# Brimstone JavaScript engine

8 Hacker News commenters recommended Brimstone JavaScript engine and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Rust JavaScript engine that passes about 97% of the ES2025 spec, described as faster than alternatives and built by one developer. Critics note heavy unsafe code and no license.

## Why people recommend it

- High ES2025 spec compliance (3 comments): "it is faster, nearly just as full featured (almost full ES2025) and last but not least, a single person project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45940818)) "impressively compliant, considering it's just a one man project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45944833)) "for passing 97% of the spec at this size is pretty impressive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45945551))
- Impressive work for a solo developer (2 comments): "it is faster, nearly just as full featured (almost full ES2025) and last but not least, a single person project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45940818)) "impressively compliant, considering it's just a one man project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45944833))

## What people warn about

- Heavy use of unsafe code (3 comments): "It’s a bit baffling that this engine would choose to implement unsafe garbage collection." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45944902)) "this repo seems like it uses quite a bit of unsafe, by their own admission" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45946070)) "this project is using a ton of unsafe" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45946496))
- No license specified (2 comments): "Surprised at the lack of a license though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45945243)) "There's no license I can see" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45946671))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [V8 JavaScript engine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/v8.md): 59 recommend
- [QuickJS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quickjs.md): 33 recommend
- [MicroQuickJS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/microquickjs.md): 19 recommend
- [JavaScriptCore](https://hackerapproved.com/p/javascriptcore.md): 14 recommend
- [Boa JavaScript engine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/boa-javascript-engine.md): 14 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Brimstone JavaScript engine", https://hackerapproved.com/p/brimstone-javascript-engine/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).