The best parser libraries, according to hackers
7 parser libraries were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended parser library with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Gives AI agents code structure
Recommended as a fast, incremental parser with real syntax trees and broad language support. Critics say it is limited next to an IDE and less complete than hand-written parsers.
All 7 parser libraries, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tree-sitter | 79 | 15 | 84% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Hardwood Parquet parser | 7 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | Lark parser library for Python | 6 | 1 | 86% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | Kaitai Struct | 6 | 2 | 75% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 3 | Ohm parsing library | 6 | 3 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | nom Rust parser library | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | Tree-sitter Go port | 5 | 4 | 56% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same parser library in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to parser libraries that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
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