. It is based on a lightweight HTTP protocol and can integrate with existing web frameworks. Clients and servers use the same generated method definitions, with the goal of detecting contract mismatches before runtime. It also includes a Studio app for browsing and testing methods. The text does not disclose its pricing model, payment methods, company entity, or open-source license, so its commercial cost, closed-source risk, and long-term maintenance guarantees cannot be assessed.

Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For

Its strengths include broad language coverage, a lightweight workflow, a more modern type system than traditional IDLs, and strong attention to schema evolution, which is valuable for long-running distributed systems. Its downsides are the limited information available on ecosystem maturity, community size, production use cases, and open-source status; the compiler also requires Node.js or Bun. It is a good fit for multilingual teams, web teams that need to share types between front end and back end, and service teams looking to replace handwritten DTOs or reduce API drift. If an organization is already deeply invested in Protobuf, OpenAPI, Avro, or Thrift, it will need to evaluate migration costs and toolchain compatibility.

Access from China

The scraped text does not provide information about access from mainland China, mirrors, payment, or compliance, so its accessibility status can only be marked as unknown. In practice, users will need to test the stability of skir.build, npm package downloads, GitHub imports, and related documentation resources on domestic networks.