Clozure Common Lisp
Shares rank 5 of 6 common Lisp implementations by recommenders
People recommend it for being very stable and working well on the platforms it supports. The main caveat is that it is not very actively maintained and lacks an ARM64 port.
People recommend it for being very stable and working well on the platforms it supports. The main caveat is that it is not very actively maintained and lacks an ARM64 port.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Very stable and works well
“CCL is very stable and works very well on the platforms it supports”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “Steel Bank Common Lisp version 2.6.7” “CCL isn't very actively maintained and currently doesn't have an ARM64 port, but otherwise continues to work fine.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Steel Bank Common Lisp version 2.6.7”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Little active maintenance, development seems dead
“CCL isn't very actively maintained and currently doesn't have an ARM64 port, but otherwise continues to work fine.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Steel Bank Common Lisp version 2.6.7” “CCL, as far as I can tell, is abandonware”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Fast SEQUENCE iteration in Common Lisp” “ccl development seems dead”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Fast SEQUENCE iteration in Common Lisp” No ARM64 port
“CCL isn't very actively maintained and currently doesn't have an ARM64 port, but otherwise continues to work fine.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Steel Bank Common Lisp version 2.6.7”
Other common Lisp implementations people recommend
The four most recommended other common Lisp implementations, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBCL Common Lisp | 49 | 9 | 84% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Steel Bank Common Lisp (SBCL) | 26 | 7 | 79% | 8 | — | Approved |
| LispWorks | 6 | 6 | 50% | 6 | — | — |
| Dotcl | 6 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Clozure Common LispThis page | 5 | 2 | 71% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“CCL, has a much faster compiler (albeit one that produces worse code)”
“CCL is very stable and works very well on the platforms it supports”
“CCL isn't very actively maintained and currently doesn't have an ARM64 port, but otherwise continues to work fine.”
“he was over the moon about how the Lisp exposed not just an assembler, but an interactive assembler”
“CCL worked there much better”
“CCL, as far as I can tell, is abandonware”
“ccl development seems dead”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.